Scientists grow brain stem cells

Stem Cells :: Scientists grow brain stem cells

It's hard to grow stem cells in a dish. In particular, while it is possible to multiply mouse embryonic stem cells in culture, propagating stem cells that are specific to distinct tissues (e.g. neural stem cells) has proven to be a challenge. Neural stem cells are normally found in a specialized environment known as a neurosphere, which is thought to provide the necessary cellular signals to maintain populations of these undifferentiated cells.

In a new paper published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Austin Smith and colleagues have developed a method to propagate mouse brain stem cells derived from embryonic (ES) cells. Their novel method creates an on/off switch for differentiation of tissue-specific stem cells: they can multiply without differentiation, and they can also become normal brain cells. The authors also managed to cultivate the brain stem cells without re-creating the rarefied neurosphere. They observed both neurons and astrocytes, the two types of cells into which the brain stem cells mature.

In the future, scientists may use this new technique to produce large quantities of the cells to study their basic properties and also to explore their value for treating neurodegenerative afflictions, including Huntington disease, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease.




(Stem Cells :: Scientists grow brain stem cells published at SpiritIndia on Monday, August 22, 2005)

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