Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Funds Breakthrough Research

Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Monday, 14 August 2000

(SPRINGFIELD, NJ) - The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) announced today that leading researchers in the field of spinal cord injury have developed the first successful procedure to convert cultured bone marrow stem cells exclusively into nerve cells. CRPF and the National Institutes of Health funded this research.

This critical advance now provides an abundant and accessible cellular reservoir to potentially treat a variety of neurological diseases, including spinal cord injury, stroke, brain trauma, and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.

The results of the study, led by Dr. Ira Black, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and his colleague Dale Woodbury, are published in the August 15th issue of The Journal of Neuroscience Research. The work was performed in collaboration with Darwin Prockop and Emily Schwarz of MCP Hahneman University.

Dr. Black is a member of the CRPF Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury. The Consortium is a collaborative network of scientists who pool their wide-ranging expertise and work cooperatively to solve the multifaceted challenges of repairing the injured spinal cord. The Consortium is also nurturing the next generation of spinal cord investigators by designating postdoctoral fellows in each laboratory to participate in the meetings, and the myriad interlaboratory studies that are a hallmark of the network.

"Now that we have been able to differentiate human bone marrow stromal stem cells into neurons, it creates the exciting possibility in the future for the treatment of neurological diseases," Dr. Black said.

He also said the research incorporates a number of important advances:

- The use of bone marrow cells provides a safe procedure, eliminating the high risk operation of obtaining stem cells from deep within the brain.

- The use of an individual's own (autologous) bone marrow cells eliminates the introduction of foreign cells and the need for toxic immunosuppressive drugs to avoid rejection.

- Rapid cellular growth and self-renewal in culture provides a virtually limitless source of cells, and eliminates the need for immortalization and tumor-forming potential.

In addition, Dr. Black said, from a scientific point of view, the work suggests that presumed fixed gene mechanisms that determine cell fate can be changed by environmental signals. "We are most excited about the future potential this finding holds for patients with spinal paralysis, stroke and degenerative brain diseases," Dr. Black said. "Research currently being conducted on rats with spinal paralysis suggests that stem cell transplants can encourage return of function."

"Cultured stem cells from adults represent a potentially extremely rich source of nerve cells capable of helping restore function lost as a result of spinal cord injury," remarked Denis Prager, Ph.D., president of Strategic Consulting Services, and consultant to CRPF.

For this study, the research team harvested the human bone marrow stem cells and placed them in culture where they were treated with the protocol developed specifically to induce conversion to neurons.

The researchers used time-lapse photography to study the differentiation process. "Frankly, we were startled that the conversion took place so rapidly. Using our procedure, stem cells converted to neurons within minutes to hours and even began forming connectional networks with other neurons," Dr. Black said.

The scientists also identified specific neuronal gene products in the cells, confirming the conversion to neurons.

Dr. Black and his team are already in the midst of the next stage of this research, which involves transplantation of these cells into the brain and spinal cord.

"The possibilities for spinal cord and brain repair suggested by this study are quite profound. CRPF has committed considerable energy and resources to its Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury and we believe that the exciting results of Dr. Black's research underscore the wisdom of that strategy," said Susan Howley, CRPF Executive Vice President and Director of Research. For more information about CRPF, please visit our website at www.paralysis.org or call (800) 225-0292.

For more information, or to contact Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, see their website at: www.christopherreeve.org