Stem cell transplants may be able to repair damage caused by stroke, according to researchers at the University of Zurich. In experiments with mice, the treatment helped generate new neurons, restore movement, and trigger several other forms of brain repair, offering a promising step toward regenerative treatments for neurological damage. Stroke is extremely common, affecting about one in four adults over a lifetime.
Roughly half of those who experience one are left with lasting problems such as paralysis or difficulty speaking. These disabilities can occur because a stroke deprives parts of the brain of oxygen or causes bleeding that destroys brain cells. Once those cells are lost, the damage has traditionally been considered permanent because there are currently no treatments capable of rebuilding the affected brain tissue.
"That's why it is essential to pursue new therapeutic approaches to potential brain regeneration after diseases or accidents," says Christian Tackenberg, the Scientific Head of Division in the Neurodegeneration Group at the University of Zurich (UZH) Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Stem Cells Could Help Rebuild Brain Tissue One possible approach involves neural stem cells, which can develop into multiple types of cells found in the nervous system. A research team led by Tackenberg and postdoctoral researcher Rebecca Weber tested that idea in two studies carried out in collaboration with a group headed by Ruslan Rust from the University of Southern California.
The results suggest that the transplanted cells do more than simply replace neurons lost after a stroke. "Our findings show that neural stem cells not only form new neurons, but also induce other regeneration processes," Tackenberg says. The researchers used human neural stem cells capable of producing different types of nervous system cells.
These cells were created from induced pluripotent stem cells, which are made by reprogramming ordinary human somatic cells so that they regain the ability to develop into many different cell types. The team then induced permanent strokes in mice. The resulting brain damage was designed to closely resemble important features of stroke in humans.
Because the transplanted cells came from humans, the mice were genetically modified so their immune systems would not reject them. One week after the strokes were induced, the researchers transplanted the neural stem cells directly into damaged regions of the brain. They then tracked what happened using imaging techniques and biochemical analyses.
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