Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2020, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (2): 255-256.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.265548

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Novel pluripotent stem cell lines for enriched grafting in Parkinson’s disease

Agustin Cota-Coronado1,2, Lachlan H. Thompson2, N. Emmanuel Diaz-Martinez1   

  1. 1Biotecnología Médica y Farmacéutica, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  2The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia 
  • Online:2020-02-15 Published:2020-05-23
  • Contact: N. Emmanuel Diaz-Martinez, PhD,ediaz@ciatej.mx.

Abstract: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1% of the population over 55 years of age and up to 4% of the population over 80 years of age (Blesa et al., 2012). This progressive and neurodegenerative condition results from an excessive loss of dopaminergic neurons (50–70%) of the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a significant decrease in dopamine (DA) levels in the striatum and consequently a functional deterioration of motor circuity (Blesa et al., 2012; Nielsen et al., 2016). The direct relationship between the loss of motor function and the degeneration of a single cell type makes PD an attractive prospect for cellular replacement therapy (Lindvall et al., 1990) and we are now on the verge of seeing the first clinical trials using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as a source of transplantable dopamine neurons in clinical trials (Barker et al., 2017). The application of hiPSCs as a donor source for neural transplantation has progressed rapidly and may offer advantages over embryonic stem cells by avoiding ethical issues and potentially also complications related to immune response.