比利時(shí)和法國的科學(xué)家最近在實(shí)驗(yàn)中將胚胎干細(xì)胞分化為大腦皮層神經(jīng)元，并成功地移植到實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠大腦中,?？茖W(xué)家說，這一成果將有助于神經(jīng)性疾病的研究,，并有望以此為基礎(chǔ)開發(fā)出針對這類疾病的新療法,。
大腦皮層由神經(jīng)元構(gòu)成，結(jié)構(gòu)十分復(fù)雜,，它的病變通常會(huì)引發(fā)癲癇,、卒中以及早老性癡呆癥等。而在新研究中,，移植神經(jīng)元一個(gè)月后進(jìn)行的檢查表明,，所植入的神經(jīng)元已和其他細(xì)胞建立了聯(lián)系，并與鼠腦融為一體,。
這項(xiàng)研究由比利時(shí)布魯塞爾自由大學(xué)和法國國家科研中心共同完成,。參與研究的阿弗薩奈·蓋拉德女士說，這一成果可以為科學(xué)研究提供大量的大腦皮層神經(jīng)元,，從長遠(yuǎn)來看,，它也會(huì)使神經(jīng)元移植成為可能，從而為那些腦血管疾病患者和大腦受到創(chuàng)傷者帶來福音,。
這項(xiàng)研究成果已發(fā)表在最新一期英國《自然》（Nature）雜志上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature，doi:10.1038/nature07287,，Afsaneh Gaillard,，Pierre Vanderhaeghen
An intrinsic mechanism of corticogenesis from embryonic stem cells
Nicolas Gaspard1, Tristan Bouschet1, Raphael Hourez2, Jordane Dimidschstein1, Gilles Naeije1, Jelle van den Ameele1, Ira Espuny-Camacho1, Adèle Herpoel1, Lara Passante1, Serge N. Schiffmann2, Afsaneh Gaillard3 & Pierre Vanderhaeghen1
1 IRIBHM (Institute for Interdisciplinary Research),
2 Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
3 Institut de Physiologie et Biologie Cellulaires, Université de Poitiers, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 40 avenue du recteur Pineau, Poitiers, F-86022, France
The cerebral cortex develops through the coordinated generation of dozens of neuronal subtypes, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here we show that mouse embryonic stem cells, cultured without any morphogen but in the presence of a sonic hedgehog inhibitor, recapitulate in vitro the major milestones of cortical development, leading to the sequential generation of a diverse repertoire of neurons that display most salient features of genuine cortical pyramidal neurons. When grafted into the cerebral cortex, these neurons develop patterns of axonal projections corresponding to a wide range of cortical layers, but also to highly specific cortical areas, in particular visual and limbic areas, thereby demonstrating that the identity of a cortical area can be specified without any influence from the brain. The discovery of intrinsic corticogenesis sheds new light on the mechanisms of neuronal specification, and opens new avenues for the modelling and treatment of brain diseases.
