RT- New Findings Support Promise of Using Stem Cells to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--May 1, 2006--
The results of a study published in the April issue of Stem Cells and Development suggest that human stem cells derived from bone marrow are predisposed to develop into a variety of nerve cell types, supporting the promise of developing stem cell-based therapies to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Stem Cells and Development is a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The paper, entitled "Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Express Neural Genes, Suggesting a Neural Predisposition," is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/scd.
These surprising results lend a new perspective to stem cell differentiation and suggest that multipotential stem cells may express a wide variety of genes at low levels and that stem cells achieve their remarkable plasticity by downregulating the expression of many of these background genes.
In an accompanying editorial, journal Editor-in-Chief, Denis English, Ph.D., Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Cell Biology at the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Research at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, writes, "The theory invokes the term 'stem state' to indicate this property, which is characterized by a 'neural predisposition' of stem cells. This contrasts with the conventional view that MSCs exclusively express mesenchymal genes and only express genes of advanced structures in response to differentiation signals." He proposes that "contrary to our current thinking, stem cells are in no sense primitive cells. In fact, stem cells may well be the most advanced cells the organism produces."
The authors of the report, Netta Blondheim, Yossef Levy, Tali Ben-Zur, Alex Burshtein, Tirza Cherlow, et al., from the Felsenstein Medical Research Center and Department of Neurology at Rabin Medical Center, the Sackler School of Medicine of Tel Aviv University, and Laniado Hospital in Israel, propose this new view of adult stem cell plasticity based on their findings that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells grown in the laboratory express an extensive assortment of neural genes, genes linked to the neuro-dopaminergic system, and transcription factors that control genes having neural significance.
They conclude that these MSCs are predisposed to differentiate into neuronal cells given the proper conditions. When transplanted into the central nervous system, they will develop into a variety of functional neural cell types, making them a potent resource for cell-based therapy.
Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology, characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those of the hematopoietic system. A complete table of contents and free sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/scd.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cloning and Stem Cells, Human Gene Therapy, and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., New Rochelle Vicki Cohn, 914-740-2100, ext. 2156 vcohn@liebertpub.com |
