So ask your doctor how many steps are left until this is understood.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=128006&CultureCode=en
Despite recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of nerve
injury, tissue-engineering solutions for repairing damage in the central
nervous system (CNS) remain elusive, owing to the crucial and complex
role played by the neural stem cell (NSC) niche. This zone, in which
stem cells are retained after embryonic development for the production
of new cells, exerts a tight control over many crucial tasks such as
growth promotion and the recreation of essential biochemical and
physical cues for neural cell differentiation.
According to the first author of the paper, Zaida Álvarez, from the
Group on Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies of the Institute for
Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), “in order to develop
tissue-engineering strategies to repair damage to the CNS, it is
essential to design biomaterials that closely mimic the NSC niche and
its physical and biochemical characteristics”.
In the study headed by Soledad Alcántara of the University of
Barcelona, the team tested types of polylactic acid (PLA) with different
proportions of isomers L and D/L, a biodegradable material allowing
neural cell adhesion and growth, as materials for nerve regeneration.
They found that one type, PLA with a proportion of isomers of 70/30,
maintained the important pools of neuronal and glial progenitor cells in
vitro. PLA 70/30 was more amorphous, degraded faster and, crucially,
released significant amounts of L-lactate, which is essential for the
maintenance and differentiation of neural progenitor cells. “The aim of
the research was to find a biomaterial able to sustain the population of
neural stem cells and to generate new differentiated cells in order to
start the development of an implant that allows brain regeneration,”
explains Dr Alcántara.
“The mechanical and surface properties of PLA70/30, which we used
here in the form of microthin films, make it a good substrate for neural
cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation,” adds Álvarez. “The
physical properties of this material and the release of L-lactate when
it degrades, which provides an alternative oxidative substrate for
neural cells, act synergistically to modulate progenitor phenotypes”,
concludes the researcher.
The results suggest that the introduction of 3D patterns mimicking
the architecture of the embryonic NSC niches on PLA70/30-based scaffolds
may be a good starting point for the design of brain-implantable
devices. “These will be able to induce or activate existing neural
progenitor cells to self-renew and produce new neurons, boosting the CNS
regenerative response in situ,” states Álvarez.
Enabling the CNS to regenerate could open doors to promising new
strategies to tackle accidental damage as well as numerous diseases like
stroke and degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
diseases.
http://www.ub.edu
No comments:
Post a Comment