STEM CELLS: WHAT ROLE WILL THEY PLAY?
Pantelis Tsoulfas, PhD

Stem cells are among the hottest topics in regeneration research today and the fuel for much debate regarding the use of government funds for studies with embryonic stem cells. Stem cells have been called “mother” cells of the body. These unspecialized cells can mature into many types of cells including nerve cells and neural-support cells: astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Before cells with this wide potential can be successfully used for spinal cord repair, we must understand whether they can form functional nerve cells, and whether they will do so in the injured spinal cord.

In a study by Dr. Tsoulfas and former Miami Project colleague Scott Whittemore (now at the University of Louisville), stem cells from embryonic rat brain were grafted into the spinal cord. While these cells can be manipulated to form neurons in laboratory dishes, when the stem cells were placed in the spinal cord they almost exclusively developed into astrocytes. If nerve cells or oligodendrocytes are the desired cell type, the investigators concluded that the specific fate of the stem cells will need to be determined prior to grafting. Some success along these lines was reported this year by Dr. John W. McDonald of Washington University, Missouri. Continued research is needed to fully understand what role stems cells will have in strategies leading to a cure.