[PDF][PDF] Cryopreservation maintains functionality of human iPSC dopamine neurons and rescues parkinsonian phenotypes in vivo

DR Wakeman, BM Hiller, DJ Marmion, CW McMahon… - Stem cell reports, 2017 - cell.com
DR Wakeman, BM Hiller, DJ Marmion, CW McMahon, GT Corbett, KP Mangan, J Ma…
Stem cell reports, 2017cell.com
A major challenge for clinical application of pluripotent stem cell therapy for Parkinson's
disease (PD) is large-scale manufacturing and cryopreservation of neurons that can be
efficiently prepared with minimal manipulation. To address this obstacle, midbrain dopamine
neurons were derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-mDA) and
cryopreserved in large production lots for biochemical and transplantation studies.
Cryopreserved, post-mitotic iPSC-mDA neurons retained high viability with gene, protein …
Summary
A major challenge for clinical application of pluripotent stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) is large-scale manufacturing and cryopreservation of neurons that can be efficiently prepared with minimal manipulation. To address this obstacle, midbrain dopamine neurons were derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-mDA) and cryopreserved in large production lots for biochemical and transplantation studies. Cryopreserved, post-mitotic iPSC-mDA neurons retained high viability with gene, protein, and electrophysiological signatures consistent with midbrain floor-plate lineage. To test therapeutic efficacy, cryopreserved iPSC-mDA neurons were transplanted without subculturing into the 6-OHDA-lesioned rat and MPTP-lesioned non-human-primate models of PD. Grafted neurons retained midbrain lineage with extensive fiber innervation in both rodents and monkeys. Behavioral assessment in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats demonstrated significant reversal in functional deficits up to 6 months post transplantation with reinnervation of the host striatum and no aberrant growth, supporting the translational development of pluripotent cell-based therapies in PD.
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