Histological and Functional Benefit Following Transplantation of Motor Neuron Progenitors to the Injured Rat Spinal Cord

This research explores using human motor neuron progenitors (hMNPs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat spinal cord injuries (SCI) in rats. The study found that transplanting hMNPs into injured spinal cords can promote the survival of existing neurons and enhance nerve fiber growth, leading to improved motor function. However, the environment of the injured spinal cord can hinder the full maturation of transplanted cells, suggesting that further strategies are needed to support their development into fully functional motor neurons.

• 1
  hMNP transplantation suppresses SCI pathogenesis-related signaling pathways, which correlates with enhanced endogenous neuronal survival and neurite branching.
• 2
  Transplanted hMNPs can survive, differentiate, and integrate into the spinal cord distal to the SCI site, but may revert to a progenitor state near the injury due to environmental deficiencies.
• 3
  hMNP transplantation enhances performance on balance beam and Montoya Staircase tasks.