Considering the Cellular Composition of Olfactory Ensheathing Cell Transplants for Spinal Cord Injury Repair: A Review of the Literature

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are specialized glial cells that support the continual regeneration of olfactory neurons. Owing to their pro-regenerative properties, OECs have been transplanted in animal models of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and trialed in clinical studies on SCI patients. Much of the variability in the reparative potential of OEC transplants is due to the variations in the cell composition of transplants between studies.

• 1
  Successful transplant-mediated repair appeared to be possible using both low and high proportions of OECs in olfactory transplants.
• 2
  The studies reviewed also indicate that the proportions of OECs within the transplant cell population might not be linearly related to the neurological improvements observed.
• 3
  The trend in the data shows cell preparations containing 50% OECs and 50% fibroblasts appear to be transplanted most often.