Title:The Use of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine for Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Diseases
Volume: 19
Issue: 35
Author(s): L. Lescaudron, P. Naveilhan and I. Neveu
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Behavioral recovery, immune property, neurite outgrowth, neurogenesis, neuron replacement, tissue repair, transplantation,
trophic factor
Abstract: Cell transplantation has been proposed as a means of replacing specific cell populations lost through neurodegenerative processes
such as that seen in Parkinson's or Huntington’s diseases. Improvement of the clinical symptoms has been observed in a number of
Parkinson and Huntington’s patients transplanted with freshly isolated fetal brain tissue but such restorative approach is greatly hampered
by logistic and ethical concerns relative to the use of fetal tissue, in addition to potential side effects that remain to be controlled. In this
context, stem cells that are capable of self-renewal and can differentiate into neurons, have received a great deal of interest, as demonstrated
by the numerous studies based on the transplantation of neural stem/progenitor cells, embryonic stem cells or mesenchymal stem
cells into animal models of Parkinson's or Huntington’s diseases. More recently, the induction of pluripotent stem cells from somatic
adult cells has raised a new hope for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present article, we review the main experimental
approaches to assess the efficiency of cell–based therapy for Parkinson's or Huntington’s diseases, and discuss the recent advances in using
stem cells to replace lost dopaminergic mesencephalic or striatal neurons. Characteristics of the different stem cells are extensively
examined with a special attention to their ability of producing neurotrophic or immunosuppressive factors, as these may provide a favourable
environment for brain tissue repair and long-term survival of transplanted cells in the central nervous system. Thus, stem cell
therapy can be a valuable tool in regenerative medicine.
