# SCI Consortium Study: Neural Stem Cell Transplantation for Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

> **NIH VA I01** · VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often damages, not only white matter axon tracts that transmits signals to and
from the brain, but also the central gray matter, causing segmental loss of interneurons and motor
neurons. Transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) has the potential to replace lost neurons and
glia. These transplanted neurons can form functional relays between spinal segments disconnected
by the injury. We have generated human NSCs with a spinal cord identity to test the hypothesis that
spinal cord NSCs will more appropriately integrate into sites of the injured spinal cord. Our
preliminary data provide evidence that both rat and human neural stem cells can be transplanted into
multiple models of SCI, including a clinically relevant contusion model. However, humans NSCs
appear to develop on a longer timeline, more similar to human development. Therefore, we aim to
characterize the maturation and phenotype of human spinal cord NSCs (scNSCs). Long-term studies
will assess the efficacy, safety and synaptic integration of such scNSC therapy in a clinically
relevant contusive model of cervical SCI.
This work is highly innovative and clinically oriented:
1) We will utilize a contusion type injury that is most applicable to human SCI.
2) We will examine a novel human NSC line with a spinal cord identity (scNSCs).
3) Long-term studies will examine the maturation, efficacy and safety of scNSCs, our lead cell
candidate, for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
4) Novel trans-synaptic tracing techniques will be used to assess the synaptic integration of both host
inputs to the graft and graft outputs to host motor neurons.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10146865
- **Project number:** 5I01RX002626-03
- **Recipient organization:** VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN H. BROCK
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10146865

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10146865, SCI Consortium Study: Neural Stem Cell Transplantation for Cervical Spinal Cord Injury (5I01RX002626-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10146865. Licensed CC0.

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