2020/11/24
Keio University School of Medicine
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
A research group led by Yasuhiro Kamata (a fourth-year student in the Doctoral Programs of the Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery) and Associate Professor Jun Kohyama of the Department of Physiology at Keio University School of Medicine, in a joint research project with Dr. Miho Isoda and others from the Kobe Research Center for Regenerative and Cellular Medicine, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., has developed a clinically applicable induction method to efficiently differentiate clinical-grade human iPS cells into glial cells (such as oligodendrocytes). The group has also confirmed that the administration of these cells to the spinal cords of spinal cord injury model animals improves impaired motor function.
Remyelination by transplanted cells is known to be an important mechanism for functional recovery after neural stem cell transplantation for spinal cord injury. The myelin sheath covers the axons extending from nerve cells, acting like an insulating sheet and enabling extremely fast nerve transmission within the spinal cord. Although remyelination by transplanted cells derived from human iPS cells has been reported before, these transplanted cells were all derived from research-grade iPS cells. The establishment of a differentiation induction method using clinical-grade human iPS cells and its verification in animal models had not been reported. While the realization of regenerative medicine using human iPS cells for spinal cord injury is anticipated, this study has demonstrated a clear improvement in motor function through the transplantation of neural stem cells that are prone to differentiate into glial cells, generated from human iPS cells with an HLA type combination that is less likely to cause rejection. Therefore, this achievement is expected to create a seamless transition from basic research to clinical practice and provide a strong impetus for clinical application.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of "STEM CELLS Translational Medicine" on November 23, 2020 (US Eastern Time).
Please see below for the full press release.