Stem Cell Rescearch at UTMB

November 15, 2002

Hello Family,

A short but definitely promising bit of news about stem cell research. If any

one runs across the actual study: " Region-specific generation of cholinergic

neurons from fetal human neural stem cells grafted in adult rat " , I would like a

copy please.

God Bless,

Judy & Jim Stark

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WELCOME TO ACURIAN

Stark

Researchers Make Stem Cell Breakthrough

Source: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

11/11/2002

For years, scientists have dreamed of using stem cells--cells that can

become any cell type in the human body -- to replace neurons damaged by brain or

spinal cord injury or such neurological disorders as Parkinson's disease,

Alzheimer's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's

disease). But a major obstacle has always stood in the path of making such a

therapy work: Whether derived from embryonic or adult tissue, only a few stem

cells transform themselves into neurons when placed in most areas of the brain

and spinal cord. Most simply fail to develop, or become glial support cells, not

the neurons that need to be replaced.

Now, in a breakthrough with great significance for the use of stem cells

in central nervous system therapies, researchers at the University of Texas

Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have found a way to make the majority of

human fetal stem cells implanted into rat brains and spinal cords develop into

neurons.

A Nature Neuroscience paper entitled " Region-specific generation of

cholinergic neurons from fetal human neural stem cells grafted in adult rat "

(published in the journal's December 2002 issue and appearing online November

11) describes experiments by Ping Wu, Yevgeniya Tarasenko, Yanping Gu, Li-Yen

Huang, Coggeshall and Yongjia Yu in which they pre-treated human fetal

stem cells with a mixture of chemicals important to neuron development. When

injected into the prefrontal cortex, medial septum and spinal cord of adult rats

-- all " non-neurogenic " regions that normally do not produce new nerve cells --

the " primed " cells almost all differentiated into neurons. Moreover, they

developed into exactly the right kind of neurons for the central nervous system

area into which they were implanted.

" This priming seems to get the cells into a plastic intermediate stage,

and then after they're injected they acquire environmental cues and become

specific kinds of neurons according to where they're located, " said Wu, an

assistant professor of anatomy and neurosciences at UTMB.

Wu, who holds a doctorate in neuroendocrinology from UTMB in addition to a

medical degree, has worked for two years to find a way to get fetal stem cells

to develop into cholinergic motor neurons -- nerve cells that release the

neurotransmitter acetylcholine and also provide the link between the central

nervous system and the muscles. " As an M.D., my ultimate goal is to find a way

to help patients with neurological disorders and brain and spinal cord injury,

and cholinergic neurons are what degenerate in disorders like Alzheimer's and

Lou Gehrig's disease, as well as being damaged in spinal and brain trauma, " Wu

said. " Until now, nobody's been able to get a significant number of cholinergic

neurons from primarily cultured stem cells, but using this primer we can get

over 55 percent such neurons with transplanted stem cells. "

Funded by a new researcher grant from the Sealy & Foundation and a

grant from The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Mission Connect

project, Wu's group is continuing to investigate the possibilities for stem cell

implantation -- extending the studies it has already conducted on healthy rats

to those with spinal cord injury and motor neuron disease.

" We will see if we can produce the same results in those diseased animals,

and then the next challenge will be to see if the neurons can actually make the

right contact to the right targets -- for example, if motor neurons are

transplanted into the spinal cord, whether they can send fibers, or axons, to

muscle, " Wu said. " Then we'll see if they can release the neurotransmitters, and

then look at function to see if there is a long-term functional recovery. We

also need to confirm that there is no tumor formation from the implanted stem

cells. Then we're talking about real clinical significance and real clinical

trials. And hopefully after we sort out those critical issues, we can think

about clinical applications to treat neurodegenerative diseases and spinal and

brain trauma. "

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November 15, 2002