Functional Neural Transplantation III

Dunnett is a behavioural neuroscientist who started a lifelong collaboration with the Björklund team in 1979 to explore the functional consequences of cell transplantation method in animal models of neurodegenerative disease, in particular involving cell replacement and repair of the basal ganglia. He has developed models and novel methods of motor and cognitive assessment to apply behavioural analysis not simply to assess functional efficacy of implanted cells, but as a tool to study the mechanisms of cell integration, circuit reconstruction and functional repair. In parallel his laboratory originated the first UK trial of cell transplantation in Huntington’s disease, and provides the source of clinical grade cells for further ongoing trials in Parkinson’s disease. As a neuroanatomist and developmental neurobiologist, during the 1970s Björklund’s lab originated reliable methods for transplantation of embryonic tissues into brain that pioneered practical cell transplantation in the central nervous system, providing the basis for technologies that are now used by laboratories world-wide. In parallel, work in the field has progressed from basic anatomical and developmental studies in experimental animals, via applications for assessing cell replacement and repair using primary and stem cells in the damaged brain, and now underpinning the majority of methods in development for cell therapy in patients. His laboratory continues to analyse the fundamental neurobiology and principles of cell transplantation, regeneration and integration in the CNS, as well as originating the first trials of effective clinical cell transplantation (for Parkinson’s disease) in patients

Preface
Stephen Dunnett and Anders Björklund

Transplantation in the Future
Fred H. Gage

Stroke

Neural Differentiation and Support of Neuroregeneration of Non-Neural Adult Stem Cells
Rojin Abraham and Catherine M. Verfaillie

Stem Cell Repair of Striatal Ischemia
Zaal Kokaia and Olle Lindvall

In-vivo Imaging of Cell Transplants in Experimental Ischemia
Joanna Adamczak and Mathias Hoehn

Bone Marrow Stem Cells in Experimental Stroke
Jeffery D. Kocsis and Osamu Honmou

Advantages and Challenges of Alternative Sources of Adult-Derived Stem Cells for Brain Repair in Stroke
Paul R. Sanberg, David J. Eve, Christopher Metcalf and Cesario V. Borlongan

Prospects for Stem Cell-Derived Therapy in Stroke
John D. Sinden, Indira Vishnubhatla and Keith W. Muir

Retinal and Cortical Repair

Generation of Retinal Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells
Zi-Bing Jin and Masayo Takahashi

Generation of Cortical Neurons from Pluripotent Stem Cells
Pierre Vanderhaeghen

Spinal Cord Repair

A Glio-Centric View of Repair
Ying Li, Daqing Li and Geoffrey Raisman

Current Status of Myelin Replacement Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis
Jeffrey K. Huang and Robin J.M. Franklin

Stem Cell-Based Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury
Lindsey A. Wyatt and Hans S. Keirstead

The challenges of Long-Distance Axon Regeneration in the Injured CNS
Daniel J. Chew, James W. Fawcett and Melissa R. Andrews

Schwann Cell Transplantation: A Repair Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury?
Ryan R. Wiliams and Mary Bartlett Bunge

Generation of Motor Neurons from Pluripotent Stem Cells
Peter H. Chipman, Jeremy S. Toma and Victor F. Rafuse

Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in ALS Letizia Mazzini, Alessandro Vercelli, Ivana Ferrero, Marina Boido, Roberto Cantello and Franca Fagioli