Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have announced that they have successfully regenerated a spinal cord in injured rats with stem cells.
The study was also supported by researchers from Japan and Wisconsin. According to the researchers, they directed stem cell-derived neurons to regenerate lost tissue in damaged corticospinal tracts of rats, resulting in functional benefit. The study has been accepted in the journal Nature Medicine.
The spinal cord is a cylindrical bundle of nerve fibres and associated tissue, which is enclosed in the spine, connecting nearly all parts of the body to the brain. It forms the central nervous system.
The researchers wrote in the Nature Medicine that with patches of stem cells on their broken spinal cords, partially paralyzed rats once again reached out, grabbing distant treats. Researchers have made little progress in previous studies to regenerate certain types of nerve cells in injured spinal cords. However, this latest study is the first to coax the re-growth of a specific set of nerve cells known as corticospinal axons.
The corticospinal axons are bundles of biological wiring; carrying signals from the brain to the spinal cord, they are critical for voluntary movement. In the study, researchers were able to use stem cells from rats and humans to mend the injured rats.
Describing the process used by the researchers in detail, the health reporter of arstechnica.com, Beth Mole, wrote that the researchers used rat and human neural progenitor cells, which can produce several different types of cells found in the central nervous system. The researchers coaxed the cells into forming spinal cord tissue using specific chemical signals. When injected into the damaged spinal cords of rats, the cells took root, filling lesions with new tissue and corticospinal axons. The new nerve cells then linked up with the severed connections left hanging from the injury, allowing signals to traverse the patch.
At the end of the process, multiple tests carried out by the researchers revealed, the injured rats that got the spinal patch could better stretch out their front legs to grab hard-to-reach treats compared with injured rats without the stem-cell grafts.
Despite the breakthrough, the researchers said the cord-patching method is far from clinical use in humans. The researchers will need to follow the rats, and study long-term safety and effectiveness of the patches. If everything goes well, they will then try out the patches in other animal models before optimizing the method for humans.
Lead author of the study, Dr Mark Tuszynski said although they still have some work to do before the process can be experimented on humans, this is the first time such a result has been achieved. He sounded confident that this is a major breakthrough in the field of Neurosciences, which will improve human health significantly.
“There is more work to do prior to moving to humans. We must establish long-term safety and long-term functional benefit in animals. We must devise methods for transferring this technology to humans in larger animal models. And we must identify the best type of human neural stem cell to bring to the clinic. The corticospinal projection is the most important motor system in humans. It has not been successfully regenerated before. Many have tried, many have failed—including us, in previous efforts. Now that we can regenerate the most important motor system for humans, I think that the potential for translation is more promising,” Dr Tuszynski said.
If you want to support Anonymous Independent & Investigative News, please follow us on Twitter: Follow @AnonymousNewsHQ
This article (Breakthrough: Scientists Successfully Regenerate Spinal Cord in Injured Rats with Stem Cells) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
