XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
  Stem Cell Research
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
 
 India
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM
Research Article

Stem Cell Research Channel
subscribe to Stem Cell Research newsletter

Latest Research : Embryology : Stem Cell Research

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Human Brain Cells Grown Inside Mouse Skull
Dec 13, 2005 - 3:29:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Himanshu Tyagi

�It is truly amazing that these human stem cells, although they are very immature, can still develop surface markers to respond to different cues in their environment and can fit right in with their mouse neighbors"

 
Previous studies have shown that undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) can survive in the brains of laboratory rats with Parkinson�s disease. But until now it was unclear whether hESCs can become fully functional members of the host animal�s neuronal architecture - a basic necessity if stem cells are ever to be used in medical treatments replenishing missing or damaged neurons in human patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer�s disease.

Now, research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies indicates for the first time that hESCs mature into fully functional adult brain cells and integrate into the existing nervous system when these human cells are injected in the developing brains of two-week-old mouse embryos.

The Salk researchers led by Fred H. Gage, Ph.D, professor and co-head of the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, published their finding in this week�s Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

�Besides its therapeutic potential, our finding also opens up the possibility to study human disease in a new context,� says first author Alysson R. Muotri, Ph.D. �We can ask if neurodegeneration is the function of an individual diseased cell or if it is caused by the local environment in the brain.�

Far less than 0.1 percent of their brain cells were of human origin, and those few had taken on the size and shape of their neighbors. �This illustrate that injecting human stem cells into mouse brains doesn�t restructure the brain,� explains Gage.


At least in theory, hESCs can grow indefinitely in the lab as unspecialized cells and can be coaxed to differentiate into various cell types.

�This assay will be very valuable to determine whether any given human stem cell lines still have the capacity to form fully functional neurons,� says Gage, explaining that scientists currently do not know whether stem cells that have been kept in culture outside the body for extended periods of time have lost the potential to become a neuron or not.

He also emphasizes that �this procedure will also allow other laboratories and drug companies to test the toxicity of new compounds and assess their effects on human brain cells, not just in a Petri dish, but in the context of a functional brain.�

In the past, hESC injected into adult mice often formed tumors or were rejected by the mouse immune system. Hoping to circumvent these problems, Gage and his team opted for injecting hESCs into the developing brains of embryonic mice.

The green glowing hESCs differentiated into different types of neurons and supporting glia cells, migrated throughout the brain and settled in different regions without forming tumors or being rejected by the mouse�s immune system.

�When we characterized these cells two months later, we found that had the morphology, shape and characteristics of mouse cells,� says Gage.

Other authors who contributed to the work include co-first author Kinichi Nakashima, formerly at the Salk and now at Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, and post-doctoral researchers Nicolas Toni and Vladislav M. Sandler. In accordance with guidelines and the Salk�s internal Human Stem Cell Research Guidelines, the mice used in these experiments were not allowed to breed.
 

- Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
 

Salk Institute for BiologicalStudies

 
Subscribe to Stem Cell Research Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

The research was funded by the Mathers Foundation and the Lookout Fund. The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health and the training of future generations of researchers. Jonas Salk, M.D., whose polio vaccine all but eradicated the crippling disease poliomyelitis in 1955, opened the Institute in 1965 with a gift of land from the City of San Diego and the financial support of the March of Dimes. For more information: www.salk.edu.

Related Stem Cell Research News

Neural stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cells carry abnormal gene expression
Neurons grown from embryonic stem cells restore function in paralyzed rats
New stem-cell findings can help the body to cure itself
Putting avian transgenics on a par with transgenic mice
Harvard to Create Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
Stem Cell Study for Patients with Heart Attack Damage Seeks to Regenerate Heart Muscle
Stem cells - An alternative to skin grafting?
Bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP-6) factor stimulates cartilage growth from stem cells
Doctors grow organ from patients' own cells
Stem cells can repair torn tendons or ligaments


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us