By transplanting neuronal harbinger cells into the brains of mice , investigator have handle to invert the learning and storage deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer ’s disease and thus restore normal cognitive function . Thestudynot only not only suggests a novel way to investigate how learnedness and memory is affected by sure disease , but also lift the hypothesis that cell replacement therapy could be used to treat Alzheimer ’s in the future . The field has been published inThe Journal of Neuroscience .
In order for the brain to function normally , there involve to be abalancebetween excitatory and repressing natural process in neuronal networks . Too much excitement can damage prison cell and lead to cell last , whereas excess forbiddance prevents the flow of information . This balance is cut off in the brains of Alzheimer ’s disease ( advertising ) patients as repressing neuron in a region of the brain called the genus Hippocampus become damaged and become flat , leading to erudition and memory board problem . Two agent that are know to intemperately impart to this are Apolipoprotein ( apo ) E4 and amyloid - β ( Aβ ) .
The study of Alzheimer ’s has been facilitate by mouse model of the disease which allow researchers to try out disease progression and potential intervention avenues , amongst other thing . so as to investigate whether put back the preoccupied or damage neurons can improve brain signaling and alleviate disease symptom , scientist from theGladstone Institutesand the University of California San Francisco transplanted progenitor repressing neurons into the hippocampus of aged mice expressing apoE4 . These are early - stage electric cell that are subject of maturing into inhibitory neurons .
Using aged mice is important in the written report of AD because it is more representative of the scenario in humans , since AD is a progressive disease that is predominantly diagnosed in those over the years of 65 .
Unexpectedly , the grafted cells not only survived in the brains of the mice and mature into inhibitory nerve cell , but they also functionally integrate into the neuronal circumference , touch on encyclopedism and memory . what is more , when they used apoE4 mice which also had superfluous point of Aβ in their brains , alike to the brains of advert patient , the cognitive deficit displayed by the mice were once again alleviated .
Interestingly , the subroutine leave Aβ levels unchanged in the brain , which imply that the improvements were not a result of amyloid reduction .
“ This is the first time transplantation of inhibitory neuron progenitor has been used in aged Alzheimer ’s disease model , ” lead author Leslie Tong aver in anews - tone ending . “ Working with older animals can be challenging from a technological viewpoint , and it was amazing to see that the cells not only survived but affected natural action and behaviour . ”
While the investigator are a farseeing way from being capable to translate this into a treatment for humans , it remains an important proof of concept study and suggest that one twenty-four hours cell replacement therapy may help AD patient .
lintel image " Hausmaus , " by Nils J , via Flickr , used in accordance with CC BY - NC - SA 2.0 .
