[HTML][HTML] Dopaminergic neurons generated from monkey embryonic stem cells function in a Parkinson primate model

Y Takagi, J Takahashi, H Saiki… - The Journal of …, 2005 - Am Soc Clin Investig
Y Takagi, J Takahashi, H Saiki, A Morizane, T Hayashi, Y Kishi, H Fukuda, Y Okamoto…
The Journal of clinical investigation, 2005Am Soc Clin Investig
Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of midbrain
dopaminergic (DA) neurons. ES cells are currently the most promising donor cell source for
cell-replacement therapy in PD. We previously described a strong neuralizing activity
present on the surface of stromal cells, named stromal cell–derived inducing activity (SDIA).
In this study, we generated neurospheres composed of neural progenitors from monkey ES
cells, which are capable of producing large numbers of DA neurons. We demonstrated that …
Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons. ES cells are currently the most promising donor cell source for cell-replacement therapy in PD. We previously described a strong neuralizing activity present on the surface of stromal cells, named stromal cell–derived inducing activity (SDIA). In this study, we generated neurospheres composed of neural progenitors from monkey ES cells, which are capable of producing large numbers of DA neurons. We demonstrated that FGF20, preferentially expressed in the substantia nigra, acts synergistically with FGF2 to increase the number of DA neurons in ES cell–derived neurospheres. We also analyzed the effect of transplantation of DA neurons generated from monkey ES cells into 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine–treated (MPTP-treated) monkeys, a primate model for PD. Behavioral studies and functional imaging revealed that the transplanted cells functioned as DA neurons and attenuated MPTP-induced neurological symptoms.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation