DUOC‐01, a Cell Therapy Product Derived from Human Cord Blood, Accelerates Remyelination

摘要

We developed a cell therapy product, DUOC-01, derived frombanked human umbilical cord blood, to treat demyelinatingconditions in the central nervous system. Previously, we demonstratedthat DUOC-01 increased myelination and decreasedgliosis and cellular infiltration in the corpus callosum ofimmune-incompetent mice treated with cuprizone. To investigatethe mechanism and test whether DUOC-01 will be efficaciousin other models of demyelination, we tested DUOC-01in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) demyelinated murine organotypiccerebellar brain slices and a mouse model of experimentalautoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In the cerebellarbrain slice culture model, we found that DUOC-01 treatmentenhanced remyelination of LPC-mediated demyelinated neuronscompared with the untreated control samples. Thesedata demonstrate that DUOC-01 is capable of accelerating theremyelination of neurons by reducing gliosis and promotingoligodendrocyte proliferation and promoting myelin debrisclearance. Currently, we are testing the ability of DUOC-01 tolimit inflammation in EAE. Also, we are analyzing single cellsequencing data to determine various populations present inDUOC-01 cultures and to understand the functional pathwaysresponsible for promoting remyelination. Overall, our datasuggest that DUOC-01 could be beneficial in treating demyelinatingconditions.