| Project/Area Number |
13671456
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Cerebral neurosurgery
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| Research Institution | Wakayama Medical University |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKAO Naoyuki Wakayama Medical University, Neurosurgery, Associate Prof, 医学部, 講師 (30301435)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ITAKURA Toru Wakayama Medical University, Neurosurgery, Prof, 医学部, 教授 (40100995)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2003
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2003)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
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| Keywords | Neural stem cell / Cell transplantation / Parkinson's disease |
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| Research Abstract |
Neural stem cells has recently been considered as a promising donor for cell transplantation therapy of CNS diseases since they can be expanded in vitro while still retaining the capacity of neuronal differentiation. The general aim of the current research project is to investigate the ability of several test agents to increase the survival and the differentiation of neural stem cells. Test agents employed in the present study were (1)the anti-apoptic drug, caspase inhibitor, (2)cytokines such as IL-1 and sonic hedgehog, and (3)growth factors including EGEs,BDNF and GDNF.
The inhibition of either caspase 1 or caspase 3 with caspase inhibitors was found to promote the survival of neural precursor cells and their neuronal differentiation into tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopamine cells. Among the cytokines and growth factors tested in experiments to determine the efficacy of inducing the differentiation into dopaminergic neurons, sonic hedgehog. was most effective when used with FGF-8.
The present data indicate that the caspase inhibitor increases the yield of neurons derived neural precursor cells, and that a combined treatment of sonic hedgehog and FGF-8 promotes the differentiation of neural precursor cells to dopamine cells. Further studies are needed to determine an optimal treatment condition that can be applied to cell transplantation.
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