REVERSIBLY IMMORTALISED OLFACTORY ENSHEATHING GLIA AND THEIR USE TO PROMOTE NEURONAL REGENARATION

摘要

The present invention is based on the capacity of the Olfactory Ensheathing Glia (OEG) to foster axonal regeneration in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS). This specific capacity is probably due to a combination of several factors, such as the molecular composition of cellular membrane and/or the capacity to secrete some molecules; combined with the capacity to reduce glial scar and accompany new growing axon in the damaged CNS. We have developed immortalised cell lines from primary human OEGs. The cells were cultured from post-mortem human tissue from donors and immortalised using a reversible system. Some of these OEG human clonal cell lines were selected by their ability to promote axonal regeneration from adult rat retinal ganglion neurons in a similar fashion to primary OEGs. These cell lines, alone or in pharmaceutical compositions comprising these cells, may be used to repair neuronal damage in the CNS.