Points regarding cell transplantation for the treatment of spinal cord injury

Transplantation of somatic cells,including bone marrow stromal cells（BMSCs）,bone marrow mononuclear cells（BMNCs）,and choroid plexus epithelial cells（CPECs）,enhances the outgrowth of regenerating axons and promotes locomotor improvements.They are not integrated into the host spinal cord,but disappear within 2-3 weeks after transplantation.Regenerating axons extend at the spinal cord lesion through the astrocyte-devoid area that is filled with connective tissue matrices.Regenerating axons have characteristics of peripheral nerves：they are associated with Schwann cells,and embedded in connective tissue matrices.It has been suggested that neurotrophic factors secreted from BMSCs and CPECs promote “intrinsic” ability of the spinal cord to regenerate.Transplanted Schwann cells survive long-term,and are integrated into the host spinal cord,serving as an effective scaffold for the outgrowth of regenerating axons in the spinal cord.The disadvantage that axons are blocked to extend through the glial scar at the border of the lesion is overcome.Schwann cells have been approved for clinical applications.Neural stem/progenitor cells（NSPCs） survive long-term,proliferate,and differentiate into glial cells and/or neurons after transplantation.No method is available at present to manipulate and control the behaviors of NPSCs to allow them to appropriately integrate into the host spinal cord.NPSP transplantation is not necessarily effective for locomotor improvement.

Integrated Differentiated Survivability in IP over WDM Networks

The problem of differentiated Multi-Layer Integrated Survivability (MLIS) in IP over WDM networks is studied, which is decomposed into three sub-problems: survivable strategies design (SSD), spare capacity dimensioning (SCID), and dynamic survivable routing (DSR). A related work of network survivability in IP over WDM networks is firstly provided, and adaptive survivable strategies are also designed. A new Integrated Shared Pool (ISP) approach for SCD is then proposed, which is formulated by using integer-programming theory. Moreover, a novel survivable routing scheme called Differentiated Integrated Survivability Algorithm (DISA) for DSR is developed. Simulation results show that the proposed integrated survivability scheme performs much better than other solutions (e,g., 'highest layer recovery' and 'lowest layer recovery' schemes) in terms of traffic blocking ratio, spare resource requirement, and average traffic recovery ratio in IP over WDM networks.

Mesenchymal stromal cell biotherapy for Parkinson’s disease premotor symptoms

Parkinson’s disease(PD)is a neurodegenerative disorder with motor deficits due to nigrostriatal dopamine depletion and with the non-motor/premotor symptoms(NMS)such as anxiety,cognitive dysfunction,depression,hyposmia,and sleep disorders.NMS is presented in at least one-fifth of the patients with PD.With the histological information being investigated,stem cells are shown to provide neurotrophic supports and cellular replacement in the damaging brain areas under PD conditions.Pathological change of progressive PD includes degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain.The current stem cell beneficial effect addresses dopamine boost for the striatal neurons and gliovascular mechanisms as competing for validated PD drug targets.In addition,there are clinical interventions for improving the patient’s NMS and targeting their autonomic dysfunction,dementia,mood disorders,or sleep problems.In our and many others’research using brain injury models,multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells demonstrate an additional and unique ability to alleviate depressive-like behaviors,independent of an accelerated motor recovery.Intranasal delivery of the stem cells is discussed for it is extensively tested in rodent animal models of neurological and psychiatric disorders.In this review,we attempt to discuss the repairing potentials of transplanted cells into parkinsonism pathological regions of motor deficits and focus on preventive and treatment effects.From new approaches in the PD biological therapy,it is believed that it can as well benefit patients against PD-NMS.