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Treatment of Syringomyelia Characterized by Focal Dilatation of the Central Canal Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Neural Stem Cells

  • Original Article
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Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Syringomyelia is a progressive chronic disease that leads to nerve pain, sensory dissociation, and dyskinesia. Symptoms often do not improve after surgery. Stem cells have been widely explored for the treatment of nervous system diseases due to their immunoregulatory and neural replacement abilities.

METHODS:

In this study, we used a rat model of syringomyelia characterized by focal dilatation of the central canal to explore an effective transplantation scheme and evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cells and induced neural stem cells for the treatment of syringomyelia.

RESULTS:

The results showed that cell transplantation could not only promote syrinx shrinkage but also stimulate the proliferation of ependymal cells, and the effect of this result was related to the transplantation location. These reactions appeared only when the cells were transplanted into the cavity. Additionally, we discovered that cell transplantation transformed activated microglia into the M2 phenotype. IGF1-expressing M2 microglia may play a significant role in the repair of nerve pain.

CONCLUSION:

Cell transplantation can promote cavity shrinkage and regulate the local inflammatory environment. Moreover, the proliferation of ependymal cells may indicate the activation of endogenous stem cells, which is important for the regeneration and repair of spinal cord injury.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation [No. 583003]; Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission [Grant number: Z191199996619048 and L212007]; the National Natural Science Foundation of China [82171250 and 81973351]; Beijing Talents Foundation [2017000021223TD03]; Support Project of High-level Teachers in Beijing Municipal Universities in the Period of 13th Five–year Plan [CIT and TCD20180333]; Beijing Municipal Health Commission Fund [PXM2020_026283_000005]; Beijing One Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Fund [2018A03]; and the Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship [NA150482].

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Author notes

  1. Mo Li and Xinyu Wang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, China International Neuroscience Institute, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China

    Mo Li, Xinyu Wang, Shengyu Cui, Yunqian Guan, Longbing Ma, Qian Li & Fengzeng Jian

  2. Cell Therapy Center, Beijing Institute of Geriatrics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100053, China

    Mo Li, Boling Qi, Tianqi Zheng, Yunqian Guan, Sumei Liu & Zhiguo Chen

  3. Center of Neural Injury and Repair, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China

    Mo Li, Boling Qi, Tianqi Zheng, Yunqian Guan, Sumei Liu & Zhiguo Chen

  4. Center of Parkinson’s Disease, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China

    Mo Li, Boling Qi, Tianqi Zheng, Yunqian Guan, Sumei Liu & Zhiguo Chen

  5. Research Center of Spine and Spinal Cord, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Fengzeng Jian

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  1. Mo Li
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Contributions

The authors would like to thank XW and BQ for their contribution to the model-building and cell transplantation experiments. We also thank SC for the tissue sectioning and staining, TZ for preparing cells, and YG, LM, SL, QL, ZC, and FJ for their contribution to the design.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhiguo Chen or Fengzeng Jian.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

The animal studies were performed after receiving approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University (IACUC approval No. XW-20210723-1).

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Li, M., Wang, X., Qi, B. et al. Treatment of Syringomyelia Characterized by Focal Dilatation of the Central Canal Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Neural Stem Cells. Tissue Eng Regen Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-024-00637-1

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