Screening of thrapy of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using iPS cell

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25860705
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurology
• Research Institution: Gifu University
• Principal Investigator: YAMADA Megumi 岐阜大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 講師 (50452157)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 筋萎縮性側索硬化症 / iPS細胞 / 歯髄細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease in which motor neurons in the entire body selectively and gradually degenerate and are displaced. Recently, efforts have been made to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from ALS patients and to induce differentiation of iPS cells into patient-derived motor neurons. In this study, we aimed to develop a system for inducing differentiation of iPS cells derived from ALS patients into motor neurons and to establish a screening system for therapeutic agents.
Dental pulp cells were obtained from dental pulps of healthy volunteers and patients with sporadic ALS. From the stem cells in the dental pulp tissue of an ALS patient, iPS cells were generated and confirmed to have differentiated into 3 germ layers. Furthermore, a system for inducing differentiation of iPS cells into motor neurons was developed. We are still exploring strategies to stabilize the system.

Free Research Field

神経内科学