Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons: a promising source for adult neural stem cell transplantation in spinal cord injury treatment

Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 2025 · DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1549194 · Published: March 12, 2025

Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine Neurology

Simple Explanation

Adult neural stem cells are a promising treatment for spinal cord injuries. However, a reliable source of these cells is needed. Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) can act as adult neural stem cells. These CSF-cNs can be grown in the lab and maintain their stem cell characteristics. When transplanted into mice with spinal cord injuries, they survive, grow, and turn into different types of brain cells. Mice with spinal cord injuries showed improved motor function after receiving CSF-cNs. This suggests that CSF-cNs could be a good source of adult neural stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

6-8 week old C57BL/6 mice

Evidence Level

Level and study type not specified

Key Findings

1
CSF-cNs, isolated using a Pkd2l1 promoter-driven GFP reporter, exhibit excellent self-renewal capability in vitro.
2
Transplanted CSF-cNs survive, proliferate, and differentiate in vivo in mice with spinal cord injuries.
3
CSF-cNs transplantation improves hindlimb motor function in mice after spinal cord injury.

Research Summary

This study investigates the potential of cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) as adult neural stem cells for transplantation therapy in spinal cord injury (SCI), focusing on their self-renewal ability in vitro. The research demonstrates that CSF-cNs can be extensively expanded in vitro under serum-free conditions while maintaining stable NSC characteristics during passaging, highlighting their potential for SCI transplantation therapy. The study reveals that transplanted CSF-cNs can survive in SCI mice without immunosuppressants, differentiate into neuronal and oligodendrocyte lineages, and promote the recovery of motor function, suggesting their therapeutic potential for SCI.

Practical Implications

Therapeutic Potential

CSF-cNs could serve as a reliable source of adult NSCs for transplantation therapy in SCI, overcoming the challenges of obtaining sufficient and stable cells.

Reduced Immunogenicity

The low immunogenicity of CSF-cNs may eliminate the need for immunosuppressants, simplifying the transplantation process.

Motor Function Recovery

Transplantation of CSF-cNs can effectively promote the recovery of motor function in mice following SCI, offering a potential therapeutic strategy.

Study Limitations

1
The specific mechanisms of action by which transplanted CSF-cNs promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury were not deeply explored.
2
The forceps method results in an SCI model where it is challenging to ensure consistent severity of neural injury
3
Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which transplanted CSF-cNs promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury.

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