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
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  g+ Q) y- O( rBiologistsatJeffersonMedicalCollegehaveshownforthefirsttimeinthelaboratorythattheycanconvertsomehumanneuralstemcellstobraincellsthatcanproducedopamine,thebrainchemicalmissinginParkinson'sdisease.Iftheresearcherscanbetterunderstandtheprocessandharnessthisability,theworkmaysomedayleadtonewstrategiesintreatingneurodegenerativediseasessuchasParkinson's.
9 N! D# ]- W! I) ADevelopmentalbiologistLorraineIacovitti,Ph.D.,professorofneurologyatJeffersonMedicalCollegeofThomasJeffersonUniversityinPhiladelphia,issearchingforwaystoconvertstemcellsintodopamine-makingneuronstoreplacethoselostinParkinson's.Inpreviouswork,sheandherco-workersshowedthatmouseneuralstemcellsplacedinratswithParkinson'sdiseasecoulddevelopintobraincellsthatproducedtyrosinehydroxylase(TH),theenzymeneededtomakedopamine.
7 ]" G+ ?! Q5 |7 G6 O/ y( ^Dr.Iacovitti,whoalsoisassociatedirectoroftheFarberInstituteforNeurosciencesatJefferson,wantedtoseeifhumanneuralstemcellscouldbecomedopamine-producingbraincellsaswell.Sheandhercolleaguesgrewneuralstemcellsinalaboratorydish.Usingacocktailofproteingrowthfactorsandnutrients,theresearchersfoundtheycouldcoaxapproximately25percentofthestemcellstomakeTHinthedish,provingthestemcellshadthecapacitytomanufacturedopamine.What'smore,whentheyremovedthegrowthfactor-cocktail,thecellscontinuedtoproducetheenzyme.Shereportsherteam'sfindingsNovember5attheannualmeetingoftheSocietyforNeuroscienceinOrlando.* A  k/ l0 y7 m% n) i
Wehavetwoexamplesofhumanstemcellsthatdothis,shesays.Theobviousextension[oftheseresults]istotakethosepredifferentiatedhumandopamineneuronsandtransplantthenintoParkinson'sdiseasemodelsystems.
. _6 D% z' _2 }5 L5 H8 bButfirst,Dr.Iacovittiwouldliketopurifytheseneurons.Hergrouphasdevelopedwaysoftagginglivedopamineneuronswithafluorescentmarker,shesays,enablingusforthefirsttimetopurifyorenrichthenumberofdopaminergicneuronsandtransplantthemintoParkinsoniananimalmodels.5 C- y3 r7 U; D0 `+ a
Ultimately,shesays,theyhopetoonedaybeabletodevelopthisasatreatmentforParkinson'sdiseaseinpeople.4 R9 w- B7 _, D  ?8 N
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作者:
- {% l! U% D* ?7 X. p来源: ScienceDaily Magazine
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