Embryonic stem (ES) cells are a potential source for treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, one of the main problems facing ES-based cell therapy is tumor formation. In this study, we examined whether co-transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) with retinoic acid (RA)-treated ES cells prevented tumor formation in SCI mice. Mice transplanted with RA-treated ES cells alone developed tumors in the grafted site and behavioral improvement ceased after 4 weeks. In contrast, no development of tumors was observed in mice co-transplanted with BMSCs, which also showed sustained behavioral improvement. Further, we found attenuated mRNA expression of the undifferentiated markers Oct3/4, UTF1, Nanog, and Sox2 in RA-treated ES cells co-cultured with BMSCs in vitro. These results suggest that co-transplantation of ES cells and BMSCs is useful for preventing development of ES-derived tumors in ES-based cell therapy for SCI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Matsuda, R., Yoshikawa, M., Kimura, H. et al. Co-transplantation of ES cells and bone marrow stromal cells for spinal cord injury suppresses tumor development. Cell Res 18 (Suppl 1), S137 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/cr.2008.227
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/cr.2008.227