Year 3 + NCE

During the course of this award, we have found that transplantation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) results in remyelination and clinical recovery in demyelination models. Interestingly, this recovery was not due to differentiation of these NPCs, but rather, appeared to occur despite rapid NPC immune rejection. This recovery was highly dependent upon the induction of a subset of T cells called regulatory T cells, and depletion of these regulatory T cells abrogated the impact of NPC transplantation. Our findings provide an impetus for continued exploration into the potential application of NPC transplantation for the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, and also suggest an unappreciated link between regulatory T cells and stem cells.