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news.StemCells Inc has seen its shares rise after reporting study results demonstrating the ability of its stem-cell technology to restore the lost motor function of mice with spinal cord injuries.
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The study, conducted at the University of California, is also the first to show the causal relationship between transplanted human neural stem cells and long-term recovery of motor function. The human neural cells were subsequently ablated in some of the mice, and their improved motor function was lost.
The research was funded in part by a small business innovative research grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to StemCells Inc. Support was also provided by the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
As part of the study, human neural stem cells were transplanted into mice nine days after a spinal cord crush injury that results in hind limb paralysis. The mice were then observed and tested for sixteen weeks after the transplant.
The transplanted mice showed significant improvement in their ability to walk compared to mice in two control groups, and the improvement persisted during the full term of the study. The treated mice had better weight-bearing ability and coordinated stepping using their hind limbs.
Data gathered during the study shows that the transplanted human neural stem cells survived, produced new neural cells that integrated into the mouse spinal cord and reversed hind limb paralysis.
“While we are early in our quest to find a stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury, the design of this study raises the bar for evaluating experimental cell-based therapies in this extremely debilitating medical condition,” said Martin McGlynn, president and CEO of StemCells. “The study clearly demonstrates that our proprietary human neural stem cells make functional new neural cells, and are responsible for the restoration of hind limb function in this animal model of spinal cord injury.”
The human neural stem cells, when transplanted into the mouse spinal cord, become specialized new cells called oligodendrocytes that make myelin. Myelin forms a protective sheath that insulates nerve fibers that conduct electric signals for proper function. The newly formed human oligodendrocytes produced new myelin sheaths around damaged mouse axons. In addition, new human neurons were generated that formed synapses, a specialized junction linking one neuron to another.