U.S. scientists say they have reversed paralysis in human spinal cord injury victims by making and transplanting a specific type of nerve cell.

The University of Colorado and University of Rochester researchers said they made two types of brain and spinal cord cells called astrocytes from the same embryo-derived precursor cell. Only one type, called GDAsBMP, promoted nerve regeneration and the recovery of limb motion when transplanted into the spinal cord at the injury site. The other type of astrocyte cell failed to promote regeneration or functional recovery, and caused pain.

Associate Professor Margot Mayer-Proschel of the University of Rochester said, To our knowledge, this is the first time that two distinct sub-types of astrocyte support cells generated from a common stem cell-like precursor cell have been shown to have robustly different effects when transplanted into the injured adult nervous system.

Another study co-author, Professor Mark Nobel of the University of Rochester, said, These studies are particularly exciting in … defining the optimal cell for tissue repair and identifying means by which inadequately characterized approaches may actually cause harm.

The research, which was led by University of Colorado Associate Professor Stephen Davies appears in the Journal of Biology.

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