2022/01/12
Keio University School of Medicine
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
A research group led by Professor Hideyuki Okano of the Department of Physiology, and Professor Masaya Nakamura, Assistant Professor Takehiro Kitagawa, and Senior Lecturer Narihito Nagoshi of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Keio University School of Medicine has for the first time elucidated the function of neurons differentiated from transplanted cells in human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation for mice with spinal cord injury, using an artificial receptor technology called DREADDs.
This research group has previously reported the efficacy of human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation therapy for animals with subacute spinal cord injury. While it has long been believed that neural cells in the spinal cord lost due to injury do not regenerate, this therapy has been studied as a groundbreaking method that can replenish these neural cells. The transplanted cells are expected to differentiate and engraft within the spinal cord tissue, mainly into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, leading to the recovery of motor function from spinal cord injury through various mechanisms. On the other hand, there have been limited reports that directly prove the detailed mechanisms by which this therapy improves motor function.
In this study, neural stem/progenitor cells into which the gene for an inhibitory artificial receptor (DREADDs) was introduced were transplanted. The fact that motor function declined when the neural activity of neurons differentiated from the transplanted cells was specifically controlled demonstrated that the transplanted cell-derived neurons contributed to the recovery of motor function from spinal cord injury.
These results support the efficacy of replenishing lost neural cells, a key feature of this therapy. At the same time, they suggest the importance of enhancing the function of transplanted cell-derived neurons for the further development of this transplantation therapy in the future.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of "Stem Cell Reports" on January 11, 2022 (U.S. Eastern Time).
Please see below for the full press release.