Abstract 4
We developed a cell therapy product, DUOC‐01, derived from banked human umbilical cord blood, to treat demyelinating conditions in the central nervous system. Previously, we demonstrated that DUOC‐01 increased myelination and decreased gliosis and cellular infiltration in the corpus callosum of immune‐incompetent mice treated with cuprizone. To investigate the mechanism and test whether DUOC‐01 will be efficacious in other models of demyelination, we tested DUOC‐01 in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) demyelinated murine organotypic cerebellar brain slices and a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In the cerebellar brain slice culture model, we found that DUOC‐01 treatment enhanced remyelination of LPC‐mediated demyelinated neurons compared with the untreated control samples. These data demonstrate that DUOC‐01 is capable of accelerating the remyelination of neurons by reducing gliosis and promoting oligodendrocyte proliferation and promoting myelin debris clearance. Currently, we are testing the ability of DUOC‐01 to limit inflammation in EAE. Also, we are analyzing single cell sequencing data to determine various populations present in DUOC‐01 cultures and to understand the functional pathways responsible for promoting remyelination. Overall, our data suggest that DUOC‐01 could be beneficial in treating demyelinating conditions.