title: Comparison of the therapeutic potential of adult and embryonic neural precursor cells in a rat model of Parkinson disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The therapeutic effects of adult and embryonic neural precursor cells (NPCs) were evaluated and their therapeutic potential compared in a rat model of Parkinson disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult NPCs were obtained from the subventricular zone and embryonic NPCs were taken from the ganglionic eminence of 14-day-old embryos. Each NPC type was cultured with epidermal growth factor. The in vitro neuronal differentiation rate of adult NPCs was approximately equivalent to that of embryonic NPCs after two passages. Next, the NPCs were transfected with either green fluorescent protein or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) by adenoviral infection and transplanted into the striata in a rat model of Parkinson disease (PD) induced by unilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. An amphetamine-induced rotation test was used to evaluate rat behavioral improvement, and immunohistochemical analysis was performed to compare grafted cell survival, differentiation, and host tissue changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rats with GDNF-transfected NPCs had significantly fewer amphetamine-induced rotations and less histological damage. Except for the proportion of surviving grafted cells, there were no significant differences between adult and embryonic NPCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adult and embryonic NPCs have a comparable therapeutic potential in a rat model of PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Science, Okayama, Japan. ken-ichi@zj8.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muraoka
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shingo
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasuhara
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kameda
authors.forename: Wen Ji
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uozumi
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Date
mesh_terms: D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins