Researchers recently announced an exciting new discovery: bone marrow cells may artificially give rise to brain stem cells. It seems possible that, sometime in the near future, an Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s disease sufferer can use his or her own bone marrow cells to regenerate lost nerve cells in the brain. Additionally, doctors will be able to avoid the ethical dilemmas involved in extracting stem cells from embryos. For more information on stem cells, click here.
Bone marrow cells are the source of various tissue types, including red blood cells and white blood cells. Stromal cells in the bone marrow can generate other kinds of tissue. German researchers recently extracted stromal cells from human bone marrow and cultured them with growth factors. They soon multiplied into neuroprogenitor cells -brain stem cells that can mature into nerve cells or glial cells, the two most common types of cells in the brain. For more information on brain cells, please click here.
Besides avoiding some of the legal and moral issues involved in stem cell research and treatment, the use of stromal cells to make brain stem cells has another advantage: the patient’s immune system is much less likely to reject tissues from his or her own body as compared with those of a donor.
One of the challenges of replacing dead and dying nerve cells with brain stem cells is making sure that they implant properly. The new cells must make the right connections with existing brain circuitry. Finding a way to integrate the new cells into the nervous system is the next big hurdle for researchers and doctors. Another challenge in stem cell research is gaining a better understanding of the “instructions set” that stem cells use to turn into various cell types. However, despite the obstacles they face, scientists are continuing to search for repositories of stem cells in fat tissue, skin, bone, and even in the brain itself.
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