Myelin-Producing Cells Restore Nerve Function in Mice

By introducing myelin-producing cells in widespread areas of the brain in mice, scientists have been able to restore proper nerve function in nearly the entire brain more efficiently than was previously possible, offering the possibility of treatment for demyelinating diseases. The findings were reported in the January 2004 issue of Nature Medicine.

Myelin is a fatty substance that covers nearly all the nerve cells in the body and helps signals in the nervous system go from one point to another. When myelin breaks down, electrical signals degrade. This can result in a number of disorders as well as such diseases as Canavan disease in children and multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, demyelinating diseases are permanent, with no available therapy.

The investigators remyelinated the mice by injecting highly purified human progenitor cells, which ultimately evolved into the cells that make myelin, called oligodendrocytes. They studied 44 mice born without any myelin wrapped around their brain cells. Within 24 hours, they injected the mice and found that the cells quickly migrated throughout the brain, developing into oligodendrocytes and producing myelin. The team found that adult human cells were much more adept at settling into the brain, becoming oligodendrocytes and producing myelin, than fetal cells.

"The results are much better than we expected,” said team leader Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (NY, USA; www.rochester.edu). "The percentage of cells in this experiment that began producing myelin is extraordinary, probably thousands of times as many as in previous experiments.”




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