Intraspinal Transplantation of Mouse and Human Neural Precursor Cells

Abstract

This unit describes the preparation and transplantation of human neural precursor cells (hNPCs) and mouse neural precursor cells (mNPCs) into the thoracic region of the mouse spinal cord. The techniques in this unit also describe how to prepare the mouse for surgery by performing a laminectomy to expose the spinal cord for transplantation. NPCs genetically labeled with eGFP transplanted into the spinal cord of a mouse following viral‐mediated demyelination can efficiently be detected via eGFP expression. Transplantation of these cells into the spinal cord is an efficacious way to determine their effects in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and spinal cord injury. Curr. Protoc. Stem Cell Biol. 26:2D.16.1‐2D.16.16. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Transplantation Improves Locomotor Recovery in Rat Models of Spinal Cord Injury: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Last, but not least, our analyses indicate that intraspinal implantation is an appropriate transplantation method, which was adopted in most of the included studies. These results are in accordance with recent publications [28,40] indicating that direct injection of human iPSC promotes locomotor recovery. However, this type of transplantation may cause additional damage leading to further damage to the injured spinal cord [41].…”

Self-assembling peptides optimize the post-traumatic milieu and synergistically enhance the effects of neural stem cell therapy after cervical spinal cord injury

“…NPCs also provide neuroprotection by attenuating secondary injury, promoting myelin-sparing [50] and secreting trophic factors [52,53]. Nevertheless, due to biochemical and mechanical barriers, cell survival, and thus the effects of transplanted NPCs, are limited.…”

3D printing‐based frugal manufacturing of glass pipettes for minimally invasive delivery of therapeutics to the brain

“…Glass pipettes are also used to inject cells into the brain for therapeutic purposes, 15,16 although the majority of the literature utilizes Hamilton syringes connected to metal needles as delivery tools. [17][18][19][20][21] Despite the many advantages of delivering vectors or cells into the brain using pulled thin-tip glass pipettes, especially for preclinical studies, a major hurdle for their widespread application is accessibility and affordability. For electrophysiological labs already equipped with programmable pullers, it is handy to repurpose them to make glass pipettes 22 for delivering fluids, such as AAV into the brain.…”

“…However, in recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the use of glass pipettes for the delivery of adeno associate virus (AAV) into the brain, partly because of the booming of genetically encoded indicators or actuators, such as calcium indicators or optogenetic tools and convenient access to optical imaging systems for recording neuronal activities. Glass pipettes are also used to inject cells into the brain for therapeutic purposes, 15,16 although the majority of the literature utilizes Hamilton syringes connected to metal needles as delivery tools 17–21 …”

“…Glass pipettes are also used to inject cells into the brain for therapeutic purposes, 15 , 16 although the majority of the literature utilizes Hamilton syringes connected to metal needles as delivery tools. 17 – 21 …”