Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells for central nervous system repair

Abstract

Cellular therapy is a compelling and potential treatment for certain neurological and neurodegenerative diseases as well as a viable treatment for acute injury to the spinal cord and brain. The hematopoietic system offers alternative sources for stem cells compared to those of fetal or embryonic origin. Bone marrow stromal and umbilical cord cells have been used in pre-clinical models of brain injury, directed to differentiate into neural phenotypes, and have been related to functional recovery after engraftment in central nervous system (CNS) injury models. This paper reviews the advantages, utilization and progress of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells in the neural cell transplantation and repair field.

Viability and neural differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from the umbilical cord following perinatal asphyxia

“…30 Cell therapy has been described as a promising treatment for certain neurodegenerative diseases, as well as various forms of acute injury to the spinal cord and brain. 31 MSCs or multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may serve as a substrate for regenerative stem cell therapy due to their ability to self renew, differentiate into multiple tissues 32 and immunomodulate. 33 Under certain conditions, stem cells from fresh cord blood are able to differentiate into neurons, microglial cells and astrocytes.…”

G-CSF as an Adjunctive Therapy with Umbilical Cord Blood Cell Transplantation for Traumatic Brain Injury

“…A major component of regenerative medicine is stem cell-based therapeutics, which have shown promising therapeutic potential for various types of neurological disorders, including TBI (e.g., 57,58,62,109,130), and have reached limited clinical trials [for review see (43)]. Translating cell therapy for treatment of brain diseases to the clinic has involved testing the safety, efficacy, and mechanisms of action of a variety of transplantable donor cells, including fetal stem cells, cancer-derived neuron-like cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and adult stem cells, such as umbilical cord blood, bone marrow stromal cells, amnion cells, among others (16,57,58,62,63,74,75,84,87,90,109,130). However, among these various types of stem cells, adult stem cells are of interest, as they circumvent ethical and moral problems and also teratogenic and oncogenic risks usually associated with transplantation of embryonal or fetal-derived stem cells (85).…”

Multiple Low-Dose Infusions of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Improve Cognitive Impairments and Reduce Amyloid-β-Associated Neuropathology in Alzheimer Mice

“…We conducted an analysis of mouse brain homogenates using monoclonal Ab [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] antibody (6E10) to analyze Ab species and b-C-terminal fragments (b-CTFs), from both the 6-and 10-month treated groups. The 6E10 antibody specifically recognizes APP and b-CTFs.…”

“…Together, these could prevent infiltrating T cells from being activated and thus downregulate proinflammatory secretions [8,45,57]. HUCBC studies done in vitro have shown that these cells secrete soluble factors that have salutary effects [16,58]. Cultured HUCBC supernatants, for example, stimulate survival of neural cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured under conditions designed to induce cell stress and limit protein synthesis [12].…”

“…At single high dose, HUCBC treatment into an AD preclinical model was even linked to an extension of lifespan [15]. Moreover, HUCBC infusion mediated recovery after brain injury within days [9,16], suggesting that in this scenario, transplanted cells do not infiltrate the site of brain injury and mediate reinnervation.…”