Neural Stem Cells Can Become Dopamine-Making Brain Cells In Laboratory

韩雪娜

日期: 2002-11-07 今日/总浏览: 1/791  ~3 w( T* `. I

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BiologistsatJeffersonMedicalCollegehaveshownforthefirsttimeinthelaboratorythattheycanconvertsomehumanneuralstemcellstobraincellsthatcanproducedopamine,thebrainchemicalmissinginParkinson'sdisease.Iftheresearcherscanbetterunderstandtheprocessandharnessthisability,theworkmaysomedayleadtonewstrategiesintreatingneurodegenerativediseasessuchasParkinson's.
* M9 I& T: f$ v& a7 @DevelopmentalbiologistLorraineIacovitti,Ph.D.,professorofneurologyatJeffersonMedicalCollegeofThomasJeffersonUniversityinPhiladelphia,issearchingforwaystoconvertstemcellsintodopamine-makingneuronstoreplacethoselostinParkinson's.Inpreviouswork,sheandherco-workersshowedthatmouseneuralstemcellsplacedinratswithParkinson'sdiseasecoulddevelopintobraincellsthatproducedtyrosinehydroxylase(TH),theenzymeneededtomakedopamine.
" C/ Z" z' e: J* R+ ADr.Iacovitti,whoalsoisassociatedirectoroftheFarberInstituteforNeurosciencesatJefferson,wantedtoseeifhumanneuralstemcellscouldbecomedopamine-producingbraincellsaswell.Sheandhercolleaguesgrewneuralstemcellsinalaboratorydish.Usingacocktailofproteingrowthfactorsandnutrients,theresearchersfoundtheycouldcoaxapproximately25percentofthestemcellstomakeTHinthedish,provingthestemcellshadthecapacitytomanufacturedopamine.What'smore,whentheyremovedthegrowthfactor-cocktail,thecellscontinuedtoproducetheenzyme.Shereportsherteam'sfindingsNovember5attheannualmeetingoftheSocietyforNeuroscienceinOrlando.
; r# O. t3 `8 d9 CWehavetwoexamplesofhumanstemcellsthatdothis,shesays.Theobviousextension[oftheseresults]istotakethosepredifferentiatedhumandopamineneuronsandtransplantthenintoParkinson'sdiseasemodelsystems.
8 [* P8 O4 Q7 y4 L2 ZButfirst,Dr.Iacovittiwouldliketopurifytheseneurons.Hergrouphasdevelopedwaysoftagginglivedopamineneuronswithafluorescentmarker,shesays,enablingusforthefirsttimetopurifyorenrichthenumberofdopaminergicneuronsandtransplantthemintoParkinsoniananimalmodels.
: H+ [$ e+ w" O3 I0 lUltimately,shesays,theyhopetoonedaybeabletodevelopthisasatreatmentforParkinson'sdiseaseinpeople.
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# q7 A$ t% T/ y7 _+ e7 H6 Yhttp://www.tju.edu/
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+ |6 z' Y* A. J" ~9 f" W3 S4 }: J& b作者:
  x3 ~2 H5 F9 ?, ?来源: ScienceDaily Magazine8 G, |: R$ `6 |6 e; h. W4 V& D: C
发布者: 刘斌