Background
We introduce the notion of prenatal neural stem cell (NSC) delivery to the spinal
cord as an adjuvant to fetal repair of spina bifida.
Methods
Fetal lambs with experimental myelomeningocele (MMC; n = 25) were divided in 3 groups: group I, no repair; group II, standard surgical MMC
coverage; and group III, MMC coverage plus delivery of a murine NSCs clone into the
spinal cord defect. Donor cells constitutively expressed lacZ encoding for Escherichia coli β-galactosidase, yet they were further labeled by exposure to either BrdU and/or
to the fluorescent membrane dye PKH-26. Blinded initial clinical evaluations and multiple
spinal cord analyses were undertaken soon after birth.
Results
Both survival and the incidence of major paraparesis were significantly worse in group
I compared with groups II and III. In group III, NSC density was highest within the
most damaged areas of the spinal cord, with selective engraftment within those regions.
Donor NSCs retained an undifferentiated state in vivo, producing neurotrophic factors
within the defect. No animals in group III had a worsened condition following this
intervention.
Conclusions
Neural stem cells retain an undifferentiated state and produce neurotrophic factors
in the short term after delivery to the fetal spinal cord, in the setting of experimental
MMC. Further scrutiny of NSC delivery to the spinal cord as a therapeutic strategy
against spina bifida is warranted.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 28, 2008
Accepted:
May 5,
2008
Footnotes
Supported by a grant from the Harvard Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery and by the Kevin and Kate McCarey Fund for Surgical Research, at Children's Hospital Boston.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
