SPINAL CORD REPAIR WITH HUMAN UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD CELLS

描述（申请人提供）：由于观察到来自中枢神经系统（CNS）外的干细胞样细胞可以分化为神经元，神经干细胞可以分化为各种血细胞，因此，脐带血中存在的干细胞可以用于产生神经细胞，用于神经退行性疾病或脊髓损伤的移植治疗，这不再是不可思议的。脐带血的容易获得和细胞群的扩增，以及细胞的低免疫原性，使其成为移植的优选细胞来源。该I期研究计划旨在鉴定，分离和扩增从脐带血中获得的神经祖细胞，并确定这些细胞是否能够在体外和体内移植后分化为成熟的神经细胞。此外，一旦确定了这一点，将表明这些细胞可以在脊髓损伤动物模型的运动功能测试中产生恢复。成功地将从脐带血获得的干细胞定向为神经表型对于干细胞在人类神经移植中用于脊髓修复的治疗潜力具有重要意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): With the observations that stem-like cells from outside the central nervous system (CNS) can differentiate into neurons and neural stem cells can differentiate into a variety of blood cells, it is no longer inconceivable to suggest that stem cells present in umbilical cord blood could be used to generate neural cells for transplantation treatment of neurodegenerative diseases or spinal cord injury. The ease with which the umbilical cord blood can be obtained and the cell population expanded, in conjunction with low immunogenicity of the cells could make this a preferable source of cells for transplantation. This Phase I research program proposes to identify, isolate and expand the neural progenitors obtained from umbilical cord blood and determine if these cells are capable of differentiating into mature neural cells in vitro and after transplantation in vivo. Further, once this is determined, it will be shown that these cells can produce recovery on tests of motor function in an animal model of spinal cord injury. The success of directing stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood into a neural phenotype has important implications for the therapeutic potential of stem cells in neural transplantation in humans for spinal cord repair.