Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research and Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia.
J Neurotrauma. 2020 Mar 1;37(5):817-829. doi: 10.1089/neu.2019.6939.
Cell transplantation constitutes an important avenue for development of new treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI). These therapies are aimed at supporting neural repair and/or replacing lost cells at the injury site. To date, various cell types have been trialed, with most studies focusing on different types of stem cells or glial cells. Here, we review commonly used cell transplantation approaches for spinal cord injury (SCI) repair, with focus on transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), the glial cells of the primary olfactory nervous system. OECs are promising candidates for promotion of neural repair given that they support continuous regeneration of the olfactory nerve that occurs throughout life. Further, OECs can be accessed from the nasal mucosa (olfactory neuroepithelium) at the roof of the nasal cavity and can be autologously transplanted. OEC transplantation has been trialed in many animal models of SCI, as well as in human clinical trials. While several studies have been promising, outcomes are variable and the method needs improvement to enhance aspects such as cell survival, integration, and migration. As a case study, we include the approaches used by our team (the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia) to address the current problems with OEC transplantation and discuss how the therapeutic potential of OEC transplantation can be improved. Our approach includes discovery research to improve our knowledge of OEC biology, identifying natural and synthetic compounds to stimulate the neural repair properties of OECs, and designing three-dimensional cell constructs to create stable and transplantable cell structures.
细胞移植是开发脊髓损伤 (SCI) 新治疗方法的重要途径。这些疗法旨在支持神经修复和/或替代损伤部位的丢失细胞。迄今为止，已经尝试了各种细胞类型，大多数研究都集中在不同类型的干细胞或神经胶质细胞上。在这里，我们回顾了常用于脊髓损伤 (SCI) 修复的细胞移植方法，重点介绍了嗅鞘细胞 (OEC) 的移植，OEC 是初级嗅觉神经系统的神经胶质细胞。OEC 是促进神经修复的有前途的候选物，因为它们支持贯穿生命的嗅觉神经的持续再生。此外，OEC 可以从鼻腔顶部的鼻腔黏膜（嗅神经上皮）中获得，并可以自体移植。OEC 移植已在许多 SCI 动物模型以及人类临床试验中进行了试验。虽然几项研究很有希望，但结果各不相同，该方法需要改进，以增强细胞存活、整合和迁移等方面。作为案例研究，我们包括了我们团队（澳大利亚格里菲斯大学克莱姆琼斯神经生物学和干细胞研究中心）使用的方法来解决 OEC 移植的当前问题，并讨论如何提高 OEC 移植的治疗潜力。我们的方法包括发现研究，以提高我们对 OEC 生物学的认识，确定天然和合成化合物来刺激 OEC 的神经修复特性，并设计三维细胞构建体来创建稳定和可移植的细胞结构。
