John Kessler
|
|
|
|
|
Researchers have shown that a new nano-engineered gel that includes stem cells inhibits the formation of scar tissue at a spinal cord injury site and enables the severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow.
The gel is injected as a liquid into the spinal cord and self-assembles into a scaffold that supports the new nerve fibers as they grow up and down the spinal cord, penetrating the site of the injury.
When the gel was injected into mice with a spinal cord injury, after six weeks the animals had a greatly enhanced ability to use their hind legs and walk.
The research was published by Northwestern University scientists in the April 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
A spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the site of the injury because the damaged nerve fibers can’t regenerate.
The nerve fibers or axons have the capacity to grow again, but don’t because they’re blocked by scar tissue that develops around the injury.
“We are very excited about this,” said lead author John Kessler, M.D., professor of stem cell biology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “We can inject this without damaging the tissue. It has great potential for treating human beings.”
Kessler stressed caution, however, in interpreting the results.
“It’s important to understand that something that works in mice will not necessarily work in human beings. At this point in time we have no information about whether this would work in human beings.”
“There is no magic bullet or one single thing that solves the spinal cord injury, but this gives us a brand new technology to be able to think about treating this disorder,” said Kessler, also the chair of the neurology department at Feinberg. “It could be used in combination with other technologies including stem cells, drugs or other kinds of interventions.”
“We designed our self-assembling nanostructures, the building blocks of the gel, to promote neuron growth,” said co-author Samuel I. Stupp, materials science professor at Northwestern’s Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine. “To actually see the regeneration of axons in the spinal cord after injury is a fascinating outcome.”
The nano-engineered gel works in several ways to support the regeneration of spinal cord nerve fibers.
In addition to reducing the formation of scar tissue, it also instructs the stem cells, which would normally form scar tissue, to instead to produce a helpful new cell that makes myelin.
Myelin is a substance that sheaths the axons of the spinal cord to permit the rapid transmission of nerve impulses.
The gel’s scaffolding also supports the growth of the axons in two critical directions: up the spinal cord to the brain (the sensory axons) and down to the legs (the motor axons.)
“Not everybody realizes you have to grow the fibers up the spinal cord so you can feel where the floor is. If you can’t feel where the floor is with your feet, you can’t walk,” Kessler said.
Now Northwestern researchers are working on developing the nano-engineered gel to be acceptable as a pharmaceutical for the Food & Drug Administration.
If the gel is approved for humans, a clinical trial could begin in several years.
“It’s a long way from helping a rodent to walk again and helping a human being walk again,” Kessler said. “People should never lose sight of that. But this is still exciting because it gives us a new technology for treating spinal cord injury.”
Contact: John Kessler, jakessler@northwestern.edu
...
Citation: (Article name, authors,
publication, DOI)
Article or Abstract: (link)
Contact: (link)
Start a free one-week trial
subscription to StemCellResearchNews.com to access
ALL premium
content on this Web site.
Read about research you won't hear about on the nightly news or
on Google.
Click here. (See below for information on why Premium Content is
really worth
it.)
Get the whole story: article citations, links
to further information, links to journal abstract pages, related
articles, researcher contact information, etc.
Or ...
Subscribe
to Stem Cell Lab World, Stem Cell Research News,
Stem Cell Business News for complete access PLUS biweekly
e-mail delivery of a PDF publication you can save on your
computer or print and store in a binder.
FAQ: Why do you charge to read Premium Content ($) articles?
For many years we have provided stem cell-related news and
analysis free of charge on this Web Site, supported by
advertising and subscription income. Unfortunately, in today’s
economy, advertising placements are at an all-time low. That has
forced us (and other publishers) to seek income elsewhere.
Hence, the subscription fees for premium content.
FAQ: What makes Premium Content articles worth the price?
There are seven key reasons:
1) You read about stem cell research you'll never hear about
in the general press, and you'll get the complete article, not just a snippet.
2) Important references are clickable links. (e.g., a
reference to a research institution
or researcher's lab site or more
information about a disease or disorder
are highlighted and clickable as Web links.)
3) Full citations are provided for all journal articles
so you can access the original research.
4) Links to article abstracts are provided.
5) Links to researcher e-mail addresses and lab Web sites
are provided whenever available.
6) Graphic images are provided when available.
7) Links to Related Articles in our database of more than
2,000 stem cell research articles.
Subscribe now!
Click here
to subscribe to a newsletter (including biweekly delivery of PDF
editions PLUS Web site Premium Content) or
click here to
subscribe to the Web site Premium Content only.
 |
