Stem cell-derived neurons survive grafting into spinal cord injury in animal study: 3 things to know

Biologics

Researchers successfully grafted induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural precursor cells into the spinal cords of pigs with and without spinal cord injury with only temporary immunosuppression, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine.

Here are three things to know.

1. The transplanted cells long-term survival and differentiation into mature neurons and glial cells. The researchers did not notice any tumor formation.

2. A major obstacle to using neural stem cells derived from genetically distinct donors has been the persistent rejection of the introduced material, requiring immunosuppresion, Medical Xpress reports. This research demonstrates that iPSCs can be an alternative source of transplantable NPCs for a variety of spinal diseases and disorders.

3. According to the researchers, iPSC-NPCs can be grafted into syngeneic recipients in the absence of immunosuppression; only temporary immunosuppression is required to induce long-term immune tolerance after engraftment into allogeneic recipients with spinal cord injuries.

More articles on biologics:

FDA seeks to shut down stem cell clinics offering unapproved treatments: 5 insights

Transplanted spinal cord stem cells may help ALS sufferers: 4 insights

Dr. Alexandre Scheer is New York City Stem Cell Institute's medical director: 3 highlights

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