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Bone marrow may help treat Parkinson's disease: Research Washington, Oct 16 (ANI): New research conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine reveals that bone marrow cells can fuse with specialized brain cells and repair and bolster brain cell activity. This finding helps resolve an ongoing debate of whether adult stem cells transform from bone marrow cells into other cell types like the brain, muscle or liver cells or do they fuse with those cells to form a single entity with two nuclei? The research carried out by Helen Blau, the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Professor of Pharmacology, was published in the Oct. 16 online issue of 'Nature Cell Biology'. The findings showed that the bone marrow cells in mice fuse with existing Purkinje cells and activate genes normally made in Purkinje cell nuclei. ""I think that fusion might be a really important biological mechanism Fusion might be a sophisticated mechanism for rescuing complex damaged cells," Blau said. Blau and senior scientist James Weimann transplanted mice with bone marrow cells that had been genetically altered to produce a fluorescent green protein. Over the course of the next 18 months (75 percent of a mouse's life span), they looked for signs of fluorescent green cells in the animals' brains. Over time, the group found an increasing number of Purkinje cells that glowed green under a microscope. Looking closely at these cells, they found two nuclei - one from the original Purkinje cell and one from the fused bone marrow cell. They also found that the compact nucleus of the bone marrow cell expanded over time to take on the appearance of the more loosely packed Purkinje cell nucleus. The bone marrow nucleus in the fused cell also acts like a Purkinje cell nucleus, they found. When the group transplanted mice with bone marrow cells that only glow green when Purkinje cell genes are active, they found normal- looking Purkinje cells that glowed green. This showed that the bone marrow cells had fused with Purkinje cells and activated Purkinje cell genes. "If you know what those signals are, you could deliver the signal to damaged tissue and recruit the body's own bone marrow cells to treat disease," Blau said. Experts hope these recruited bone marrow cells may be a way of repairing damage caused by injury, stroke or such illnesses Parkinson's disease. (ANI) SOURCE: Reuters / Yahoo http://in.news.yahoo.com/031016/139/28ib2.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn