2015年6月9日 訊 /生物谷BIOON/ --近日,一篇發表於國際雜誌Scientific Reports上的研究論文中,來自瑞典烏普薩拉大學的研究人員通過研究表示,用於治療脊髓損傷的人類幹細胞療法或可促進機體某些感覺功能的恢復。
交通事故或嚴重跌落會引發脊髓中神經纖維的破碎,最為常見的是這些撕脫傷損傷會影響胳膊和手的神經支配,進而導致癱瘓、感覺缺失以及慢性疼痛的發生;外科手術會幫助病人重新獲得部分肌肉功能,但目前卻沒有療法可以恢復個體的感覺功能,因為破裂的神經纖維和脊髓之間的連接出現了障礙,從而就會抑制神經纖維生長並且恢復缺失的神經連接。
這項研究中,研究人員將人類幹細胞移植到小鼠的撕脫傷傷口處,來恢復從周緣組織到脊髓中的感覺功能;研究結果顯示,被移植入的幹細胞可以作為一座「橋梁」來促進損傷的感覺神經纖維在脊髓中生長,重建功能性的神經連接,從而恢復缺失的感覺功能。這種移植的幹細胞會分化形成對神經系統特殊的不同成熟水平的多種類型的細胞,目前研究者並沒有發現幹細胞移植後有任何腫瘤發生或功能性異常的跡象,這就為後期研究人員進行胚胎幹細胞的移植提供了新的線索。
本文研究或為後期研究者們進行更為深入的研究來利用幹細胞療法治療脊髓的損傷和疾病,以及開發治療相關障礙的新型幹細胞療法提供一定的幫助和思路。(生物谷Bioon.com)
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Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Progenitors Assist Functional Sensory Axon Regeneration after Dorsal Root Avulsion Injury
Jan Hoeber, Carl Trolle, Niclas Konig, Zhongwei Du, Alessandro Gallo, Emmanuel Hermans, Hakan Aldskogius, Peter Shortland, Su-Chun Zhang, Ronald Deumens & Elena N. Kozlova
Dorsal root avulsion results in permanent impairment of sensory functions due to disconnection between the peripheral and central nervous system. Improved strategies are therefore needed to reconnect injured sensory neurons with their spinal cord targets in order to achieve functional repair after brachial and lumbosacral plexus avulsion injuries. Here, we show that sensory functions can be restored in the adult mouse if avulsed sensory fibers are bridged with the spinal cord by human neural progenitor (hNP) transplants. Responses to peripheral mechanical sensory stimulation were significantly improved in transplanted animals. Transganglionic tracing showed host sensory axons only in the spinal cord dorsal horn of treated animals. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that sensory fibers had grown through the bridge and showed robust survival and differentiation of the transplants. Section of the repaired dorsal roots distal to the transplant completely abolished the behavioral improvement. This demonstrates that hNP transplants promote recovery of sensorimotor functions after dorsal root avulsion, and that these effects are mediated by spinal ingrowth of host sensory axons. These results provide a rationale for the development of novel stem cell-based strategies for functionally useful bridging of the peripheral and central nervous system.