When mice with injured spinal cord and immobile legs are transplanted with cells that are the source of nerves created from iPS cells and stimulated by a special method, the recovery effect of motor function is enhanced more than ever. A group such as Keio University found out that.
The results of this research were presented by a group of Professor Hideyuki Okano and Assistant Professor Momotaro Kawai of Keio University.
The group transplanted nerve-source cells made from iPS cells into mice with injured spinal cord, and then stimulated only the transplanted cells by a special method to investigate changes.
As a result, two weeks after the spinal cord was injured, the amount of the protein "synapsin 1", which increases when nerves are activated, increased 1.35 times in the stimulated mice compared to the unstimulated mice. about it.
At 6 weeks, the values for assessing motor function were approximately 18% higher than in unstimulated mice.
According to the group, it was known that the use of iPS cells restores the motor function of mice with SCI to some extent, but the function is efficiently restored by activating the nerves formed from iPS cells. It is the first time that I was able to confirm.
Professor Okano said, "I was able to clarify that the function of transplanted nerve cells is directly linked to functional recovery. I think this is a very important step in developing research."