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Pruszak:Research: Difference between revisions
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'''The goal of our work is to enhance present knowledge of lineage specification and cell-cell interactions in human neural development. ''' Our current focus is the identification of cell-contact- as well as diffusible factor-mediated determinants of neural lineage specification. | '''The goal of our work is to enhance present knowledge of lineage specification and cell-cell interactions in human neural development. ''' Our current focus is the identification of cell-contact- as well as diffusible factor-mediated determinants of neural lineage specification. | ||
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[[Image:Pruszak_pluripotent_stem.PNG|270px|thumb|right|'''Pluripotent stem cells:'''<br> Human pluripotent stem cells offer the unprecedented opportunity to study basic principles of development and embryology in a human model system. This lends itself to study self-renewal and cell proliferation on the one hand, and cell fate establishment and stabilization on the other.]] | [[Image:Pruszak_pluripotent_stem.PNG|270px|thumb|right|'''Pluripotent stem cells:'''<br> Human pluripotent stem cells offer the unprecedented opportunity to study basic principles of development and embryology in a human model system. This lends itself to study self-renewal and cell proliferation on the one hand, and cell fate establishment and stabilization on the other.]] | ||
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent a valuable system to study cellular processes and disease mechanisms in phenotypes of biomedical interest and to derive cells and tissues for regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Neural differentiation of human stem cells represents a promising avenue to derive specific neuronal and glial phenotypes for potential '''cell replacement''' in the therapy of nervous system disease. Among others, therapies are being investigated for degenerative neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, for glial disorders such as multiple sclerosis or for trauma conditions such as spinal chord injury. PSCs are, in principle, unlimited in their expansion potential and represent an epigenetically “blank slate” that enables directed patterning toward all lineages. Importantly, the differentiation of human neural cell types from human pluripotent stem cells enables the study of '''neural development''' in an understudied model organism to date only remotely accessible to biological discovery: humans.<br> | Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent a valuable system to study cellular processes and disease mechanisms in phenotypes of biomedical interest and to derive cells and tissues for regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Neural differentiation of human stem cells represents a promising avenue to derive specific neuronal and glial phenotypes for potential '''cell replacement''' in the therapy of nervous system disease. Among others, therapies are being investigated for degenerative neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, for glial disorders such as multiple sclerosis or for trauma conditions such as spinal chord injury. PSCs are, in principle, unlimited in their expansion potential and represent an epigenetically “blank slate” that enables directed patterning toward all lineages. Importantly, the differentiation of human neural cell types from human pluripotent stem cells enables the study of '''neural development''' in an understudied model organism to date only remotely accessible to biological discovery: humans.<br> | ||
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[[Image:PSCdiff.PNG|370px|thumb|left|'''Neural differentiation of hPSCs:'''<br> Exemplifying the feasibility of using hPSCs for developmental studies, we hypothesized that factors known to neuralize tissue in embryological development could be exploited to guide PSCs toward neural fate. Indeed, we were able to induce neural differentiation by the application of the BMP antagonist Noggin, and thereby greatly enhance neuralization (here: typical neuroepithelial rosettes) as well as differentiation toward functional neurons in a dose and time-dependent manner. This illustrated that, in principle, basic aspects of neural development do apply to hPSC ''in vitro'' systems. | |||
<br> mod. from: Pruszak & Isacson, Adv Exp Med Biol 2009]] | |||
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