Human neural stem cell transplantation in spinal cord injury models: how far from clinical application?

Isaura Tavares

doi:10.1186/scrt210

Abstract

Injuries of the spinal cord trigger local healing but hardly restore normal function. Spinal cord injury (SCI) has been deeply studied to develop strategies for functional recovery. The study by van Gorp and colleagues uses a rat model of acute SCI to characterize the effects of intraspinal grafting of human fetal spinal cord-derived neural stem cells (HSSCs). Among the range of results obtained, several positive outcomes related to a GABA-mediated inhibition were achieved. Their interesting article is a clear step forward in elucidating the neurobiology of SCI. Some issues to consider are related to the efficacy of the cell therapy in chronic spinal lesions and to pain responses, since the latter is a common complaint of people with SCI. Furthermore, the GABA-mediated hypothesis of recovery of function upon HSSC transplant needs to be fully tested by interfering with GABA receptors and analyzing neurobiological mechanisms that may invert the inhibitory role of GABA. The future challenge for SCI work will be the translation of knowledge acquired in basic research into clinically applicable strategies. The study by van Gorp and colleagues is an important contribution to that future.

Highlights

Injuries of the spinal cord trigger local healing but hardly restore normal function
An early delivery of human fetal spinal cord-derived neural stem cell (HSSC) in the study by van Gorp and colleagues [1] is probably a crucial factor to prevent the formation of a large glial scar, which could account for the positive outcomes of cell therapy
It may be interesting to determine the deadline for HSSC transplantation in order to achieve a considerable function recovery after Spinal cord injury (SCI) as obtained by the authors [1]

Summary

Introduction

Injuries of the spinal cord trigger local healing but hardly restore normal function. Since the adult spinal cord has a limited regenerative capacity, neurobiological studies are crucial to an understanding of how neuronal spinal circuits can be reconstructed after an SCI to ensure function recovery and damage repair. The article by van Gorp and colleagues [1] is a detailed and eclectic study of several neurobiological issues in an acute experimental model of SCI induced by lumbar compression.

Results

Conclusion