Tel Aviv University scientists create 3D spinal cord implants that may allow paralyzed people to walk again

 

3D Illustration concept of spinal cord

Approximately 5.6 million people of the world population have difficulty or inability to move one or more upper or lower extremities, while more than 1.2 million people have a spinal cord injury some of which can lead long-term paralysis. In the case of spinal cord injuries, two forms of a paralysis are most common: Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, involves the complete loss of movement in the torso, limbs, feet, and hands. Whereas in Paraplegia, body is paralysis below the waist, including both legs. It may interfere with excretory and sexual functioning, in addition to eliminating the ability to walk.

The spinal cord in the human body carries nerve signals from the brain to the body and vice-versa and these nerve signals are responsible for our ability to feel sensations and move our body. Any damage sustained by the spinal cord or the nerves present at the end of the canal can result in paralysis.  It is an unfortunate reality that there isn't a cure for permanent paralysis. In fact, the spinal cord can't heal itself.

Now the people suffering from long-term paralysis may soon be able to walk again, as scientists from Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University have given new hopes to them,  after they created the first-ever  3D human spinal cord tissue implant.

In this latest achievement  Israeli researchers found that mimicking embryonic development by applying a specific  spinal cord motor neuron differentiation protocol in a 3D dynamic environment may help in healing the injured area. The technology is based on taking a small biopsy of belly fat tissue from the patient.

The researchers used genetic engineering to reprogramme the cells and return them to a state that resembles embryonic stem cells, the cells capable of becoming any type of cell in the body.

Preparations are underway for the revolutionary implants to undergo clinical trials in humans, tissue samples from patients are transformed into functioning spinal cord implants through a process that mimics the development of the spinal cord in human embryos.

The human spinal cord implants were then implanted in lab models, divided into two groups: those who had only recently been paralyzed (the acute model) and those who had been paralyzed for a long time.  |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

As per researchers, the breakthrough implants returned a success rate of 80% in a lab test on paralyzed mice. This means 8 out of 10 mice were able to overcome the limitations in mobility induced by their paralysis.

Researchers implanted the spinal cord into two groups of mice: an 'acute' group which had only recently been paralyzed, and a 'chronic' group that had been paralyzed for a long time, equivalent to a year in human terms.

They discovered that 100 per cent of the mice with acute paralysis and 80 per cent of those with chronic paralysis regained their ability to walk.

The study was led by Professor Tal Dvir’s research team at the Sagol Centre for Regenerative Biotechnology, the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tel Aviv University.

Professor Dvir told to Bloomberg: “This is the first instance in the world in which implanted engineered human tissues have generated recovery in an animal model for long-term chronic paralysis – which is the most relevant model for paralysis treatments in humans,” “The model animals underwent a rapid rehabilitation process, at the end of which they could walk quite well.

 “There are millions of people around the world who are paralyzed due to spinal injury, and there is still no effective treatment for their condition.

“Individuals injured at a very young age are destined to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives, bearing all the social, financial, and health-related costs of paralysis.

“Our goal is to produce personalized spinal cord implants for every paralyzed person, enabling regeneration of the damaged tissue with no risk of rejection.” 

Petri dish with tissue samples

Prof. Dvir, head of Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, concluded, "We hope to reach the stage of clinical trials in humans within the next few years, and ultimately get these patients back on their feet. The company's preclinical program has already been discussed with the FDA. Since we are proposing an advanced technology in regenerative medicine, and since at present there is no alternative for paralyzed patients, we have good reason to expect relatively rapid approval of our technology."

The results of peer-reviewed research published in the journal Advanced Science.

Prof. Tal Dvir (courtesy of Tel Aviv University)

The revolutionary organ engineering technology developed at Prof. Dvir's lab, he teamed up with industry partners to establish Matricelf (matricelf.com) in 2019. The company applies Prof. Dvir's approach in the aims of making spinal cord implant treatments commercially available for persons suffering from paralysis.

The team at Prof. Dvir's lab included PhD student Lior Wertheim, Dr Reuven Edri, and Dr Yona Goldshmit. Other contributors included Prof. Irit Gat-Viks from the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, Prof. Yaniv Assaf from the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Dr Angela Ruban from the Steyer School of Health Professions, all at Tel Aviv University all believes that the new method has relevance beyond spinal injury, and are now exploring using it for a range of other diseases and injuries, such as Parkinson’s disease, brain trauma, myocardial infarction, and age-related macular degeneration.

Some wheelchair users could be able to walk again 'within a few years', scientists claim, after 3D spinal cords were successfully implanted in paralyzed mice. Experts at Tel Aviv University said spinal cord implants could be made by reprogramming fat cells from humans (shown)

Now the researchers have started preparing for the next stage of the study: clinical trials in human patients. They hoped that within a few years the engineered tissues will be implanted in paralyzed individuals enabling them to stand up and walk again.

“We’ve been using human implants on mice, not mice implants, which means we’re not going back to the beginning of research to move over to humans. Rather, we know how to prepare the implants for humans, which is what makes us optimistic we will move quickly to clinical trials,” Prof Dvir told The Times of Israel.