Neuroreplacement therapy and stem cell biology under disease conditions.
Recent advances in stem cell technology are expanding our ability to replace a variety of cells throughout the body. In the past, neurological diseases caused by the degeneration of neuronal cells were considered incurable because of a long-held 'truism'; neurons do not regenerate during adulthood. However, this statement has been challenged, and we have now found much evidence that the brain is indeed capable of regenerating neurons after maturing. Based on this new concept, researchers have shown neural differentiation of stem cells and recovery of function following transplantation of these cells into the brain. These results may promise a bright future for clinical applications of stem cell strategies in neurological diseases; however, we must consider the pathophysiological environments of individual diseases that may affect stem cell biology. Before we begin to develop clinical applications, we must consider environmental factors that have not been discussed in the current preclinical studies. Here, we study cases of Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia and discuss the effects of environmental factors under disease conditions.
Sugaya
K
K
University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. ksugaya@uic.edu
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000628:therapy; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000091042:Reelin Protein; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation
D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000091042:Reelin Protein; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases