Science Brief, Accelerating Alzheimer Research
Accelerating Alzheimer disease research with hESCs and iPSCs
US researchers claim to have generated functional basal forebrain cholinergic (FBFC) neurons from human embryonic stem cells (hESC).
As reported in the journal, Stem Cells, FBFC neurons are the type of nerve cell that is killed off early in Alzheimer disease, causing the characteristic memory loss. The team, from Northwestern University Medical School, also demonstrated that the stem cell-derived nerve cells appear to function normally in vivo.
- When the neurons were transplanted into the hippocampus in mice, they sent out axons and released acetylcholine;
- Researchers hope the ability to generate large quantities of relevant human neurons will accelerate Alzheimer disease research, provide a limitless supply of cells for in vitro drug testing, and potentially even lead to new transplant therapies for patients.
The Bottom Line: Scientists have managed to generate the same neurons from skin-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from Alzheimer patients and healthy individuals. The brain houses a relatively small proportion of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, and these cells act to help the hippocampus retrieve memories in the brain. The loss of these cells in Alzheimer disease has a rapid effect on the ability to remember things, Now that scientists have learned how to make these cells, they can study them in a tissue culture dish and figure out what we can do to prevent them dying. (HWM and GEN)
