X-Message-Number: 16185
From: "Jan Coetzee" <>
Subject: Brain cells cultivated from corpses
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 16:23:20 -0400

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Brain cells cultivated from corpses

        
     

London - Researchers have isolated and cultivated brain cells from human corpses
in a scientific feat that could provide a new source of stem cells for research
and medical treatments. 


Professor Fred Gage and his colleagues at the Salk Institute in California 
obtained the brain cells that can grow, divide and form specialised brain cells 
from tissue samples of people shortly after their deaths. 


Their achievement, reported in the science journal Nature on Wednesday, could 
overcome the ethical obstacles of using stem cells derived from embryos. 


"I find it remarkable that we have pockets of cells in our brain that can grow 
and differentiate throughout our lives and even after death," Gage said in a 
statement. 


Stem cells are master cells that can grow into virtually any type of cell in the
body. Embryos are the richest source of human stem cells but their use has been
dogged by ethical debate. 


Right-to-life and religious groups oppose the use of stem cells from early 
embryos. Scientists want to use the cells to develop treatments for diseases 
ranging from Parkinson's, diabetes and cancers to leukaemia, hepatitis and 
stroke. 


Gage and his team used biopsy or post-mortem tissue from 23 people ranging from 
11 weeks to 72 years old. Tissue taken from younger individuals provided more 
viable cells. 


The scientists used special growth factors to obtain cells from the tissue, 
which they said was a crucial element to their success. 


"This study employed a pool of cells from extracted tissue. We haven't yet 
isolated individual cells from that pool and followed them to see if a single 
cell can give rise to multiple classes of brain cells," Gage explained. 


All of the cells used in the research were from people who had suffered from 
brain disorders. Gage and his colleagues were using them to study the cell 
biology of the various brain diseases. 


"Cells recovered from healthy individuals could provide a model for 
understanding how to stimulate and guide the normal processes of brain cell 
growth and differentiation, lending insight to how growth might be stimulated in
people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or 
Parkinson's," said Gage. 


The scientists are also planning to transplant the brain cells into animals to 
see if they survive and differentiate. 


"Testing in whole animals is the only way to know if adult tissue can be a 
source of stem or progenitor cells for transplant purposes to treat 
neurodegenerative disease," Gage added. 


Stem cells are derived from the cells of aborted foetuses, blood cells taken 
from the umbilical cord at birth and adult tissue. Stem cells from early embryos
offer the greatest potential for human benefit. - Reuters




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