Making Human iNSCs from People with Progressive MS (PwPMS)

This project will involve the development of stably expandable, forward programmed neural stem cells (NSCs) from People with progressive MS (PwPMS). Somatic cells will be reprogrammed to stably expandable directly induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) and then differentiated and monitored for several markers of pluripotency/multipotency, checked for morphological, function and genomic stability as well as senescence over time period in vitro. This project will highlight potential issues of stability and suggest methods of mitigating these, should they arise.

The long-term goal of this investigation will be to evaluate the safety of iNSCs for use in a first-in-men clinical trial, which is being organised at Cambridge. The final objective of this investigation is the determination of whether or not the therapeutic use of iNSCs in PwPMS can be taken forward into clinical trials.