Improved cell therapy protocols for Parkinson's disease based on differentiation efficiency and safety of hESC-, hiPSC-, and non-human primate iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons

Maria Sundberg, Helle Bogetofte, Tristan Lawson, Johan Jansson, Gaynor Smith, Arnar Astradsson, Michele Moore, Teresia Osborn, Oliver Cooper, Roger Spealman, Penelope Hallett, Ole Isacson

    195 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The main motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are due to the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral midbrain (VM). For the future treatment of Parkinson's disease with cell transplantation it is important to develop efficient differentiation methods for production of human iPSCs and hESCs-derived midbrain-type DA neurons. Here we describe an efficient differentiation and sorting strategy for DA neurons from both human ES/iPS cells and non-human primate iPSCs. The use of non-human primate iPSCs for neuronal differentiation and autologous transplantation is important for preclinical evaluation of safety and efficacy of stem cell-derived DA neurons. The aim of this study was to improve the safety of human- and non-human primate iPSC (PiPSC)-derived DA neurons. According to our results, NCAM(+) /CD29(low) sorting enriched VM DA neurons from pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cell populations. NCAM(+) /CD29(low) DA neurons were positive for FOXA2/TH and EN1/TH and this cell population had increased expression levels of FOXA2, LMX1A, TH, GIRK2, PITX3, EN1, NURR1 mRNA compared to unsorted neural cell populations. PiPSC-derived NCAM(+) /CD29(low) DA neurons were able to restore motor function of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesioned rats 16 weeks after transplantation. The transplanted sorted cells also integrated in the rodent brain tissue, with robust TH+/hNCAM+ neuritic innervation of the host striatum. One year after autologous transplantation, the primate iPSC-derived neural cells survived in the striatum of one primate without any immunosuppression. These neural cell grafts contained FOXA2/TH-positive neurons in the graft site. This is an important proof of concept for the feasibility and safety of iPSC-derived cell transplantation therapies in the future.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalStem cells (Dayton, Ohio)
    Volume31
    Issue number8
    Pages (from-to)1548-62
    Number of pages15
    ISSN1066-5099
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2013

    Keywords

    • Adult
    • Animals
    • Cell Differentiation
    • Disease Models, Animal
    • Dopaminergic Neurons
    • Embryonic Stem Cells
    • Female
    • Gene Expression
    • Humans
    • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
    • Macaca fascicularis
    • Male
    • Neurons
    • Parkinson Disease
    • Pluripotent Stem Cells
    • Random Allocation
    • Rats
    • Stem Cell Transplantation

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