New research has revealed early success in the application of a new technique called Biphasic Electrical Stimulation (BES). BES is a non-chemical procedure which may be an important step towards reversing the damage of a spinal cord injury (SCI).
Currently, transplantation of stem-cells offers a potential clinical therapy for repairing and regenerating injured spinal cord tissue. Stem-cell treatment has brought about new hope for SCI patients in recent years. However, researchers have struggled to keep transplanted stem cells alive, as the secondary injury conditions brought on by SCI makes transplanted cells vulnerable to apoptosis (cell death).
Secondary Injury Process
Immediately following SCI, the body changes and several chemical deviations create a toxic environment around the injury site. In the near term, these conditions sometimes increase the damage beyond that of that initial spinal cord trauma and form an environment resistant to certain types of healing.
• Changes in blood flow – Reduced oxygen to cells causes hypoxia and cell death
• Excessive releases of nerve cell killing neurotransmitters
• Invasion of white-blood cells creates inflammation – White blood cells attack damaged nerve tissue and cause inflammation
• Free radicals attack nerve cells
• Nerve cells self-destruct (apoptosis)
• Scarring occurs on the spinal cord – Star-shaped glial cells wall off the injury site by forming a scar and creating a physical and chemical barrier to axons which could potentially reconnect and regenerate
In the past, survival rates for implanted stem-cells were very low due to the secondary injury conditions created by the human body. Primarily, decreased blood flows led to stem-cell hypoxia, while the presence of white blood cells and free radicals killed most stem-cells before they could mature into nerve cells.
Stopping Cell Death and Preserving Stem-Cells
Yubo Fan, professor of Biological Science and Medical Engineering at Beihang (India) and senior author, said that they have revealed for the first time that BES may provide insight into preventing growth factor deprivation-triggered apoptosis in olfactory bulb neural precursor cells (OB NPCs). Fan further explained that applying BES manually to areas with implanted stem-cells may prove to be a successful strategy in preventing stem-cell apoptosis and ultimately increasing cell regeneration.
For years, creating the solution “cocktail” meant finding a way to mitigate the cellular defenses and secondary damage conditions in the body found only after SCI occurs. This discovery brings researchers a step closer to creating a nerve cell-regenerative-friendly environment.
Fan’s team exposed neural precursor cells (NPCs) to 12 hours of BES and found enhanced cell survival and enhanced apoptosis prevention. Fan explained:
“The anti-apoptotic effect of BES was dependent on the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling cascade and an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production. I am excited to see how a non-chemical procedure can prevent apoptosis in stem cells therapy for spinal cord injury patients.”
Fan’s research team concluded that precisely how BES therapy regulates the survival of stem-cells is still unknown, but provides researchers with a specific and novel area of approach for more advanced testing and discovery.
References:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders
