Engineered Stem Cells Found to Ease Pain in Parkinson’s Mouse Model
Treatment with stem cells engineered to produce a signaling protein called VEGF — which drives the growth of blood vessels — was found to lead to pain relief in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers say engineering stem cells for use in transplant “may potentiate the therapeutic efficacy” of these cells to aid in easing pain due to Parkinson’s.
“Our data suggest that [such treatment] is safely therapeutically appropriate for treating [Parkinson’s disease]-related pain,” they wrote.
The study, “VEGF-Expressing Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain in Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in Cell Transplantation.
Pain is a common and bothersome non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s, and available treatments are usually not effective at completely controlling this symptom.
Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are cells that are able to grow into certain other cell types. This includes fat and connective tissue cells. These cells also can secrete a number of signaling molecules to influence the activity of nearby cells.
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