EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS (IPSCS) IN PROMOTING FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN SPINAL CORD INJURY MODELS: MECHANISMS OF REPAIR AND LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

Abstract

Among severe neurological conditions spinal cord injury (SCI) holds the position as the most serious because it produces permanent motor and sensory deficits while minimally limiting treatment options.  The goal of this study explored how NPCs derived from iPSCs provided therapeutic support towards SCI tissue repair and improved functional outcomes.  Laboratory personnel utilized particular growth factors to produce iPSCs from adult rat somatic cells before converting them into NSCs.  The researchers evaluated these NPCs regarding their impact on tissue restoration and cell connection as well as their influences on motor function during various time periods (4, 8 and 12 weeks after transplantation) in a contusive spinal cord injury model.  The iPSC-transplanted rats demonstrated substantial improvements in motor control based on test outcomes that showed superior BBB motor scores than the control group.  Rats received CMpi and displayed an average score of 10.5 four weeks after cell transplants were performed but the control group averaged 3.2.  The derived scores from iPSC transplantation remained at 11.2 at week 8 before increasing to 11.5 by week 12.  The transplanted neural stem cells successfully merged into the spinal cord tissue of recipients and generated oligodendrocytes and functioning neurones according to histological inspections.  Evidence showed both axonal projections that went past the lesion area and tissue remyelination.  Experiment results showed a marked decrease in the glial scar formation process that normally impedes neural regeneration.  This research demonstrates that neural stem cells derived from iPSCs could aid healing processes following spinal cord injuries and restore spinal cord function.