Safety of Allogeneic Canine Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Intraspinal Transplantation in Dogs with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury.

Cláudia Cardoso Maciel Escalhão,Sergio Augusto Lopes Souza,Camila Hochman-Mendez,Tatiana Coelho-Sampaio,Isalira Peroba Ramos,Tais Hanae Kasai Brunswick,Regina Coeli Dos Santos Goldenberg,Bianca Gutfilen

doi:10.1155/2017/3053759

Cláudia Cardoso Maciel Escalhão, Sergio Augusto Lopes Souza + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3053759

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Abstract

This is a pilot clinical study primarily designed to assess the feasibility and safety of X-ray-guided percutaneous intraspinal injection of allogeneic canine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in dogs with chronic spinal cord injury. Six dogs with chronic paraplegia (≥six months) were intraparenchymally injected with allogeneic cells in the site of lesion. Cells were obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue of a healthy dog, cultured to passage 3, labeled with 99mTechnetium, and transplanted into the lesion by percutaneous X-ray-guided injection. Digital X-ray efficiently guided cell injection as 99mTechnetium-labeled cells remained in the injection site for at least 24 hours after transplantation. No adverse effects or complications (infection, neuropathic pain, or worsening of neurological function) were observed during the 16-week follow-up period after transplantation. Three animals improved locomotion as assessed by the Olby scale. One animal walked without support, but no changes in deep pain perception were observed. We conclude that X-ray-guided percutaneous intraspinal transplantation of allogeneic cells in dogs with chronic spinal cord injury is feasible and safe. The efficacy of the treatment will be assessed in a new study involving a larger number of animals.

Highlights

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) that interrupts supraspinal input to thoracolumbar spinal circuits may lead to permanent disability in humans and dogs
We set out to investigate the effects of an intraspinal injection of allogeneic canine AT-mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in dogs with natural chronic spinal cord injury
This is important because chronically injured animals displaying stable functional deficits are thought to be the major population to benefit of a future cell therapy-based standard treatment for spinal cord injury in the veterinary set

Summary

Introduction

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) that interrupts supraspinal input to thoracolumbar spinal circuits may lead to permanent disability in humans and dogs. Treatment of acute SCI focuses on surgical decompression and stabilization of the body/spinal cord instability and on minimizing the progression of the secondary damage to favor eventual endogenous repairing. It progresses to the chronic phase, when the loss of deep pain perception is an important negative prognosis for the return of function [1]. In this condition, there is no standard treatment to recover locomotion. Networks of neurons in the spinal cord may retain an intrinsic ability to

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