2007-02-13 14:18:28 -
ROCKVILLE, Maryland, February 13 /PRNewswire/ --
- Neuralstem Inc. Cells Survive and Become Neurons in Rats With
Spinal Injuries, Study Reports
Human neural stem cells (hNSCs) transplanted into rats with spinal cord
damage turned into neurons and made extensive synaptic contact with damaged
host motor neurons, a paper published today in PLoS MEDICINE (
medicine.plosjournals.org) reported. The study, utilizing cells
developed by Neuralstem, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: NRLS), and conducted at
The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, led researchers to conclude that
the
restoration of spinal cord circuitry may be more realistic than previously
thought.
(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO )
"The spinal cord has previously been considered inhospitable for neural
stem cell transplants," commented Dr. Karl Johe, Scientific Founder and
Chairman of Neuralstem and a co-author of the study. "They either didn't
survive well or didn't make contact with the surrounding tissue. However, the
results here disprove that notion. The high quality of neuronal
differentiation and synaptic contact was consistent across different kinds of
spinal cord injuries. When combined with our earlier spinal cord work in rats
with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), we now believe that the spinal cord is an
effective site for therapeutic stem cell intervention."
"Never before have we seen such a massive differentiation of stem cells
into neurons in the spinal cord," said Dr. Vassilis Koliatsos, of The Johns
Hopkins Medical Institutions, the study's lead investigator. "This turns on
its head the dogma that the spinal cord isn't an effective environment for
turning stem cells into neurons. Additionally, a significant number of these
neurons went on to engage in synaptic relationships with the host neurons. To
what extent these contacts are functional synapses or signify structural
integration into the host circuitry must be ascertained with additional
studies," Koliatsos cautioned.
"Neuralstem is a second generation stem cell company, built primarily to
optimize our discovery of neural stem cells, and take them into the clinic
and into patients," said Neuralstem CEO, Richard Garr. "We believe, as this
study demonstrates, that our technology answers many of the issues that have
held the field back, and makes it possible to build a stem cell company
around a true product focus. We expect to initiate human clinical trials to
treat Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia (ISP) with our cells in 2007," he
concluded.
About the Study
37 "nude" (immune-deficient) rats with surgically damaged spines were
transplanted with hNSCs two weeks after injury. After six months, researchers
found that the grafted cells had increased in number 3- to 4-fold; had
differentiated into a significant population of neurons; and migrated to both
gray and white matter, depending upon the original transplantation site. A
significant amount of the neurons were GABAergic, and these appeared to
establish contact with the host (rat) cholinergic neurons. The connection
between cholinergic and GABAergic neurons is a necessary part of healthy
motor function. From this, researchers concluded that these hNSCs could be
grafted into rat spinal cords under a variety of injury conditions and
robustly differentiate into neurons that go on to form synaptic contacts with
the neuronal circuitry of the host.
About Neuralstem
Neuralstem's patent-protected technology enables, for the first time, the
ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in
commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of
these cells into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. The
Company's technology was invented by founding scientist, Karl Johe, Ph.D.
while at the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, at the
National Institutes of Health.
The Company expects that its first Investigational New Drug (IND)
application will be for the treatment of Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia, a form
of paraplegia that sometimes results from the surgery to repair aortic
aneurysms and for which there is no effective treatment. The Company hopes to
submit its initial IND application to the FDA and begin its first human trial
during calendar year 2007.
Major Central Nervous System diseases targeted by the Company with
research programs currently underway include: Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia,
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, ALS, and Parkinson's Disease. The company has
also developed immortalized human neural stem cells for in-vitro use in drug
development for the academic and pharmaceutical markets. The company's cells
recently extended the life of rats with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in a paper
published in the journal TRANSPLANTATION, and were deemed viable for
continued work in neurodegenerative spinal conditions. For further
information, please visit www.neuralstem.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Neuralstem wishes
to caution the readers of this press release that actual results may differ
from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and may be adversely
affected by, among other things, US FDA responses, and responses from other
jurisdictions, to various regulatory submissions; SEC responses to various
registration submissions; changes in corporate strategy; the need to raise
additional capital; the success or failure of other private and public
organizations and/or academic and corporate institutions engaged in stem cell
research and development, and the market for stem cell research in general.
For further information, please review the company's SB-2 filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and its 10-Q for the quarter ending
September 30, 2006.
Web site: www.neuralstem.com
Source: Neuralstem, Inc.
