Glial-restricted precursors as potential candidates for ALS cell-replacement therapy

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a multifactorial progressive neurodegenerative disorder leading to severe disability and death within 3–5 years after diagnosis. The main mechanisms underlying the disease progression are poorly known but according to the current knowledge, neuroinflammation is a key player in motor neurons damage. Astrocytes constitute an important cell population involved in neuroinflammatory reaction. Many studies confirmed their striking connection with motor neuron pathology and therefore they might be a target for the treatment of ALS. Cell-based therapy appears to be a promising strategy. Since direct replacement or restoring of motor neurons using various stem cells is challenging, enrichment of healthy donor-derived astrocytes appears to be a more realistic and beneficial approach. The effects of astrocytes have been examined using transplantation of glial-restricted precursors (GRPs) that represent one of the earliest precursors within the oligodendrocytic and astrocytic cell lineage. In this review, we focused on evidence-based data on astrocyte replacement transplantation therapy using GRPs in animal models of motor neuron diseases. The efficacy of GRPs engrafting is very encouraging. Furthermore, the lesson learned from application of lineage-restricted precursors in spinal cord injury (SCI) indicates that differentiation of GRPs into astrocytes before transplantation might be more advantageous in the context of axon regeneration. To sum up, the studies of glial-restricted precursors have made a step forward to ALS research and might bring breakthroughs to the field of ALS therapy in the future.