Human embryonic stem cell-derived neural precursor transplants attenuate apomorphine-induced rotational behavior in rats with unilateral quinolinic acid lesions.

To test the efficacy of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived neural precursors in an experimental model of Huntington's disease (HD), we differentiated hESC into nestin-positive neural precursors by co-culturing with PA6 stromal cells, and subsequently transplanted them into the striatum of quinolinic acid (QA)-induced HD model. The transplanted animals exhibited a behavioral recovery in the apomorphine-induced rotation test for 3 weeks after transplantation. The transplanted hESC-derived neural precursors were found in both cortex and striatum. They also exhibited some evidence of neuronal differentiation. At the time of examination, no tumor was detected. These results strongly suggest that hESC-derived neural precursors can lead to a behavioral recovery, as well as neuronal differentiation, in the pre-clinical model of HD.