Grafted Human iPS Cell-Derived Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Contribute to Robust Remyelination of Demyelinated Axons after Spinal Cord Injury

Murine- and human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (iPSC-NS/PCs) promote functional recovery following transplantation into the injured spinal cord in rodents and primates. Although remyelination of spared demyelinated axons is a critical mechanism in the regeneration of the injured spinal cord, human iPSC-NS/PCs predominantly differentiate into neurons both in vitro and in vivo. We therefore took advantage of our recently developed protocol to obtain human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte precursor cell-enriched neural stem/progenitor cells and report the benefits of transplanting these cells in a spinal cord injury (SCI) model. We describe how this approach contributes to the robust remyelination of demyelinated axons and facilitates functional recovery after SCI. [Display omitted] •hiPSC-OPC-enriched NS/PCs differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes in vivo•Grafted hiPSC-OPCs-derived mature oligodendrocytes contribute to remyelination•Transplanted hiPSC-OPC-enriched NS/PCs enhance functional recovery following SCI•Transplanted hiPSC-OPC-enriched NS/PCs promote axonal growth of host neurons In this article, Okano and colleagues show that the benefits of transplanting human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte precursor cell-enriched neural stem/progenitor cells, describing how this approach contributes to the robust remyelination of demyelinated axons and facilitates functional recovery after spinal cord injury.