1. Transplantation of Human-Fetal-Spinal-Cord-Derived NPCs Primed with a Polyglutamate-Conjugated Rho/Rock Inhibitor in Acute Spinal Cord Injury
- Author
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Esther Giraldo, Pablo Bonilla, Mara Mellado, Pablo Garcia-Manau, Carlota Rodo, Ana Alastrue, Eric Lopez, Elena Carreras Moratonas, Ferran Pellise, Snežana Đorđević, María J. Vicent, Victoria Moreno Manzano, Institut Català de la Salut, [Giraldo E] Neuronal and Tissue Regeneration Laboratory, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain. Department of Biotechnology. Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain. UPV-CIPF Joint Research Unit Disease Mechanisms and Nanomedicine, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain. [Bonilla P, Mellado M, Alastrue A] Neuronal and Tissue Regeneration Laboratory, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain. [Garcia-Manau P, Rodo C, Carreras Moratonas E] Unitat de Medicina i Cirurgia Fetal, Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Barcelona, Spain. [Pellise F] Unitat de Lesionats Medul·lars, Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Barcelona, Spain, and Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus
- Subjects
Neurons ,Prostaglandins A ,rho-Associated Kinases ,Cell Transplantation ,Teràpia cel·lular ,Therapeutics::Biological Therapy::Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy::Cell Transplantation [ANALYTICAL, DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES, AND EQUIPMENT] ,Other subheadings::/therapy [Other subheadings] ,General Medicine ,Medul·la espinal - Ferides i lesions - Tractament ,Rats ,Nervous System Diseases::Central Nervous System Diseases::Spinal Cord Diseases::Spinal Cord Injuries [DISEASES] ,Mice ,terapéutica::terapia biológica::tratamientos basados en células y tejidos::trasplante de células [TÉCNICAS Y EQUIPOS ANALÍTICOS, DIAGNÓSTICOS Y TERAPÉUTICOS] ,human fetal neural precursor ,NPC transplantation ,Rho/ROCK kinase inhibition ,cell priming ,spinal cord injury ,Polyglutamic Acid ,Animals ,Humans ,enfermedades del sistema nervioso::enfermedades del sistema nervioso central::enfermedades de la médula espinal::traumatismos de la médula espinal [ENFERMEDADES] ,Spinal Cord Injuries ,Otros calificadores::/terapia [Otros calificadores] - Abstract
NPC transplantation; Cell priming; Human fetal neural precursor Trasplante de NPC; Cebado celular; Precursor neuronal fetal humano Trasplantament de NPC; Cebament cel·lular; Precursor neuronal fetal humà Neural precursor cell (NPC) transplantation represents a promising therapy for treating spinal cord injuries (SCIs); however, despite successful results obtained in preclinical models, the clinical translation of this approach remains challenging due, in part, to the lack of consensus on an optimal cell source for human neuronal cells. Depending on the cell source, additional limitations to NPC-based therapies include high tumorigenic potential, alongside poor graft survival and engraftment into host spinal tissue. We previously demonstrated that NPCs derived from rat fetal spinal cords primed with a polyglutamate (PGA)-conjugated form of the Rho/Rock inhibitor fasudil (PGA-SS-FAS) displayed enhanced neuronal differentiation and graft survival when compared to non-primed NPCs. We now conducted a similar study of human-fetal-spinal-cord-derived NPCs (hfNPCs) from legal gestational interruptions at the late gestational stage, at 19–21.6 weeks. In vitro, expanded hfNPCs retained neural features, multipotency, and self-renewal, which supported the development of a cell banking strategy. Before transplantation, we established a simple procedure to prime hfNPCs by overnight incubation with PGA-SS-FAS (at 50 μM FAS equiv.), which improved neuronal differentiation and overcame neurite-like retraction after lysophosphatidic-acid-induced Rho/Rock activation. The transplantation of primed hfNPCs into immune-deficient mice (NU(NCr)-Foxn1nu) immediately after the eighth thoracic segment compression prompted enhanced migration of grafted cells from the dorsal to the ventral spinal cord, increased preservation of GABAergic inhibitory Lbx1-expressing and glutamatergic excitatory Tlx3-expressing somatosensory interneurons, and elevated the numbers of preserved, c-Fos-expressing, activated neurons surrounding the injury epicenter, all in a low percentage. Overall, the priming procedure using PGA-SS-FAS could represent an alternative methodology to improve the capabilities of the hfNPC lines for a translational approach for acute SCI treatment. This research was funded by Fundació Marató TV3 2017/refs.20172230, 20172231, Agencia Valenciana de Innovación (AVI) (INNVAL10/19/047 and Grants RTI2018-095872-B-C21 and PDI2021-1243590B-I00/ERDF funded by MCIN/AEI//10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF A way of making Europe). This project was also funded by Project 964562 (RISEUP), H2020 FetOpen program.
- Published
- 2022