Fostering Regeneration and Functional Improvement in the Injured Spinal Cord by a Novel, Stem Cell Secretome-Based Drug Delivery Method.

Background/

Objectives

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes permanent tissue damage and severely limits functional recovery. We have previously shown that grafted neuroectodermal stem cells (NE-GFP-4C) promote regeneration and motor improvement of the injured cord through the release of specific factors, including Glial cell line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1α. Here, we examined whether various delivery routes for these factors could reproduce the effects of stem cell transplantation.

Methods

Specifically, these factors were administered either in soluble form via osmotic pumps or via genetically modified fibroblasts. NE-GFP-4C cells served as a positive control, while saline and non-transfected fibroblasts were used as controls. Functional and morphological analyses were conducted to assess the therapeutic impact of the secretome treatment.

Results

Both secretome-treated groups and stem-cell-grafted animals showed significantly improved motor outcomes, reduced lesion volumes, enhanced axonal regeneration and decreased astrocytic and microglial activation.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that secretome-based delivery of selected factors is a minimally invasive and effective therapeutic strategy that can mimic the regenerative benefits of stem cell transplantation in SCI.