Mouse study shows engineered immune cell therapy protects damaged neurons.
Severe injuries to the spinal cord damage nerve cells, disrupt communication with the brain and rest of the body, and lead to lasting disabilities for millions of people worldwide. The injury itself accounts for only a fraction of the overall damage inflicted on the spinal cord, tissue that runs from the brain stem to the lower back. Most of the damage is due to subsequent degenerative processes at the wound.
While there is substantial research into developing interventions to repair injured tissue, scientists at WashU Medicine focused instead on developing, in mice, an immunotherapy to minimize the damage from traumatic spinal cord injury. Their findings show that immunotherapy can lessen such damage by protecting neurons at the injury site from being attacked by immune cells.
The study, published Sept. 4 in Nature, demonstrates success in mice given the immunotherapy and presents a novel approach with potential to help improve outcomes for people recovering from spinal cord injuries.
WashU Medicine neurosurgeons Wilson Zachary Ray, MD and Camilo Molina, MD, were contributors to this publication.
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