 |
 |
Researchers create nerve cells from osteoblasts Yomiuri Shimbun A group of researchers at Keio University has succeeded in generating nerve cells from bone- forming osteoblast cells contained in bone marrow. The experiment was conducted on mice. If the research results can be applied to human beings, the transplanting of generated nerve cells could become effective in treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's disease, in which the patient's motor nerves become uncontrollable, and in cases of spinal-cord injuries, the researchers said. The use of marrow from a patient's own body would prevent the body from rejecting treatment, the researchers added. The group was led by Junichi Hata, a professor in the pathology department of Keio University's medical faculty. In the experiment, the group succeeded in creating nerve cells from osteoblast cells with an efficiency of nearly 100 percent. Akihiro Umezawa, assistant professor at the university, and others looked into mesenchymal stem cells, which transform themselves into bone, cartilage and cardiac muscles. After they extracted the cells from the marrow of a mouse and cultured them under certain conditions, they found that nerve cells, as well as cartilage and cardiac muscles, had formed. Analyzing the results, they confirmed that osteoblast cells had been transformed into nerve cells. When osteoblast cells were extracted from stem cells and cultivated with a substance to foster the growth of nerves, they formed cell bodies, axons and dendrites within a few days. Axons are capable of transmitting impulses that dendrites receive. After three weeks, the cells began to react to neurotransmitters and were confirmed to be functioning as nerve cells. Unrecoverable nerve cells are considered a major obstacle in the treatment of certain diseases. If nerve cells can be revived and transplanted, treatment methods for such diseases are likely to improve dramatically. At a number of research institutes around the world, studies have been conducted to generate nerve cells from embryonic stem cells, which can grow into various types of human cells, and from nerve trunk cells, which exist in the brain. In August, a team of researchers in the United States succeeded in an experiment to generate nerve cells from mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow. But the results obtained by the Keio team showed a higher efficiency in creating nerve cells from osteoblast cells. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20010203wo71.htm