Bone Marrow Stem
Cells May Provide Source of Nerve Cells
For
Brain Repair
USF Study Finds
PR Newswire 08/01/00, 10:43a (Copyright © 2000, PR Newswire) Tampa,
Fla., Aug 1, 2000
Cells deep within the bone may one day yield a readily available source
of neurons to treat Parkinson's disease, stroke, and other neuro-degenerative
disorders, a University of South Florida College of Medicine study found. The
study, the cover article in the August issue of "Experimental
Neurology," demonstrated that both mouse and human stem cells that produce
bone marrow can be reprogrammed in the laboratory to become immature nerve
cells. "It's striking that we can generate new kinds of cells from deep
within the bone, including cells with the potential to become neurons for brain
repair," said lead investigator Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, the Helen Ellis
Professor in Parkinson's Disease Research at USF. Neuroscientists continue to
seek alternatives to human embryonic neurons as a source of therapeutic cells
for brain repair, said Paul Sanberg, PhD, director of the USF Neurosciences
Program. Bone marrow stem cells are readily accessible since they are already
collected from bone marrow donors for certain cancer treatments. And, stem cells
can be extracted from a patient's own bone marrow, so they are less likely to be
rejected than neural cells coming from other sources. Stem cells are primitive
cells that can multiply indefinitely, migrate to different parts of the body and
develop into any kind of tissue. Bone marrow retains the ability to generate
stem cells throughout life. Left to their own devices, these bone marrow stem
cells typically give rise to bone, blood and cartilage. But, the USF researchers
found that when a certain type of bone marrow stem cell (a stromal cell) is
cultured in the laboratory with retinoic acid and growth factor, the cells lose
their bone marrow characteristics and begin to resemble immature neurons. When
these transformed bone marrow cells were combined with fetal rat brain tissue in
a petri dish, the number of neuron- like cells doubled. More studies are needed
to determine whether the bone marrow-derived stem cells triggered to resemble
early nerve cells can actually develop into functioning neurons, Dr.
Sanchez-Ramos said. The USF researchers have begun cloning the stem cells and
transplanting them into an animal model for stroke to see if they can replace
damaged brain tissue. Layton BioScience Inc. has licensed the rights to this
technology and is developing it for clinical use.
SOURCE: University of South
Florida, Health Sciences Public Affairs
Office
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