Light activation may make nerves grown from stem cells better at restoring paralyzed muscle

Using stem cells as a repair kit often requires two steps, maturing the stem cells into the right tissue, and then getting that new tissue to behave the way it is needed. Specifically, getting motor nerves to restore function to paralyzed muscle requires them to signal the muscle to contract when needed. So, a team in London has inserted a gene into the stem cells that allows the resulting nerves to be activated by light pulses.

Working at University College London and Kings College London the researchers found a way to fine-tune muscle control by adjusting the intensity, duration and frequency of light pulses delivered to the new nerves grown in mice through fiber optic tubes. They worked with mice that had a leg injury, but a press release from the universities made clear the real game changer from this technology will come in rescuing the muscle of the diaphragm that requires specific pacing to enable breathing. Linda Greensmith of University College said:

Within the next five years or so, we hope to undertake the steps that are necessary to take this ground-breaking approach into human trials, potentially to develop treatments for patients with motor neuron disease, many of whom eventually lose the ability to breathe, as their diaphragm muscles gradually become paralyzed. We eventually hope to use our method to create a sort of optical pacemaker for the diaphragm to keep these patients breathing.

The researchers published their work in the journal Science last Friday and the website HEALTHCANAL ran the university press release. One disease where well-timed support of the diaphragm could be a lifesaver is ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. You can read about CIRM projects moving toward the clinic on our amyotrophic lateral sclerosis fact sheet.

Don Gibbons