Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells May Become a Viable Treatment for MS
Treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with human multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) may provide clinical benefit through modulation of immune status and promotion of remyelination, according to basic science research presented at the Fifth Cooperative Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS).
Stem cell therapies are currently being investigated as potential therapeutic treatments for autoimmune disorders such as MS. However, the mechanistic interaction between the diseased tissue environment and transplanted cells is often poorly understood, leading to inefficient or inappropriate applications of cell therapies that may not afford significant health benefits.
Jason A. Hamilton, PhD, from Athersys, Inc, and colleagues investigated the potential use of human MAPCs as a cellular therapeutic for the treatment of MS. Their research evaluated the cells’ efficacy, dose, window of therapeutic benefit, and effects upon remyelination.
Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in C57Bl/6 mice. Efficacy was examined after administering 1, 3, or 9 million cells IV, compared to control animals administered vehicle. Cells or vehicle was administered after significant symptom onset, and behavior was monitored for 28 days by a blinded observer. Window of therapeutic benefit was examined by administering 1 million cells IV at different time points in the course of disease. Myelin content was examined via luxol fast blue (LFB) staining and electron microscopy (EM). Investigation of the direct effects of MAPC upon remyelination was achieved via direct injection of cells or vehicle into lysolecithin (LPC) lesions in adult rat spinal cords. Lesions were characterized via LFB staining and immunocytochemistry.
Significant and sustained behavioral improvement was observed in response to all cell doses tested, when administered after symptom onset. Presymptomatic treatment did not prevent disease onset. Examination of myelination status demonstrated decreased average area of demyelinated lesions in spinal cords of cell-treated animals, as well as a significant decrease in the number of complete lesions. Further analysis via EM showed abundant evidence of newly remyelinated axons within cell-treated animals. Subsequent studies in LPC-lesioned rat spinal cords demonstrated increased remyelination in cell-treated lesions associated with significant induction of M2 macrophages in the core of the lesion.
According to the researchers, the results of their studies suggest that treatment with MAPCs may provide clinical benefit to patients with MS.
—Glenn S. Williams
Vice President, Group Editor