Generation of Cortical Motoneurons from Embryonic Stem Cells

从胚胎干细胞产生皮质运动神经元

• 批准号: 7079547
• 负责人: XUE-JUN LI
• 金额: $ 16.37万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-01 至 2008-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7079547
• 关键词: embryonic stem cell; human; motor neurons

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): motoneurons in the cerebral cortex, also known as upper motoneurons, control our muscle movement through lower motoneurons in the brain stem and spinal cord. Degeneration of upper motoneurons results in progressive spastic and weakness in muscles, which underlies some debilitating neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), hereditary spastic hemiplegia and primary lateral sclerosis. There is no effective treatment for these motoneuron disorders, for the most part due to the lack of understanding how cortical motoneurons are born, functionally mature and degenerate. This application, based on our success in producing spinal motoneurons from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), will explore the feasibility of generating upper motoneurons from self-renewing human ESCs (H1 and H9 lines, NIH Registry WA01 and WA09). We have established a chemically defined culture system to direct human ESCs to neuroepithelial cells and discovered a critical primitive neuroepithelial stage for specification of region-specific neuronal subtypes. We will first induce differentiation of dorsal telencephalic neural progenitors by examining the effect of such morphogens as Wnts, Wnt antagonists, and fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), individually, in combination, or sequentially. These progenitors will then be further differentiated to motoneurons in the presence of neurotrophic factors and/or target cells (lower motoneuron) and/or local environment. The function of in vitro generated upper motoneurons will be assessed by their interaction with lower motoneurons in culture and following transplantation to dorsal telencephalon of a chick embryo. This application will thus produce the currently unavailable upper motoneurons from limitless ESCs and offer an otherwise inaccessible tool for studying how human upper motoneurons are born, functionally mature, and become sick. These cells will also provide a target for screening pharmaceuticals that stop the process of motoneuron degeneration and a source for potential future cell therapy for upper motoneuron related diseases.

描述（由申请人提供）：大脑皮层中的运动神经元，也称为上部运动神经元，控制着我们的肌肉运动通过脑干和脊髓中的下运动神经元的运动。上运动神经元的退化会导致肌肉的进行性痉挛和无力，这是一些令人衰弱的神经系统疾病的基础，例如肌萎缩性侧面硬化症（ALS），遗传性痉挛性倾斜性偏瘫和原发性侧面硬化症。这些运动神经元疾病没有有效的治疗方法，在大多数情况下，由于缺乏了解皮质运动神经元如何诞生，功能成熟和退化。基于我们从人类胚胎干细胞（ESC）产生脊柱运动神经元（ESC）的成功，将探索从自我更新人ESC产生上部运动神经元的可行性（H1和H9线，NIH注册表WA01和WA09）。我们已经建立了一个化学定义的培养系统，以将人类ESC引导到神经上皮细胞上，并发现了一个关键的原始神经上皮阶段，用于指定区域特异性神经元亚型的规范。我们将首先通过检查Wnt，Wnt拮抗剂和成纤维细胞生长因子（FGFS），单独，组合或顺序地检查诸如Wnts，Wnt拮抗剂和成纤维细胞生长因子（FGFS）等形态剂的作用，从而诱导背脑脑神经祖细胞的分化。然后，在存在神经营养因子和/或靶细胞（较低的运动神经元）和/或局部环境的情况下，这些祖细胞将进一步分为运动神经元。体外产生的上部运动神经元的功能将通过其与培养物中较低的运动神经元的相互作用以及移植到雏鸡胚胎的背端脑后的相互作用。因此，该应用将从无限的ESC产生当前无法获得的上部运动神经元，并提供一种无法访问的工具，用于研究人类上部运动神经元如何出生，功能成熟并生病。这些细胞还将为筛选药物提供一个靶标，以阻止运动神经元变性的过程，并为上部与运动神经元相关疾病的潜在细胞治疗源提供。