Adult mouse bone marrow stem cells can become cells of the nervous system
Findings similar to results with embryonic and neural stem cells
University of Minnesota researchers show that adult bone marrow stem cells can be induced to differentiate into cells of the midbrain. The findings, published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that adult bone-marrow-derived stem cells may one day be useful for treating diseases of the central nervous system, including Parkinsons disease.
The potential of these adult stem cells, termed multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs), were the subject of research reported in Nature in June 2002. Todays published research findings show specific cell differentiation for a specific goal. While this type of cell differentiation has been shown to occur from embryonic and neural stem cells, this is the first time adult bone-marrow-derived cells have been shown to generate dopamine like neurons.
“Were able to show in vitro generation of functional dopamine producing cells from adult bone marrow stem cells needed for therapy of Parkinsons,” said lead investigator Catherine Verfaillie, M.D., director of the universitys Stem Cell Institute. “This further proves similarity of the MAPCs with embryonic stem cells.
“Again, while adult stem cells hold great promise, side by side comparison of adult and embryonic stem cells must be done to determine which stem cells are most useful in treating a particular disease,” said Verfaillie.
Study results can be found online at http://www.pnas.org.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Properties of new materials for microchips
… can now be measured well. Reseachers of Delft University of Technology demonstrated measuring performance properties of ultrathin silicon membranes. Making ever smaller and more powerful chips requires new ultrathin…
Floating solar’s potential
… to support sustainable development by addressing climate, water, and energy goals holistically. A new study published this week in Nature Energy raises the potential for floating solar photovoltaics (FPV)…
Skyrmions move at record speeds
… a step towards the computing of the future. An international research team led by scientists from the CNRS1 has discovered that the magnetic nanobubbles2 known as skyrmions can be…