2020 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 310-312
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is caused by high energy trauma such as traffic accidents, falls, and contact sports. Breakage of spinal stability results in permanent neurologic dysfunction. Spinal fixation surgery and subsequent rehabilitation are the only procedures for the treatment of SCI, but they cannot cure the irreversible changes of the spinal cord. To overcome this situation, we have conducted basic research to establish cell transplantation therapy using human iPS cell–derived neural precursor cells (NPCs). We reported efficacy of NPCs after transplantation. At the same time, however, some iPSC–NPCs showed tumor–life proliferation in the spinal cord, and provision for this unfavorable phenomenon is urgently necessary. We have developed several methods to inhibit tumor formation, and will introduce them in this review. So far, we have worked towards the clinical application of human iPSC–NPCs for SCI. This exciting clinical research will start soon around the corner.
