Intrathecal Transplantation of Autologous Adherent Bone Marrow Cells Induces Functional Neurological Recovery in a Canine Model of Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in demyelination of surviving axons, loss of oligodendrocytes, and impairment of motor and sensory functions. We have developed a clinical strategy of cell therapy for SCI through the use of autologous bone marrow cells for transplantation to augment remyelination and enhance neurological repair. In a preclinical large mammalian model of SCI, experimental dogs were subjected to a clipping contusion of the spinal cord. Two weeks after the injury, GFP-labeled autologous minimally manipulated adherent bone marrow cells (ABMCs) were transplanted intrathecally to investigate the safety and efficacy of autologous ABMC therapy. The effects of ABMC transplantation in dogs with SCI were determined using functional neurological scoring, and the integration of ABMCs into the injured cords was determined using histopathological and immunohistochemical investigations and electron microscopic analyses of sections from control and transplanted spinal cords. Our data demonstrate the presence of GFP-labeled cells in the injured spinal cord for up to 16 weeks after transplantation in the subacute SCI stage. GFP-labeled cells homed to the site of injury and were detected around white matter tracts and surviving axons. ABMC therapy in the canine SCI model enhanced remyelination and augmented neural regeneration, resulting in improved neurological functions. Therefore, autologous ABMC therapy appears to be a safe and promising therapy for spinal cord injuries.

Autologous bone marrow-derived cell therapy combined with physical therapy induces functional improvement in chronic spinal cord injury patients.

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) cause sensory loss and motor paralysis. They are normally treated with physical therapy, but most patients fail to recover due to limited neural regeneration. Here we describe a strategy in which treatment with autologous adherent bone marrow cells is combined with physical therapy to improve motor and sensory functions in early stage chronic SCI patients. In a phase I/II controlled single-blind clinical trial (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00816803), 70 chronic cervical and thoracic SCI patients with injury durations of at least 12 months were treated with either intrathecal injection(s) of autologous adherent bone marrow cells combined with physical therapy or with physical therapy alone. Patients were evaluated with clinical and neurological examinations using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS), electrophysiological somatosensory-evoked potential, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and functional independence measurements. Chronic cervical and thoracic SCI patients (15 AIS A and 35 AIS B) treated with autologous adherent bone marrow cells combined with physical therapy showed functional improvements over patients in the control group (10 AIS A and 10 AIS B) treated with physical therapy alone, and there were no long-term cell therapy-related side effects. At 18 months posttreatment, 23 of the 50 cell therapy-treated cases (46%) showed sustained functional improvement. Compared to those patients with cervical injuries, a higher rate of functional improvement was achieved in thoracic SCI patients with shorter durations of injury and smaller cord lesions. Therefore, when combined with physical therapy, autologous adherent bone marrow cell therapy appears to be a safe and promising therapy for patients with chronic SCI of traumatic origin. Randomized controlled multicenter trials are warranted.