2219 : Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stem cells and TALENted technology

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The current treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) includes systemic delivery of neurotrophic factors (NTFs). Although this approach may seem theoretically sound, NTF efficacy within the central nervous system (CNS) is largely limited by the blood-brain barrier. Thus, a cell-based approach, which allows for targeted delivery of molecular therapies locally from the CNS, could lead to a paradigm shift in the field. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Windebank and Staff group at Mayo Clinic completed a Phase I dose-escalation safety trial of autologous, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (adMSCs) in an effort to move toward personalized medical treatment of ALS. The adMSCs were injected into the intrathecal space by lumbar puncture in 27 patients and the results showed an excellent safety profile across a range of doses. The team is moving forward with this idea by using gene-editing technology to develop clinical-grade, genetically modified autologous MSCs. The patient-derived adMSCs are modified at defined “safe-harbor” regions of the human genome through transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) technology. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Our results show that electroporating adMSCs with plasmid DNA leads to efficient GFP or TALEN transgene expression, but yields low cell survival and a low rate of genetic modification. DISCUSSION/S

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.