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) P' |* r5 E  n$ W
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BiologistsatJeffersonMedicalCollegehaveshownforthefirsttimeinthelaboratorythattheycanconvertsomehumanneuralstemcellstobraincellsthatcanproducedopamine,thebrainchemicalmissinginParkinson'sdisease.Iftheresearcherscanbetterunderstandtheprocessandharnessthisability,theworkmaysomedayleadtonewstrategiesintreatingneurodegenerativediseasessuchasParkinson's.# x. r1 e- Q+ {* N
DevelopmentalbiologistLorraineIacovitti,Ph.D.,professorofneurologyatJeffersonMedicalCollegeofThomasJeffersonUniversityinPhiladelphia,issearchingforwaystoconvertstemcellsintodopamine-makingneuronstoreplacethoselostinParkinson's.Inpreviouswork,sheandherco-workersshowedthatmouseneuralstemcellsplacedinratswithParkinson'sdiseasecoulddevelopintobraincellsthatproducedtyrosinehydroxylase(TH),theenzymeneededtomakedopamine." n  W, v. `% A# y
Dr.Iacovitti,whoalsoisassociatedirectoroftheFarberInstituteforNeurosciencesatJefferson,wantedtoseeifhumanneuralstemcellscouldbecomedopamine-producingbraincellsaswell.Sheandhercolleaguesgrewneuralstemcellsinalaboratorydish.Usingacocktailofproteingrowthfactorsandnutrients,theresearchersfoundtheycouldcoaxapproximately25percentofthestemcellstomakeTHinthedish,provingthestemcellshadthecapacitytomanufacturedopamine.What'smore,whentheyremovedthegrowthfactor-cocktail,thecellscontinuedtoproducetheenzyme.Shereportsherteam'sfindingsNovember5attheannualmeetingoftheSocietyforNeuroscienceinOrlando.. ]4 c0 V5 \- E# F# M' N- p
Wehavetwoexamplesofhumanstemcellsthatdothis,shesays.Theobviousextension[oftheseresults]istotakethosepredifferentiatedhumandopamineneuronsandtransplantthenintoParkinson'sdiseasemodelsystems.# `4 d8 s  P* Y+ d" `
Butfirst,Dr.Iacovittiwouldliketopurifytheseneurons.Hergrouphasdevelopedwaysoftagginglivedopamineneuronswithafluorescentmarker,shesays,enablingusforthefirsttimetopurifyorenrichthenumberofdopaminergicneuronsandtransplantthemintoParkinsoniananimalmodels.
5 Q6 q8 ~3 _# n2 m* CUltimately,shesays,theyhopetoonedaybeabletodevelopthisasatreatmentforParkinson'sdiseaseinpeople.6 @/ _% i$ X8 J7 v1 E& E; f3 }
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5 }4 }* P+ {( m3 @9 h/ W0 p0 _8 b来源: ScienceDaily Magazine, V5 s  ]% u  P! x/ q, s8 [5 Y9 m
发布者: 刘斌