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Assinck P, Sparling JS, Dworski S, Duncan GJ, Wu DL, Liu J, Kwon BK, Biernaskie J, Miller FD, Tetzlaff W. Transplantation of Skin Precursor-Derived Schwann Cells Yields Better Locomotor Outcomes and Reduces Bladder Pathology in Rats with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury. Stem Cell Reports 2020; 15:140-155. [PMID: 32559459 PMCID: PMC7363874 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell transplantation for spinal cord injury (SCI) has largely been studied in sub-acute settings within 1–2 weeks of injury. In contrast, here we transplanted skin-derived precursors differentiated into Schwann cells (SKP-SCs) into the contused rat spinal cord 8 weeks post-injury (wpi). Twenty-one weeks later (29 wpi), SKP-SCs were found to have survived transplantation, integrated with host tissue, and mitigated the formation of a dense glial scar. Furthermore, transplanted SKP-SCs filled much of the lesion sites and greatly enhanced the presence of endogenous SCs, which myelinated thousands of sprouting/spared host axons in and around the injury site. In addition, SKP-SC transplantation improved locomotor outcomes and decreased pathological thickening of bladder wall. To date, functional improvements have very rarely been observed with cell transplantation beyond the sub-acute stage of injury. Hence, these findings indicate that skin-derived SCs are a promising candidate cell type for the treatment of chronic SCI. SKP-SCs injected 8 weeks after SCI survive long-term and integrate with host tissue SKP-SC transplants boosted the presence of endogenous SCs in the chronic SCI site Treated spinal cords showed enhanced growth and SC myelination of axons Treated rats displayed better locomotor outcomes with reduced bladder pathologies
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Affiliation(s)
- Peggy Assinck
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Joseph S Sparling
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Shaalee Dworski
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Greg J Duncan
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Di L Wu
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jie Liu
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Brian K Kwon
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jeff Biernaskie
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Freda D Miller
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Wolfram Tetzlaff
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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