Astrocyte transplantation for repairing the injured spinal cord

The Journal of Biomedical Research, 2022 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.7555/JBR.36.20220012 · Published: June 28, 2022

Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injuries lead to lasting nerve function problems, placing a big strain on people and society. Astrocytes, important cells supporting nerve cells in the spinal cord, become active and create scars after an injury. These scars were once thought to block nerve regeneration. However, recent findings suggest astrocytes can actually help repair the spinal cord. Over the last 30 years, using astrocyte transplantation to treat spinal cord injuries has gained more attention. This review discusses how rodent astrocytes are used as a first step in spinal repair. It also explores the use of human astrocytes from different sources, like fetal brains, spinal cords, and stem cells, for spinal repair.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Animal models of SCI

Evidence Level

Review Article

Key Findings

1
Rodent astrocytes can survive, move, and mature in spinal injuries, reduce scar formation, encourage axon regeneration, and improve motor, sensory, breathing, and autonomic functions.
2
Human astrocytes from fetal brain, fetal spinal cord and pluripotent stem cells are being explored for their potential in spinal cord repair.
3
Key questions remain about generating enough pure human astrocytes, finding the best astrocyte sources to maximize functional improvements while minimizing side effects, testing transplantation in chronic SCI, and confirming long-term safety and efficacy in large animal models.

Research Summary

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to permanent deficits in neural function without effective therapies, which places a substantial burden on families and society. During the past three decades, astrocyte transplantation for SCI treatment has gained increasing attention. Finally, we introduce some key questions that merit further research in the future, including rapid generation of large amounts of human astrocytes with high purity, identification of the right origins of astrocytes to maximize neural function improvement while minimizing side effects, testing human astrocyte transplantation in chronic SCI, and verification of the long-term efficacy and safety in large animal models.

Practical Implications

Clinical Translation

The review highlights the potential of astrocyte transplantation as a therapeutic strategy for SCI, emphasizing the need for further research to address existing challenges and pave the way for clinical trials.

Future Research Directions

The paper identifies key areas for future research, including optimizing astrocyte sources, improving cell production techniques, evaluating long-term effects, and using large animal models to enhance the translational relevance of findings.

Therapeutic Development

The information can guide the development of targeted therapies that utilize the beneficial properties of astrocytes to promote spinal cord repair and functional recovery after injury.

Study Limitations

1
The proper origins of astrocytes for SCI treatment remain unclear.
2
The efficacy and safety of transplanting astrocytes for treating SCI have only been tested in rodent animal models.
3
No clinical trial has been initiated currently.

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