Plenary #2 - Spinal Research Lecture
Tracks
Plenary: F1+F2+F3
| Thursday, October 9, 2025 |
| 16:15 - 17:05 |
| Plenary Room F1+F2+F3 |
Details
We have been developing a neural stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) in which early stage neural stem cells (NSCs) are grafted into spinal cord lesion sites to form new neural relays across the lesion: transected host axons regenerate into a neural stem cell graft implanted into the lesion site, and form synapses; in turn, grafted neurons extend axons out from the lesion site and into the distal host spinal cord and synapse onto host neurons. This circuitry establishes poly-synaptic relays across the lesion (Lu et al, Cell 2012; Kadoya et al, Nat Med 2016; Lu et al, J Clin Invest 2017; Rosenzweig et al, Nat Med 2018; Kumamaru et al, Nat Meth 2018; Koffler et al, Nat Med 2019; Poplawski et al, Nature 2020; Ceto et al, Cell Stem Cell 2020). Key to this approach is the creation of a human neural stem cell line of spinal cord identity, H9-scNSCs, derived from the H9 embryonic stem cell line (Kumamaru et al, Nat Meth 2018).
This talk will review efficacy and safety data regarding this line of work in rodent and primate models of SCI. Recently we found that grafts of H9-scNSCs restore 50% of skilled hand use after unilateral C7 SCI in non-human primates, compared to only 5% recovery in lesioned controls (P < 0.001). This program is undergoing preparation for initiation of human clinical trials.
Supported by VA Gordon Mansfield Spinal Cord Injury Collaborative Consortium IP50RX001045 RR&D B7332R, NIH R01-NS042291, NIH R01-NS104442, NIH NCRR P51 OD011107-56, DOD CDMRP SC170233, DARPA, Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, and the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust.
Presenter (if the session has co-presenters, they will be listed in the APP)
Prof Mark Tuszynski
A Translational Program of Neural Stem Cell Therapy for SCI
Biography
Dr. Tuszynski received his undergraduate and M.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He received clinical training in neurology at Cornell University Medical Center in NY, NY from 1984-1987, and became board-certified in neurology in 1989. He attended graduate school at the University of California-San Diego from 1988-1991, earning a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Dr. Tuszynski joined the faculty of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California-San Diego in 1991. He is currently Distinguished Professor and Director of the UCSD Center for Neural Repair, and Founding Director of the UCSD Translational Neuroscience Institute.
Dr. Tuszynski's research focuses on the role of growth factors and stem cells in influencing cell survival, plasticity and regeneration in the adult central nervous system. He actively researches the topics of Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, cellular mechanisms of normal memory, and bioengineering. In 2001 he conducted the first human clinical trial of gene therapy to treat an adult neurological disorder, testing the effects of nerve growth factor gene delivery in patients with early Alzheimer's disease. He is performing a first-in-human clinical trial of BDNF gene therapy in Alzheimer’s disease, and a first-in-human clinical trial of biomimetic nerve regeneration scaffolds in peripheral nerve injury. He has won over 20 national research awards and is the author of over 300 scientific and medical publications.
Moderator
Michael Fehlings
Co-director Spine Program
University Health Network
