title: The neurogenic niche in the carotid body and its applicability to antiparkinsonian cell therapy.
abstract: The carotid body (CB) is a neural crest-derived organ whose major function is to sense changes in arterial O(2) tension to elicit hyperventilation during hypoxia. The CB is composed of clusters of neuron-like glomus, or type I, cells that are highly dopaminergic and contain large amounts of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Glomus cells are enveloped by glia-like sustentacular, or type II, cells. In chronic hypoxia the CB grows with increase in glomus cell number. This adaptive response depends on a collection of neural progenitors that can be isolated and induced to form clonal neurospheres in vitro. CB neurospheres contain numerous newly differentiated glomus cells, which maintain their functional properties and the ability to synthesize dopamine and GDNF. Intrastriatal CB transplants have been assayed in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) to test whether they increase the striatal dopamine levels and/or exert a neuroprotective action on the nigrostriatal pathway. Two pilot safety studies performed on PD patients subjected to CB autotransplantation have suggested that a major limitation of this technique is the small size of the organ. This could, however, be overcome by the in vitro formation of new CB tissue derived from adult CB stem cells.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, Edificio de Laboratorios, 2a planta, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013 Seville, Spain. lbarneo@us.es
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López-Barneo
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pardal
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ortega-Sáenz
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Durán
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Villadiego
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Toledo-Aral
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000601:surgery*; D055153:Stem Cell Niche / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor