中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2015, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (12): 1910-1911.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.169629

• 观点:退行性病与再生 • 上一篇    下一篇

牙髓干细胞可否成为海马神经元退变的狙击手?

  

  • 收稿日期:2015-10-12 出版日期:2015-12-30 发布日期:2015-12-30
  • 基金资助:

    这项研究工作是由印度科学与工程研究理事会政府支持(批准号:No. SB/YS/LS-122/2013)

Dental pulp stem cells for treating neurodegenerative diseases

Christopher Shamir, Chaitra Venugopal, Anandh Dhanushkodi*   

  1. School of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal University, Bangalore Campus, Bangalore, India
  • Received:2015-10-12 Online:2015-12-30 Published:2015-12-30
  • Contact: Anandh Dhanushkodi, M.Phil., Ph.D., ds.anand@manipal.edu.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by Science and Engineering Research Board, Government of India to AD (SB/YS/LS-122/2013).

摘要:

神经退行性疾病是一类神经元退行性病变,是目前尚无有效的治疗措施的疾病。单细胞研究的迅速发展,为这类疾病的治疗提供了新的途径和可能,目前多种干细胞在神经退行性疾病动物模型上的尝试已取得进展。文章主要介绍了胚胎干细胞、间充质干细胞、神经干细胞等在神经退行性疾病治疗中的应用和进展,并试图确定何种类型的干细胞更适合应用在神经退行性疾病中,至今尚少见关于牙髓干细胞预防海马神经元丢失的报道。他们未来研究将致力研究牙髓干细胞对海马神经退行性变的影响,作者认为其研究成果将有助于找到适合预防和治疗人类神经退行性疾病的潜在成体干细胞。

Abstract:

The hippocampal formation, important for spatial learning and memory function, exhibits high level of plasticity in response to behavioral changes as well as injury. Dysfunction of the hippocampus is one of the hallmark features of neurodegenerative diseases like temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Dhanushkodi & Shetty 2008). Glutamate mediated excitotoxicity underlies neurodegeneration in various central nervous system (CNS) diseases like AD and TLE. Brain regions such as hippocampus are more susceptible to excitotoxic damage. During excitotoxicity, the glutamate receptors are hyper-activated resulting in an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory function, disturbances in calcium homeostasis, mitochondrial function and enhanced production of free radicals that eventually cause the nerve cells to degenerate (Zheng et al 2011). Most of the existing drugs for treating neurodegenerative diseases provides only symptomatic relief and do not mitigate the course of the disease. Hence, there is a pressing need to identify an alternate therapeutic approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases.