BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Can we exploit companion dogs to advance therapies for spinal cord
  injury? - Dr Nicolas Granger\,  Research Fellow\, School of Veterinary Sc
 iences\, University of Bristol
DTSTART:20170510T150000Z
DTEND:20170510T160000Z
UID:TALK71280@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Fiona Roby
DESCRIPTION:Canine spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs spontaneously\, and ~2 
 cases per day present to large veterinary hospitals in the United Kingdom.
  This injury provides an excellent model of human SCI with clinical hetero
 geneity that is lacking in rodent models\, mixed contusive-compressive les
 ions of comparable size to humans and similar tools to measure clinical 
 ‘real-life’ outcomes after injury. There is currently no treatment for
  severely affected dogs and they therefore present a unique opportunity fo
 r in vivo clinical research. By enabling screening for treatments with a c
 linically detectable effect\, this model can help bridge the gap in transl
 ating therapies from the lab to humans. Using this canine model\, we have:
  (i) performed autologous spinal transplant of canine olfactory ensheathin
 g cells (cOECs) in clinical cases within a veterinary hospital\, a techniq
 ue known to improve locomotion after SCI in dogs and so far in phase 1/2 t
 rials in humans\; (ii) obtained cOECs by minimally invasive endoscopic nas
 al mucosal biopsy and cultured these in 3D through collagen hydrogels\, a 
 leading biomaterial for protected cell delivery in SCI\; (iii) obtained no
 vel data on the in vivo elasticity of the spinal cord using ultrasound ela
 stography intraoperatively\, which will provide a target for matched bioma
 terial stiffness\; (iv) developed a lentiviral vector for transduction of 
 cOECs with the chondroitinase ABC gene. Chondroitinase ABC breaks down the
  glial scar formed following SCI and has been demonstrated to improve func
 tional outcomes in experimental rodent and feline models of SCI\; and (v) 
 developed neuroprosthesis for bladder control and treatment of neurogenic 
 urinary incontinence. This work could be readily progressed to dogs with t
 ransduced cOECs expressing ChABC transplanted within hydrogel\, potentiall
 y in combination with neuroprosthesis enabling training and rehabilitation
 . The clinical canine model of SCI is an example of the opportunities avai
 lable for using veterinary cases in translational research.
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 2\, Department of Veterinary Medicine
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR