New research from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research
and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics
(Germany) have produced central nervous system cells from neural
stem cells. These cells produce myelin a layer that surrounds neurons
in the brain and spinal chord. The article is a bit technical but
understandable as well.KJ
A new program for neural stem cells
Neural stem cells can do a lot, but not everything. For example, brain and spinal cord cells are not usually generated by neural stem cells of the peripheral nervous system, and it is not possible to produce cells of the peripheral nervous system from the stem cells of the brain. However, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have now succeeded in producing central nervous system cells from neural stem cells of the peripheral nervous system. They found that if peripheral stem cells are maintained under defined growth conditions, they generate oligodendrocytes, which form the myelin layer that surrounds the neurons found in the brain and spinal cord.
The mammalian nervous system consists of a central (brain, spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (e.g. nerves and sensory ganglia). Although the two systems are very closely interlinked, they differ anatomically and consist of different cell types. The cell types of the peripheral nervous system originate from precursor cells in the embryo called the neural crest. To date, it was believed that these neural crest stem cells could generate the neurons and support cells, known as glial cells, of the peripheral nervous system, but not the cells of the central nervous system.Continue reading
