PROCURING CELLS FOR TRANSPLANTATION
Patrick M. Wood, PhD • Mary B. Bunge, PhD

An exciting strategy to promote axon growth beyond the area of injury is grafting populations of ensheathing glia (specialized support cells that help growing axons re-enter the spinal cord) at the ends of Schwann cell guidance channels. In previous studies, ensheathing glia (EG) are shown to promote regeneration, form myelin, and remyelinate axons. These cells may be an important component in the clinical treatment of central nervous system damage and demylinating diseases. It is therefore important to understand how to procure and reproduce adequate numbers of EGs.

Drs. Patrick Wood and Mary B. Bunge investigated the proliferative properties of EGs. In this study, they asked whether growth factors can be used to produce EG cell populations in the laboratory. The investigation studied the effect of several growth factors on the mitogenic response (or proliferation) of adult ensheathing glia. They found that four growth factors promote proliferation and that a combination of two growth factors, heregulin and fibroblast growth factor 2, had an additive effect. Because of the potential clinical importance of these cells for central nervous system repair, this new information will be useful in designing techniques for the production of sufficient numbers of adult-derived EG for use in clinical transplantation.