UK researchers turn nerve cells back to stem cells Sep
07, 2000 (Reuters)
Reuters
In a possible step toward new treatments for brain
disorders such as Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease, UK scientists have found a way to
turn mature nerve cells back into
more primitive forms.
In experiments with tissue from newborn rats, the
researchers were able to turn nerve cells
known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPGs) back into
stem cells. Stem cells, which
give rise to all cells and tissue in the body, have
grabbed much attention of late because of
their potential for treating a range of diseases. They
are, however, extremely difficult to
harvest from the human body.
This latest research points to a potential new source for
stem cells. Human OPGs, Dr. Toru
Kondo told Reuters Health, are much easier to harvest
than stem cells are. In the life cycle
of this type of cell, OPGs are basically teenagers--they
arise from stem cells and develop
into mature oligodendrocytes. If human OPGs can be coaxed
back to infancy, these new
stem cells may help treat degenerative brain diseases,
according to Kondo.
Kondo and Martin Raff, both of University College London,
report their findings in the
September 8th issue of the journal Science.
In their experiments, the researchers bathed the OPGs in
a number of growth factors that
caused them to revert back to stem cells. Next, Kondo and
Raff used techniques that not
only coaxed the new stem cells to develop into mature
oligodendrocytes, but also into two
other types of advanced nerve cells. This, according to
the study authors, shows that OPGs
are not "irreversibly committed" to growing up into one
type of cell.
The idea that mature body cells can be steered away from
their original programming has
been controversial, but a growing body of research
suggests it is possible. "We have a
really clear example here of reprogramming (nerve
cells)," Ben Barres, a stem cell
researcher at Stanford University in California, told
Reuters Health.
While this "proof of principle" still needs to be proven
possible in humans, Barres said that
coaxing OPGs and other precursor cells to revert to stem
cells could have a huge impact on
treating human disease. A person's own precursor cells
could be extracted and used to
treat them, he noted.
"The potential is enormous for almost any brain injury,"
Barres stated.
SOURCE: Science 2000;289:1754-1757.
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Reviewed on: Sep 07, 00
