Novel innovations in cell and gene therapies for spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to chronic and multifaceted disability, which severely impacts the physical and mental health as well as the socio-economic status of affected individuals. Inhibitory factors present in the SCI microenvironment and the poor intrinsic regenerative capacity of adult spinal cord neurons are obstacles for regeneration and functional recovery. In this review, we highlight several potent cell-based approaches and genetic manipulation strategies (gene therapy) that are being investigated to reconstruct damaged or lost spinal neural circuits and explore emerging novel combinatorial approaches for enhancing recovery from SCI.

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  Gene therapy has gained promising advancement in the past decade, as six therapies have gained clinical approval for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy or Leber’s congenital amaurosis.
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  Human iPSC-derived cells would instead allow for the potential generation of autologous cell lines whilst avoiding ethical issues.
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  Combinatorial strategies can greatly enhance the implementation and functional outcomes of these regenerative treatments.