Want China Times, Xinhua 2012-12-16
A nurse cares for a woman with Parkinson's disease. (File photo/Xinhua) |
Chinese scientists have found a new and innovative way to use cells found in human urine that could aid in the treatment of a range of neurodegenerative disorders.
The
scientists have discovered a new technique for reprogramming cells shed in
human urine into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) that can grow into
multi-functional neuronal subtypes and glial cells.
The
technique is expected to be used in the study and treatment of neural disorders
such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative
disorders.
Their
findings were published online on Dec. 9 in a research report in the journal
Nature Methods, a monthly publication covering novel findings in life sciences.
Pei
Duanqing, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Guangzhou Institutes
of Biomedicine and Health, said his research team has combined an episomal
system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium
to reprogram kidney epithelial cells naturally shed in urine into NPCs.
These NPCs,
normally only found in the human brain, were later proven to be transgene-free
and self-renewing, he said.
"These
neurons and glial cells can survive for up to one month when transplanted into
the brain of a newborn rat," said Pei.
He said his
team is working hard to understand why their experimental condition allowed the
urine cells to become NPCs so as to improve the technique and make it more
efficient.
Scientists
have long sought to treat and study neural disorders by obtaining and
transplanting neural stem cells. However, the previous method of isolating and
using cells from either fetal or adult human tissue remain challenging due to
ethical concerns and immune system rejections, he said.
Pei hopes
the discovery will be used to generate NPCs from patients with neurological
disorders such as Parkinson's disease. "These NPCs from patients may help
us discover new drugs for these diseases."
"It is
a remarkable advance in the stem cell field," said Fred Gage, professor
with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
They
reprogrammed somatic cells with a non-integrating virus and epithelial-like
cells from human urine, a novel, safe and abundant source of cells, he said.
The results
and methods derived from this study will be of great value and significance to
the field, he said.
Related Articles:
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment