Fetal Grafting in Animal Models of Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

The pathological sequelae of spinal cord injury (SCI) are complex and generally result in chronic neuronal loss, axonal damage, and demyelination. Although there have been several experimental therapeutic approaches studied to repair the chronically injured spinal cord, one strategy that has shown considerable promise is fetal tissue grafting. Building upon early work with fetal rat allografts, more recent work reviewed herein showed that this approach could promote recovery of function in a phylogenetically higher species, such as adult cats. Additional preclinical studies have demonstrated successful xenografting of human fetal tissue into the adult rat spinal cord and have revealed the influence of lesion conditions and tissue preparation on graft development. These results suggest that fetal tissue grafting may play a role in the repair of chronic human SCI.