Human neural stem cells improve cognitive function of aged brain.
The capability for in vitro expansion of human neural stem cells (HNSCs) provides a well characterized and unlimited source alternative to using primary fetal tissue for neuronal replacement therapies. The HNSCs, injected into the lateral ventricle of 24-month-old rats after in vitro expansion, displayed extensive and positional incorporation into the aged host brain with improvement of cognitive score assessed by the Morris water maze after 4 weeks of the transplantation. Our results demonstrate that the aged brain is capable of providing the necessary environment for HNSCs to retain their pluripotent status and suggest the potential for neuroreplacement therapies in age-associated neurodegenerative disease.
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Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Brannen
C L
CL
Kim
H M
HM
Sugaya
K
K
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020547:Lateral Ventricles / Q000637:transplantation*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000601:surgery*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation