3D Printed Scaffolds for Primate Spinal Cord Injury

University Of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract Nearly 300,000 Americans have sustained some form of spinal cord injury (SCI), and effective therapies to promote recovery of neural function are lacking. Our overarching vision is to create an ex-vivo tissue that can replace the damaged spinal cord and enable formation of new relay circuits across sites of even severe injury. Our extensive rodent work with 3D printed biomimetic scaffolds shows that this approach can result in electrophysiological and functional recovery after complete spinal cord transection, the most severe model of spinal cord injury. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of scaling up a 3D printed biomimetic scaffold, loaded with human neural stem cells, to a clinically relevant, non-human primate model of spinal cord contusion. There are 3 objectives to this project: 1. Image the primate contusion-lesioned spinal cord by MRI scan. 2. Generate a 3D model and print individual scaffolds that conform to each subject's injury. 3. Implant 2 subjects with scaffolds: 1 Empty scaffold, 1 scaffold loaded with human neural stem cells. A demonstration of feasibility will lead to an R01 application in the non-human primate, with potential clinical translation.