Cells forged from human skin show promise in treating multiple sclerosis, myelin disorders
Posted: February 7, 2013 at 3:44 pm
Feb. 7, 2013 A study out February 7 in the journal Cell Stem Cell shows that human brain cells created by reprogramming skin cells are highly effective in treating myelin disorders, a family of diseases that includes multiple sclerosis and rare childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies.
The study is the first successful attempt to employ human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) to produce a population of cells that are critical to neural signaling in the brain. In this instance, the researchers utilized cells crafted from human skin and transplanted them into animal models of myelin disease.
"This study strongly supports the utility of hiPSCs as a feasible and effective source of cells to treat myelin disorders," said University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study. "In fact, it appears that cells derived from this source are at least as effective as those created using embryonic or tissue-specific stem cells."
The discovery opens the door to potential new treatments using hiPSC-derived cells for a range of neurological diseases characterized by the loss of a specific cell population in the central nervous system called myelin. Like the insulation found on electrical wires, myelin is a fatty tissue that ensheathes the connections between nerve cells and ensures the crisp transmission of signals from one cell to another. When myelin tissue is damaged, communication between cells can be disrupted or even lost.
The most common myelin disorder is multiple sclerosis, a condition in which the body's own immune system attacks and destroys myelin. The loss of myelin is also the hallmark of a family of serious and often fatal diseases known as pediatric leukodystrophies. While individually very rare, collectively several thousand children are born in the U.S. with some form of leukodystrophy every year.
The source of the myelin cells in the brain and spinal cord is cell type called the oligodendrocyte. Oligodendrocytes are, in turn, the offspring of another cell called the oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, or OPC. Myelin disorders have long been considered a potential target for cell-based therapies. Scientists have theorized that if healthy OPCs could be successfully transplanted into the diseased or injured brain, then these cells might be able to produce new oligodendrocytes capable of restoring lost myelin, thereby reversing the damage caused by these diseases.
However, several obstacles have thwarted scientists. One of the key challenges is that OPCs are a mature cell in the central nervous system and appear late in development.
"Compared to neurons, which are among the first cells formed in human development, there are more stages and many more steps required to create glial cells such as OPCs," said Goldman. "This process requires that we understand the basic biology and the normal development of these cells and then reproduce this precise sequence in the lab."
Another challenge has been identifying the ideal source of these cells. Much of the research in the field has focused on cells derived from tissue-specific and embryonic stem cells. While research using these cells has yielded critical insight into the biology of stem cells, these sources are not considered ideal to meet demand once stem cell-based therapies become more common.
The discovery in 2007 that human skin cells could be "reprogrammed" to the point where they returned to a biological state equivalent of an embryonic stem cell, called induced pluripotent stem cells, represented a new path forward for scientists. Because these cells -- created by using the recipient's own skin -- would be a genetic match, the likelihood of rejection upon transplantation is significantly diminished. These cells also promised an abundant source of material from which to fashion the cells necessary for therapies.
Read more here:
Cells forged from human skin show promise in treating multiple sclerosis, myelin disorders
- Most Common Multiple Sclerosis Treatments - March 21st, 2018
- Multiple Sclerosis Market in the US 2015-2019 - Research ... - August 1st, 2015
- Multiple Sclerosis: Treatment and Global Market - Research ... - July 1st, 2015
- Multiple Sclerosis Research: natalizumab has a ... - June 14th, 2015
- New Multiple Sclerosis Circulation Theory Links Posture ... - June 10th, 2015
- Stem cell research benefits Houston woman with multiple sclerosis - April 6th, 2015
- Stem cell research benefits area woman with multiple sclerosis - April 6th, 2015
- Is a loophole in stem cell law helping new therapy to thrive, or allowing dubious science? - April 4th, 2015
- Multiple sclerosis can be scary, but a new treatment holds promise - April 1st, 2015
- Hoping for a cure - February 11th, 2015
- Jan. 30: Sacrificing health, multiple sclerosis research, sunscreen in winter - February 2nd, 2015
- This Could Be Game-Changing News in the Battle Against Multiple Sclerosis - February 2nd, 2015
- Latest Sports SEE MORE - January 30th, 2015
- Ottawa Hospital leads Canadian clinial trial on stem cell therapy in MS patients - January 29th, 2015
- Early Study Says Stem Cells May Reverse Multiple Sclerosis Disability - January 22nd, 2015
- Jan. 21: Bisphenol A research, multiple sclerosis treatment - January 22nd, 2015
- Airdrian says costly treatment a scam - January 21st, 2015
