human induced pluripotent stem cells used to treat Parkinson's in rodents

[patecatl]

Technologies developed at the Buck Institute can speed the manufacturing of authentic neurons from stem cells for future clinical applications

Researchers at the Buck Institute for Age Research have successfully used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to treat rodents afflicted with Parkinson's Disease (PD). The research, which validates a scalable protocol that the same group had previously developed, can be used to manufacture the type of neurons needed to treat the disease and paves the way for the use of iPSC's in various biomedical applications. Results of the research, from the laboratory of Buck faculty Xianmin Zeng, Ph.D., are published August 16, 2010 in the on-line edition of the journal Stem Cells.

Human iPSC's are a "hot" topic among scientists focused on regenerative medicine. "These cells are reprogrammed from existing cells and represent a promising unlimited source for generating patient-specific cells for biomedical research and personalized medicine," said Zeng, who is lead author of the study. "Human iPSCs may provide an end-run around immuno-rejection issues surrounding the use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat disease," said Zeng. "They may also solve bioethical issues surrounding hESCs."

Researchers in the Zeng lab used human iPSCs that were derived from skin and blood cells and coaxed them to become dopamine-producing neurons. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced in the mid-brain which facilitates many critical functions, including motor skills. Patients with PD lack sufficient dopamine; the disease is a progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1.5 million Americans and results in tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-ssu081610.php