Grant: Operating Grant

Spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are just some of the devastating conditions that can affect the adult spinal cord. There are currently few to no treatment options or cures for such disorders. Clinically, they are diverse in terms of functional losses, rate of progression and severity. For example, mild SCI patients can have partial loss of locomotor ability and yet have nearly normal life-spans, whereas MS patients begin with bouts of relatively mild sensori-motor symptoms that recur with increasing intensity and duration. Beyond the motor losses, spinal cord diseases and injury are also associated with important sensory and autonomic consequences that further reduce patient quality of life. The recent discovery of stem cells within the adult spinal cord may offer a novel way for improving the outcome following such diverse spinal cord conditions. We propose to use these spinal cord stem cells to improve the spinal cord's innate self repair capabilities. Before being able to achieve this, however, we must answer fundamental questions about spinal cord stem cells, including: what do they normally do? How do they react during different types of spinal cord diseases? And how are these reactions controlled by processes such as inflammation, a major and complex component of the wound healing process? In this research proposal, we tackle these key questions using animal models of SCI and MS. This project is a novel collaboration between the laboratories of Dr. Karl Fernandes (stem cell and spinal cord researcher, Montreal) and Dr. Steve Lacroix (neuroimmunologist and spinal cord researcher, Quebec City). We hope that this work will ultimately contribute to the development of innovative stem cell-based therapies for spinal cord repair.