A Narrative Review of Advances in Neural Precursor Cell Transplantation Therapies for Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is a destructive event that causes a permanent deficit in neurological function because of poor regenerative potential. Transplantation therapies have at-tracted attention for restoration of the injured spinal cord, and transplantation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) has been studied worldwide. Several groups have demonstrated functional recovery via this therapeutic intervention due to the multiple beneficial effects of NPC transplantation, such as reconstruction of neuronal circuits, remyelination of axons, and neuroprotection by trophic factors. Our group developed a method to induce NPCs from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and established a transplantation strategy for SCI. Functional improvement in SCI animals treated with hiPSC-NPCs was observed, and the safety of transplanting these cells was evaluated from multiple perspec-tives. With selection of a safe cell line and pretreatment of the cells to encourage maturation and differentiation, hiPSC-NPC transplantation therapy is now in the clinical phase of test-ing for subacute SCI. In addition, a research challenge will be to expand the efficacy of transplantation therapy for chronic SCI. More comprehensive strategies involving combina-tion treatments are required to treat this problematic situation.