Growing Nerve Cells

Science Central ^ | 03.16.06

[Coleus]

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Plan on wearing green this St. Patrick's Day? Bet you can't top a mouse with green skin. As this ScienCentral News video explains, this mouse is green for a very serious reason. It's invaluable to researchers learning how to grow nerve cells.

Knitting New Neurons

Even for scientists, it's not every day you see a hairless mouse glowing bright green under a fluorescent light. And for scientists searching for stem cells that could grow into nerve or brain cells, seeing such a mouse meant finding a possible whole new source of such cells.

The scientists had given the mouse a gene so that areas would glow green where such stem cells might be found. They expected part of the mouse around the head to glow green. Instead, the entire mouse was aglow. "I'll never forget the minute that we made that observation," says Robert Hoffman, president of AntiCancer, Inc., where the finding took place.

Because of that moment, which Hoffman says was, in fact, a "lucky discovery," company scientists have been working on what could be a new source of adult stem cells.

Their most recent research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows that they've been able to use stem cells taken from a mouse hair follicle to help regenerate damaged nerves in mice. In previous research, also published in PNAS, they showed the stem cells could become special brain cells called neurons.

 

Hoffman says this trail of discovery began when they were trying to locate the source of adult stem cells for the brain. They were using a genetic modification technique that makes only the specific cells they're looking for glow green under fluorescent light. They expected to find appropriate cells somewhere around the brain. But when the entire mouse glowed, they knew there might be a promising source of stem cells elsewhere.
"So, we took a look at the skin under the microscope" says Hoffman, "and we immediately guessed, and we guessed right that these hair follicle stem cells are very similar to the brain stem cells."

Researchers have been looking at stem cells as a way help the body repair itself, even with injuries that are now often considered permanent, such as brain, spinal cord or nerve injuries. Embryonic stem cells have been shown to be very useful, but many object to their use on ethical grounds.

Research such as that done by Hoffman and his team is looking into adult stem cells. Hoffman says, "Perhaps we don't have to worry about embryonic stem cells or invasive procedures to get stem cells." Adding that only the hairs and the follicle would have to be removed. "Dermatologists can do this in seconds," he explains.

In their first experiments, they tried to, according to Hoffman, "convert the hair follicle stem cells into brain cells in the laboratory." When that worked, he says, "Then we knew there was a real relationship between the hair follicle stem cells and the brain stem cells." They then put them in mice, and found they still formed neurons.

 

This material is made possible by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academies.

From there they worked with mice with injured nerves. "We injected these hair follicle stem cells into the area where the nerve or the spinal cord is severed… [and] found that the nerve or spinal cord could be regenerated because we injected these hair follicle stem cells," says Hoffman.

He says they must still do a lot of testing, over several years, with mice before they'll be ready to see how this might apply to people.

This work was published in the December 6, 2005 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

[Larry Lucido]

I think you two need to part company now.

[Kaylee Frye]

We injected these hair follicle stem cells into the area where the nerve or the spinal cord is severed… [and] found that the nerve or spinal cord could be regenerated because we injected these hair follicle stem cells

Wow, that's simply incredible. From hair of all things. Makes sense though. How many hairs do I lose every time I brush my hair and yet they keep coming back (thank goodness or else I'd be bald).

[King Prout]

It's no fur, pelting me with so many puns all at once. It makes me bristle with anger.

(you shoulda know'd this was coming...)
[a-hem!]
keep your hair on!

the root cause of that barrage was the way you gave the interchange the shaft, dim-bulb!

[King Prout]

hoggin' yer turf, eh? can you toupee the weave of puns PH and I have already plugged into this thread?

I truly hope so, as all the jests I have left are all limp and greasy

[King Prout]

*grins*

[PatrickHenry]

I had assumed that your prior brush with me was sufficient to convince you, but now I must, as it were, wrestle you to the mat and implant this thought in your fuzzy brain -- you are a fringe player in this game. Thus far I have only been teasing. Does that shock you? No matter how you bob and weave, or even wiggle, the bald truth is that you cannot top this post!

[King Prout]

it would be a close shave were I to make such an attempt, but I do believe your last snippet of wit would come out a cut above. glad to have ironed that out - I was dyeing to see you untangle your puns once again. Neither upbraid me nor snarl at this concession - it is, I assure you, no play to beard you.

[King Prout]

plucky, ain't I?

[PatrickHenry]

As I comb through your recent offering, searching for a filament of meaning, it seems utterly threadbare. Indeed, you seem hare brained. Actually, you are growing cilia with each post, and I shall leave you stranded.

[Coleus]

like the frog that eats the lightning bug, it would be cool to see the mouse glow in the cat's abdomen.

[strategofr]

They better hurry up if they expect to get any hair from me!

[strategofr]

" Actually, you are growing cilia with each post"

LOL!

[strategofr]

"like the frog that eats the lightning bug, it would be cool to see the mouse glow in the cat's abdomen."

Never heard of that frog eating a lightning bug thing.

[King Prout]

I have shed all hope of victory in this battle

[Pharmer]

OK FReeper as a professional cell biologist and pharmacologist I am offering my opinion on this matter:

In all fairness, the discovery of green and yellow fluorescent protein (GFP and YFP) and the knowledge of how to transfect it into cells and into rodent models is the stuff of real Nobel prizes. The ability to to fluorescently tag proteins allows us to visually see their biological behavior using microscopic fluorescent imaging systems (both of which I am a known expert ;>) and we all know what we think as the MSM goes "experts tell us". But trust me, I know my shit it this area.)

In this area too many liberals are seeing this as "STEM CELL RESEARCH!!!!!!!!" and not for it really is... This technology allows us to track the development of the nervous system from zygote to adult but understand how various neurons form and how they truly effect our behavior

GFP is the the greatest tool for drug discovery since the use of tritium (3H, yes radioactive!!!!) labeled drugs. This stuff has many uses as our industry gene jockeys can tag this protein on receptor genes and make cells that don't normally show a drug receptor of interest but make that receptor glow!. We can then study through image analysis, the physiological effects of the drug/receptor interactions.

As for what that leads to... Maybe a cure for Alzheimer's, stroke, spinal cord injury, ALS.

[farlander]

LOL, I think you actually have to have a spine in a first place. It only works for repair - I doubt they could grow a whole new one...