Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. We have investigated the potential of human pluripotent cells to restore function in rats paralyzed with a virus-induced motor neuronopathy. Cells derived from embryonic germ cells, termed embryoid body-derived EBD cells, introduced into the CSF were distributed extensively over the rostrocaudal length of the spinal cord and migrated into the spinal cord parenchyma in paralyzed, but not uninjured, animals.
Some of the transplanted human cells expressed the neuroglial progenitor marker nestin, whereas others expressed immunohistochemical markers characteristic of astrocytes or mature neurons. Rare transplanted cells developed immunoreactivity to choline acetyltransferase ChAT and sent axons into the sciatic nerve as detected by retrograde labeling.
Paralyzed animals transplanted with EBD cells partially recovered motor function 12 and 24 weeks after transplantation, whereas control animals remained paralyzed. Semi-quantitative analysis revealed that the efficiency of neuronal differentiation and extension of neurites could not account for the functional recovery.
Rather, transplanted EBD cells protected host neurons from death and facilitated reafferentation of motor neuron cell bodies. We conclude that cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells have the capacity to restore neurologic function in animals with diffuse motor neuron disease via enhancement of host neuron survival and function.
Keywords: motor neuron disease, Sindbis virus, stem cells, embryonic germ cell, trophic factors, embryoid body. Pluripotent stem cells represent an attractive strategy for treating neurologic diseases, and early successes in animal models have generated optimism for their use to restore or maintain function in humans.
