In een recente studie werden stamcellen van het baarmoederslijmvlies (endometriumcellen) ingespoten thv. de substantia nigra van muizen met een Parkinsonachtige aandoening. Men zag daarop dat die stamcellen zich ontwikkelden tot hersencellen die Dopamine produceerden. Hun Dopamine gehalte werd daardoor weer deels genormaliseerd. In de studie werd niet nagegaan wat de langetermijneffecten waren van die ingreep of wat de gevolgen waren op de bewegingen van de muizen. Toch is dit mogelijks een belangrijke studie die toekomstperspectieven biedt voor de behandeling van deze ongeneeslijke ziekte.
De auteurs besluiten dat vrouwen eventueel hun eigen donoren van stamcellen zouden kunnen worden. Ook na de menopauze omdat men door hormonen toe te dienen aan de vrouw nog steeds de cellen van het baarmoederslijmvlies kan laten ontwikkelen/ prolifereren...
En mannen zouden gebruik kunnen maken van stamcel'banken', afkomstig van baarmoederslijmvlies van vele verschillende vrouwen. Om dan de meest geschikte donor te zoeken voor een man met Parkinson...
Wat zouden we toch doen zonder vrouwen in ons midden, bedenk ik dan?
uit: Science dailyParkinson's disease results from a loss of brain cells that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, which aids the transmission of brain signals that coordinate movement.
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Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease.
The finding raises the possibility that women with Parkinson's disease could serve as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson's disease.
This is the first time that researchers have successfully transplanted stem cells derived from the endometrium, or the lining of the uterus, into another kind of tissue (the brain) and shown that these cells can develop into cells with the properties of that tissue
Stem cells retain the capacity to develop into a range of cell types with specific functions. They have been derived from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, embryonic tissue, and from other tissues with an inherent capacity to develop into specialized cells. Because of their ability to divide into new cells and to develop into a variety of cell types, stem cells are considered promising for the treatment of many diseases in which the body's own cells are damaged or depleted.
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The researchers also demonstrated that, when injected directly into the brains of mice with a Parkinson's-like condition, endometrial stem cells would develop into dopamine-producing cells.
When the researchers examined the animals' striata five weeks later, they found that the stem cells had populated the striatum and an adjacent brain region, the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra produces abnormally low levels of dopamine in human Parkinson's disease and the mouse version of the disorder. The researchers confirmed that the stem cells that had migrated to the substantia nigra became dopamine-producing nerve cells and that the animals' dopamine levels were partially restored.
The study did not examine the longer-term effects of the stem cell transplants or evaluate any changes in the ability of the mice to move.
According to Dr. Taylor, because women could provide their own donor tissue, there would be no concern that their bodies would reject the implants. Moreover, because endometrial tissue is widely available, banks of stem cells could be established. The stem cells could be matched by tissue type to male recipients with Parkinson's to minimize the chances of rejection....
abstract van de studie: Erin F. Wolff, Xiao-Bing Gao, Katherine V. Yao, Zane B. Andrews, Hongling Du, John D. Elsworth, Hugh S. Taylor. Endometrial stem cell transplantation restores dopamine production in a Parkinson's disease model. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 2010
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