Researchers in Rochester, NY and Colorado have shown that manipulating stem cells prior to transplantation may hold the key to overcoming a critical obstacle to using stem cell technology to repair spinal cord injuries.
Research from a team of scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center and the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, published online today in the Journal of Biology, may lead to improved spinal cord repair methods that pave the way for victims of paralysis to recover the use of their bodies without the risk of transplant-induced pain syndromes.
The research focuses on a major support cell in the central nervous system called astrocytes. When nerve fibers are injured in the spinal cord, the severed ends of the nerve fibers fail to regenerate and re-connect with the nervous system circuitry beyond the site of the injury. During early development, astrocytes are highly supportive of nerve fiber growth and scientists believe that, if properly directed, these cells could play a key role in regenerating damaged nerves in the spinal cord.