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Ed. Note: The following
is a press release from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
LARCHMONT, N.Y--March 29, 2005--For the first time scientists have
successfully induced embryonic stem cells to differentiate into motor
neurons, ensuring a renewable supply of these critical nerve cells for use
in studying neural development and developing novel drugs and regenerative
cell therapies to treat motor neuron diseases such as spinal muscular
atrophy, as reported in the June issue (Volume 14, Number 3) of Stem Cells
and Development, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert,
Inc. The paper is available free online ahead of publication at
www.liebertpub.com/scd.
Soojung Shin, Ph.D., Stephen Dalton, Ph.D., and Steven L. Stice, Ph.D.,
from the Regenerative BioScience Center at the University of Georgia, grew
NIH-approved human embryonic stem cells in culture and induced them to
differentiate into motor neuron cells by adding basic fibroblast growth
factor, sonic hedgehog protein, and retinoic acid to the culture medium.
Based on the growth characteristics and the gene expression patterns of
the differentiated cells, the authors determined that 20% to 30% of the
cells exhibited a motor neuron phenotype. The authors predict that this
percentage will increase as their process is refined.
The ability to produce a renewable supply of neuroepithelial cells that
can be reliably induced to become motor neurons greatly benefits the
potential for using embryonic stem cells as therapeutic agents to repair
and regenerate neural tissue damaged by trauma or disease.
"The study by Drs. Shin, Dalton, and Slice provides a source of cells that
will be useful to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate both
the development and survival of motor neurons," states Denis English,
Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Stem Cells and Development. "While it is
possible that cells generated by this method will show therapeutic
utility, this goal has been elusive and in all probability will not be
attained in the absence of further, persistent study of motor neurons
generated from stem cells in culture. This study provides a means to do
just that and should facilitate the therapeutic endpoints we seek."
Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal
published bimonthly in print and online. The journal is dedicated to
communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology,
characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those
of the hematopoietic system. A complete table of contents and free sample
issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/scd.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media
company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in
many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cloning
and Stem Cells, Human Gene Therapy, and Tissue Engineering. Its
biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the
first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read
publication worldwide.
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