The SCI PNAS abstract says:
>>We have directly isolated clonogenic human central nervous system stem cells (hCNS-SC) from fresh
human fetal brain tissue<<
Under the Bush administration I'm not sure sure how quickly this will move along, and there may be easier ways to skin a cat. From the same prestigious journal of the same date. Via its effect on neural stem cells, TGFalpha improved neurological function in a disease model.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 97, Issue 26, 14686-14691, December 19, 2000 Neurobiology
In vivo induction of massive proliferation, directed migration, and differentiation of neural cells in the adult mammalian brain
James Fallon*,, Steve Reid*, Richard Kinyamu*, Isaac Opole*, Rebecca Opole*, Janie Baratta*, Murray Korc, Tiffany L. Endo*, Alexander Duong*, Gemi Nguyen*, Masoud Karkehabadhi*, Daniel Twardzik§, and Sandra Loughlin¶
Departments of * Anatomy and Neurobiology, Medicine, and ¶ Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-1275; and § Stem Cell Pharmaceuticals, Seattle, WA 98104
Communicated by George J. Todaro, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, October 18, 2000 (received for review August 24, 2000)
The development of an in vivo procedure for the induction of massive proliferation, directed migration, and neurodifferentiation (PMD) in the damaged adult central nervous system would hold promise for the treatment of human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. We investigated the in vivo induction of PMD in the forebrain of the adult rat by using a combination of 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons and infusions of transforming growth factor (TGF) into forebrain structures. Only in animals with both lesion and infusion of TGF was there a rapid proliferation of forebrain stem cells followed by a timed migration of a ridge of neuronal and glial progenitors directed toward the region of the TGF infusion site. Subsequently, increasing numbers of differentiated neurons were observed in the striatum. In behavioral experiments, there was a significant reduction of apomorphine-induced rotations in animals receiving the TGF infusions. These results show that the brain contains stem cells capable of PMD in response to an exogenously administered growth factor. This finding has significant implications with respect to the development of treatments for both acute neural trauma and neurodegenerative diseases. |
