November 2, 2023
Keio University School of Medicine
A research group centered around Professor Hideyuki Okano from the Department of Physiology and Professor Masaya Nakamura, Assistant Professor Yusuke Suematsu, and Senior Lecturer Naohito Nigoshi from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Keio University School of Medicine has successfully achieved significant motor function recovery in rats with severe spinal cord injury. They accomplished this by administering hepatocyte growth factor after the injury, followed by transplantation of human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells. This two-stage approach improved the spinal cord microenvironment and promoted neural regeneration.
Previously, this research group has reported the efficacy of transplanting human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells into animals with subacute spinal cord injury, demonstrating improved motor function. Past research has shown that the effectiveness of cell transplantation therapy is heavily dependent on the spinal cord microenvironment and the preservation of neural tissue after injury, prompting the investigation of treatments for more severe cases. In this study, we examined how a therapeutic approach for damaged neural tissue during the acute phase of spinal cord injury affects motor function recovery following subsequent cell transplantation therapy. We administered hepatocyte growth factor to rats with severe acute spinal cord injury, followed by the transplantation of human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells in the subacute phase. The results showed greater functional recovery compared to cell transplantation alone, thanks to increased survival of the transplanted cells and enhanced neural regeneration. This study demonstrates that a combination therapy of hepatocyte growth factor and human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation, applied from the acute to the subacute phase of spinal cord injury, promotes motor function recovery. Based on these findings, we anticipate the establishment of a new treatment method for spinal cord injury for future clinical application.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of Inflammation and Regeneration on October 16, 2023 (US time).
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