The Organotypic Longitudinal Spinal Cord Slice Culture for Stem Cell Study

Stem Cells International, 2015 · DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/471216 · Published: January 6, 2015

Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine Neurology

Simple Explanation

This paper describes a method for culturing slices of spinal cord tissue in a way that preserves its structure and allows for long-term observation. This method is useful for studying how stem cells can be used to repair spinal cord injuries. The model allows live observation of transplanted cells, significant number of experiment repetitions, and reduction in the number of animals used in research work.

Study Duration

4-5 weeks

Participants

5–7-day old Wistar rats and adult rats (8-week old, 180–200 g weight)

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
The longitudinal spinal cord organotypic slice culture allows the observation of long fiber trajectory, formation of new connections, and neurorepair processes occurring after the spinal cord injury.
2
Direct stem cell transplantation makes it possible to follow the fate of transplanted cells, their ability to differentiate, and potential migration along axonal fibers.
3
The local microenvironment has a significant impact on the cell commitment and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

Research Summary

The paper details a method for organotypic longitudinal spinal cord slice culture, highlighting its advantages for studying spinal cord regeneration and stem cell therapies. The technique preserves the spinal cord's intrinsic fiber tracts and ventrodorsal polarity, enabling visualization of axonal growth, regeneration, synapse formation, and myelination over several weeks. The study demonstrates the utility of this culture method by examining the fate and differentiation of stem cells in different spinal cord microenvironments, providing insights into cell therapy strategies for spinal cord injury.

Practical Implications

Drug Discovery

The model can be used to test the efficacy of different drugs on spinal cord regeneration.

Cell Therapy Optimization

This model allows for optimizing stem cell transplantation methods to improve axonal growth.

Understanding SCI Mechanisms

The method facilitates studying molecular mechanisms involved in neuroreparative processes after spinal cord injury.

Study Limitations

1
Isolation of the core from adult individuals is much more problematic.
2
The fully myelinated spinal cord is very sensitive to any damage and cutting it with tissue chopper causes injury to about 60% of slices.
3
The slice culture survives about 7 days maintaining proper parallel fiber tract architecture.

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