From the literature

January 20th, 2007

Chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis enhances both subventricular zone neurogenesis and olfactory learning in adult mice.. The ability to generate new neurons during the course of adult life is preserved in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the mammalian brain. These two regions constitute specifically regulated neurogenic niches, and provide newborn neurons involved in olfactory and spatial learning, respectively. Nitric oxide (NO) is a negati [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Long-lasting regeneration after ischemia in the cerebral cortex.. PubMed: neural stem cell]

Chronic treatment with minocycline preserves adult new neurons and reduces functional impairment after focal cerebral ischemia.. Evidence suggests that activated microglia are detrimental to the survival of new hippocampal neurons, whereas blocking inflammation has been shown to restore hippocampal neurogenesis after cranial irradiation and seizure. The aim of this current study is to determine the effect of minocycline on neurogenesis and functional recovery after cerebral focal ischemia. METHODS: Four days after temporary middle cerebral artery oc [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Generation of Functional Dopamine Neurons from Neural Precursor Cells Isolated from the Subventricular Zone and White Matter of the Adult Rat Brain using Nurr1 Overexpression.. Neural precursor (NP) cells from adult mammalian brains can be isolated, expanded in vitro, and potentially used as cell replacement source material for treatment of intractable brain disorders. Reduced ethical concerns, lack of teratoma formation, and possible ex vivo autologous transplantation are critical advantages to using adult NP donor cells over cells from fetal brain tissue or embryonic stem cells. However, the usage of adult NP cells is limited by the ability to induce specific neurochemical phenotypes in these cells. Here, we demonstrate induction [PubMed: neural stem cell]

A review of cognitive enhancement technologies. This recent 29-page review of cognitive enhancement technologies [PDF] is written by Anders Sandberg and Nick Bostrom of the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) at Oxford University. The document was published as part of the EU ENHANCE Project, a two-year initiative, which began in March 2006, to evaluate the ethical implications of advances in human progress […] [Neurophilosophy]

Vegf, Stem Cells, and Stroke Recovery

January 19th, 2007

An interesting article in PLOS.

Human Neural Stem Cells Over-Expressing VEGF Provide Neuroprotection, Angiogenesis and Functional Recovery in Mouse Stroke Model

Hong J. Lee1,2,3, Kwang S. Kim1,3, In H. Park1, Seung U. Kim1,3*

1 Brain Disease Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea, 2 College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea, 3 Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Background

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a lethal stroke type. As mortality approaches 50%, and current medical therapy against ICH shows only limited effectiveness, an alternative approach is required, such as stem cell-based cell therapy. Previously we have shown that intravenously transplanted human neural stem cells (NSCs) selectively migrate to the brain and induce behavioral recovery in rat ICH model, and that combined administration of NSCs and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) results in improved structural and functional outcome from cerebral ischemia.

Methods and Findings

We postulated that human NSCs overexpressing VEGF transplanted into cerebral cortex overlying ICH lesion could provide improved survival of grafted NSCs, increased angiogenesis and behavioral recovery in mouse ICH model. ICH was induced in adult mice by unilateral injection of bacterial collagenase into striatum. HB1.F3.VEGF human NSC line produced an amount of VEGF four times higher than parental F3 cell line in vitro, and induced behavioral improvement and 2–3 fold increase in cell survival at two weeks and eight weeks post-transplantation.

Conclusions

Brain transplantation of F3 human NSCs over-expressing VEGF near ICH lesion sites provided differentiation and survival of grafted human NSCs and renewed angiogenesis of host brain and functional recovery of ICH animals. These results suggest a possible application of the human neural stem cell line, which is genetically modified to over-express VEGF, as a therapeutic agent for ICH-stroke.

Microglia

January 7th, 2007

Microglia instruct subventricular zone neurogenesis..

Microglia instruct subventricular zone neurogenesis.

Glia. 2006 Dec;54(8):815-25

Authors: Walton NM, Sutter BM, Laywell ED, Levkoff LH, Kearns SM, Marshall GP, Scheffler B, Steindler DA

Microglia are increasingly implicated as a source of non-neural regulation of postnatal neurogenesis and neuronal development. To evaluate better the contributions of microglia to neural stem cells (NSCs) of the subventricular neuraxis, we employed an adherent culture system that models the continuing proliferation and differentiation of the dissociated neuropoietic subventricular tissues. In this model, neuropoietic cells retain the ability to self-renew and form multipotent neurospheres, but progressively lose the ability to generate committed neuroblasts with continued culture. Neurogenesis in highly expanded NSCs [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Overview

December 31st, 2006

News and Views on Neurosurgery since 2002

General

December 31st, 2006

Note

Science Blogs 2006

December 30th, 2006

An anthology of the best science blogging of 2006. […] [Neurophilosophy]

Tracking neurospheres

December 28th, 2006

Serial in vivo MR tracking of magnetically labeled neural spheres transplanted in chronic EAE mice.. Tracking of human neural stem cells in a mouse model. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Survey

December 27th, 2006

Growth factor treatment and genetic manipulation stimulate neurogenesis and oligodendrogenesis by endogenous neural progenitors in the injured adult spinal cord.. In Vivo manipulation of endogenous neural precursors… [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Carotid artery dissection and middle cerebral artery stroke following methamphetamine use [Neurology current issue]

Anterior choroidal artery aneurysm mimicking cavernous sinus syndrome [Neurology current issue]

From Pubmed

December 23rd, 2006

Estradiol enhances neurogenesis following ischemic stroke through estrogen receptors alpha and beta.. Neurogenesis after stroke. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Spontaneous Fusion and Non-clonal Growth of Adult Neural Stem Cells..A look at the fusion question when studying adult stem cells. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid are fundamental supplements for induction of neuronal differentiation.. Factors promoting neuronal differentiation ….. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

From the Blogosphere

December 21st, 2006

Blackberry Cold Turkey. From Paul Levy at… [Running a hospital]

Neural stem cells from mouse forebrain are contained in a population distinct from the ‘side population’.. The authors find that is is the MP and not the SP that contains neural precursor cells. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Long-term fate of neural precursor cells following transplantation into developing and adult CNS.. Where do the cells go… [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Analysis of gene expression and chemoresistance of CD133+ cancer stem cells in glioblastoma.. More on the relevance of CD133. [PubMed: neural stem cell]

Stem cells of ependymoma.. Subtyping Neural tumor stem cells. [PubMed: neural stem cell]