Optimizing cell therapy in Parkinson's disease

The goal of the proposed study is to optimize cell therapy outcomes. The FDA’s guidance in using cellular therapy products recommends determining the cell viability, the best microenvironment for survival, and performing sterility testing11,12. These characteristics are important with implanted nerve tissue that is conditioned to release repair factors after transection. Our first hypothesis is that optimizing tissue conditions will improve viability to increase repair factor production and ensure the consistency of factors implanted. We have preliminary RNA-seq data showing that conditioning the sural nerve upregulates reparative and anti-apoptosis factors.