- Saskatoon woman snared in alleged fraudulent MS trial held in India - January 20th, 2015
- The 'impossible' dream: City firm's MS claims not medically possible, says top researcher - January 18th, 2015
- Sask. MS patient recounts good experience with research firm now under question - January 16th, 2015
- City man who ran stem-cell trial for MS patients fabricated credentials, overstated results - January 15th, 2015
- Fallout from fake credentials - January 15th, 2015
- U of W cancels proposal for joint research study - January 15th, 2015
- City man who ran stem-cell trial for MS patients fabricated credentials, overstated treatment results - January 14th, 2015
- News & Events - December 30th, 2014
- One MS patient's 'starting line' for stem cell therapy - October 14th, 2014
- First Spanish-Filipino biotech firm introduced - October 3rd, 2014
- Cambridge scientist Dr Su Metcalfe awarded 150k for ground-breaking MS trials - October 2nd, 2014
- New Mount Sinai Research Indicates Cells From Placentas are Safe for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis - September 29th, 2014
- Vaccine Against MS Being Developed at Baylor Institute for ... - September 25th, 2014
- Stem cells use 'first aid kits' to repair damage - September 18th, 2014
- MS stem-cell breakthrough led by Italians - September 9th, 2014
- Could Reprogrammed Cells Fight 'Untreatable' Diseases? - August 28th, 2014
- Ore. man gets results from stem cell transplant - July 29th, 2014
- Cell therapy for multiple sclerosis patients: Closer than ever? - July 28th, 2014
- Scientists 1 step closer to cell therapy for multiple ... - July 24th, 2014
- Monday, July 21, 2014 12:00 am - July 21st, 2014
- Stem cell researcher to use national prize to treat brain conditions - June 3rd, 2014
- Updates on Stem Cell Research and MS - Video - June 1st, 2014
- Stem cell therapy shows promise for multiple sclerosis - May 16th, 2014
- Mice with multiple sclerosis-like condition walk again after human stem cell treatment - May 16th, 2014
- Stem Cells Reverse MS-Like Illness in Mice - May 16th, 2014
- Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for MS in Mouse Model - May 16th, 2014
- Mice With MS-Like Condition Walk Again After Human Stem Cell Treatment - May 16th, 2014
- Tisch MS Research Center of New York Exceeds $300K Crowdfunding Target for FDA-Approved Stem Cell Trial - April 15th, 2014
- Whats Going Around: Multiple Sclerosis Research - April 8th, 2014
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Trial for Multiple Sclerosis Gets Green Light - April 3rd, 2014
- The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Publishes 2014 MS Research Update - February 20th, 2014
- Deep TCR sequencing reveals extensive renewal of the T cell repertoire following autologous stem cell transplant in MS - February 19th, 2014
- Richard M. Cohen -- Stem cell cultivation - Video - January 28th, 2014
- MS patient to take part in pioneering experiment - January 20th, 2014
- Research in Multiple Sclerosis - January 14th, 2014
- Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells - December 19th, 2013
- Vitamin D may help fight MS: study - December 12th, 2013
- Multiple sclerosis research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - November 7th, 2013
- Multiple Sclerosis: Hope Through Research: National Institute of ... - November 1st, 2013
- BrainStorm to Initiate Study for Multiple Sclerosis at Hadassah Medical Center - October 15th, 2013
- Bike 150 miles in two days to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research - August 19th, 2013
- Stem cell spine injections for MS - trial approved - August 17th, 2013
- FDA Approves Stem Cell Clinical Trial For Multiple Sclerosis - August 15th, 2013
- Transatlantic partnership to tackle neurodegenerative disease - July 19th, 2013
- Multiple Sclerosis Drugs Market - New Industry Research Report is Now Available for Pre-Order at Transparency Market ... - July 15th, 2013
- Revolution starts at bioscience campus - July 1st, 2013
- Advanced Sclerosis research at AIIMS soon - May 26th, 2013
- Stanford: treatment delays multiple sclerosis onset in mice - May 14th, 2013
- Turning Stem Cells Into Brain Cells To Cure Multiple Sclerosis And Cerebral Palsy - April 15th, 2013
- Major advance in understanding risky but effective multiple sclerosis treatment - March 27th, 2013
- New skin cell treatment offers new hope to MS patients - February 10th, 2013
- Cells forged from human skin show promise in treating MS, myelin disorders - February 7th, 2013
- Birax grants NIS 25m for Israel-UK stem cell projects - January 22nd, 2013
- Multiple sclerosis drug may one day treat colorectal cancer - January 10th, 2013
- Stem Cell Showdown: Celltex vs. the FDA - January 4th, 2013
- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals to Receive Funding from Fast Forward and EMD Serono for Multiple Sclerosis Program - December 21st, 2012
- EMD Serono, Inc. and Fast Forward, LLC Announce Recipients of Funding for Multiple Sclerosis Research - December 21st, 2012
- Ballenger Trust Selects the Myelin Repair Foundation to Advance Myelin Repair Therapeutic Development for Multiple ... - December 18th, 2012
- Christchurch neurologist part of MS trial - December 17th, 2012
- Therafit Gym Multiple Sclerosis Jody MS (stem cell trial).wmv - Video - November 20th, 2012
- jodyMSvideo2012 0001 - Video - November 14th, 2012
- Stem Cell Transplants May Show Promise for Multiple Sclerosis - October 12th, 2012
- StemGenexâ„¢ on Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis - October 10th, 2012