From: drbhudia@... kutchsciencefoundation@... Subject: Japanese
researchers make brain tissues from stem cellsTo: harshadudeshi@...;
b.mthakkar@...





Dear Docs, Medicos and friends of Science and Genetics,

Japanese researchers said Thursday they had created functioning human brain
tissues from stem cells, a world first that has raised new hopes for the
treatment of disease.








Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used to form tissues of the
cerebral cortex, the supreme control tower of the brain, according to
researchers at the government-backed research institute Riken.

The tissues self-organised into four distinct zones very similar to the
structure seen in human foetuses, and conducted neuro-activity such as
transmitting electrical signals, the institute said.
Research on stem cells is seen as having the potential to save lives by helping
to find cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes or to replace damaged
cells, tissues and organs.
The team's previous studies showed stem cells differentiated into distinct cells
but until now they had never organised into functioning tissues.
"In regenerative therapy, only a limited number of diseases can be cured with
simple cell transplants. Transplanting tissues could raise hopes for greater
functional recovery," the institute said in a statement.
"Cultivated tissues are still insufficient and too small to be used to treat
stroke patients. But study of in-vitro cultivation of more mature cortex
tissues, such as those with six zones like in the adult human brain, will be
stepped up," it said.
The tissues could also serve as "a mini organ" for use in studying the cause of
the Alzheimer's disease and developing vaccines, it said.
Embryonic stem cells are harvested by destroying a viable embryo, a process that
some people find unacceptable.
Riken said cortex tissues were also obtained from "induced pluripotent stem
cells," which are similar to embryonic stem cells but artificially induced,
typically from adult cells such as skin cells.
The research was led by Yoshiki Sasai at Riken Centre for Development Biology in
western Japan's Kobe.
The cultivated tissues look like minature mushrooms two millimetres (0.08
inches) in diametre.
The team also succeeded in making cortex tissues from the embryonic stem cells
of mice.
Using mouse tissues, scientists confirmed they had formed a network of neurons
that properly respond to stimulus.
The tissues can also be selectively induced to different cortex types
controlling memories, visual sensation and other tasks.
The findings of the study were published in the November 6 online journal Cell
Stem Cell in the United States.



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