There is a progressive degeneration of brain cells known as dopamine (DA) cells in Parkinson's disease.




What if these cells can be replaced?

Indeed, the replacement of dopamine cells is now considered as a promising therapeutic strategy against Parkinson's disease: Ernest Arenas and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, have identified a new source for DA cells that provided marked benefit when transplanted into mice with a PD-like disease.

In the study, DA cells were derived from ventral midbrain (VM) neural stem cells/progenitors by culturing them in the presence of a number of factors - FGF2, sonic hedgehog, and FGF8 - and engineering them to express Wnt5a.

This protocol generated 10-fold more DA cells than did conventional FGF2 treatment. Further analysis revealed that these cells initiated substantial cellular and functional recovery when transplanted into mice with PD-like disease.

Importantly, the mice did not develop tumors, a potential risk that has precluded the clinical development of embryonic stem cells as a source of DA cells. These data led the authors to suggest that Wnt5a-treated neural stem cells might be an efficient and safe source of DA cells for the treatment of individuals with PD.

Findings are published in the December 3 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).

Article title: "Wnt5a-treated midbrain neural stem cells improve dopamine cell replacement therapy in parkinsonian mice"

WOW. Promising therapeutic strategy indeed!

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