Where Are the Brain Stem Cells?

Where Are the Brain Stem Cells?

A press release issued today by researchers at Johns Hopkins University describes a new mapping study of the brain. The researchers studied the part of the brain containing astrocytes, cells known to produce growth factors critical to the regeneration of damaged neural tissue and which potentially serve as brain stem cells. The researchers did not locate any brain stem cells, but they did find indications that more research in the are would be fruitful.

The particular part of the brain that the researchers studied was the subventricle zone, or SVC, which is located near the center of the brain. It has previously been shown that in rats, astrocytes located in the SVC can migrate to other parts of the brain and develop into new cells. Human brains are structured differently, and there has been no evidence of migration from the SVC. The researchers mapped the SVC in order to learn more about it in humans. In the process, they also discovered cells from the ependymal layer of the brain which are not expected to be in the SVC. The researchers don’t know what the ependymal cells do, and want to study any relationship between them and astrocytes.

General Story on Stem Cells

General Story on Stem Cells

An article printed yesterday in the Durham Herald-Sun discusses some of the issues related to stem cell research on eye disease. It is not particularly news, as it does not describe any of the research issues or report on any new findings, but people who are interested in how stem cells can be used in eye disease will probably find it interesting reading. The article discusses the work of one researcher at Duke University and a non-profit he founded for research purposes, SCIfEye. It also emphasizes the importance of bone marrow donation, especially for racial minorities.

Diabetes Development

Diabetes Development

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the Rebecca and John Moores Cancer Center at the University of California at San Diego have announced new findings on stem cells in the pancreas. The news release reports that the researchers selected human pancreatic cells, incapable of producing insulin, which they termed “non-endocrine pancreatic epithelial cells” (NEPCs), and mixed them with developing pancreatic cells and growth factors. The developing pancreatic cells were known to be a source of endocrine progenitor cells. After the NEPCs were transplanted into mice, they were shown to produce insulin.

The basic point of this study is that cells which do not produce insulin could be induced to do so. The next phase is to try to determine which of the growth factors were responsible for the induction, and if all NEPCs can be induced to form insulin or only a subset of them.