AI Article Synopsis
- Spinal cord injury (SCI) commonly leads to spasticity, and there is currently no effective treatment for this condition.
- Researchers have developed a method to transform human pluripotent stem cells into spinal GABA neurons, which can be used in treatment.
- When transplanted into rats with spinal cord injuries, these GABA neurons improved movement and reduced spasticity, especially when activated by a specific drug.
Article Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in spasticity. There is currently no effective therapy for spasticity. Here, we describe a method to efficiently differentiate human pluripotent stem cells from spinal GABA neurons. After transplantation into the injured rat spinal cord, the DREADD (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drug)-expressing spinal progenitors differentiate into GABA neurons, mitigating spasticity-like response of the rat hindlimbs and locomotion deficits in 3 months. Administering clozapine-N-oxide, which activates the grafted GABA neurons, further alleviates spasticity-like response, suggesting an integration of grafted GABA neurons into the local neural circuit. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of the spinal GABA neurons for SCI.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108889 | DOI Listing |
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