Topic: cell-based therapy

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves progressive loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to paralysis and death within 5-year post-onset. To test if motor neuron progenitors (MNPs) are prospective for rescuing motor function in ALS patients, we derived MNPs from human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) and used SOD1G93A mutant mice to model ALS. The hBMSC-MNPs were transplanted to (i) the lateral ventricles of neonates (postnatal day 8) or (ii) the spinal cords of adults (P50-60). In the neonatal model, the hBMSC-MNPs survived in the cerebral cortex and extended axonal fibers in