Transplantation of umbilical cord blood cells and application for perinatal brain injury

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K08267
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 52050:Embryonic medicine and pediatrics-related
• Research Institution: Institute for Developmental Research Aichi Developmental Disability Center
• Principal Investigator: Nakanishi Keiko 愛知県医療療育総合センター発達障害研究所, 障害モデル研究部, 客員研究員 (50280813)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 臍帯血幹細胞 / 移植再生医療 / 周生期脳障害 / 白質損傷 / コンドロイチン硫酸

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mononuclear cells isolated from GFP-TG rat umbilical cord blood were expanded (stem cell enriched-umbilical cord blood cells; SCE-UCBCs) and administered intraperitoneally to neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) model of rats. The GFP-positive cells were detectable in the connective tissue around the spleen, some of which were positive for LYVE1. No obvious brain damage was observed in rats subjected to Rice-Vannucci model at postnatal day 2 (P2), suggesting that further validation is needed to establish a stable white matter injury model. Glycan composition of SCE-UCBCs was examined and found that SCE-UCBCs contained more chondroitin sulfate (CS) content compared to heparan sulfate (HS) content. Colony forming cell assay showed that the percentage of colony forming cells decreased after treatment with CS-degrading enzyme.

Free Research Field

発達小児科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

新生児低酸素性虚血性脳症(HIE)は現在もなお、脳性まひの主な原因の一つである。臨床では低体温療法が行われているが重症例に対する効果は乏しく、神経後遺症の克服のために幹細胞療法など新規治療法の開発が急務である。臍帯血は、造血幹細胞や間質性幹細胞などの組織幹細胞を含んでおり、骨髄採取が困難な新生児にとって最も安全かつ臨床応用しやすい幹細胞源である。臍帯血幹細胞移植による脳障害軽減効果は数多く報告されているが、幹細胞の特徴については未だ不明な点が多い。本研究で、梗塞軽減機序や幹細胞の特徴が明らかになれば、臨床研究のさらなる進展や効率的な移植方法の開発につながることが期待できる。