Programska knjižnica 9. Lošinjskih dana bioetike - Hrvatsko ...

SREĆKO GAJOVIĆ
Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of
Zagreb, Croatia /
Hrvatski institut za istraživanje mozga, Medicinski fakultet, Sveučilište u
Zagrebu, Hrvatska
NEURAL STEM CELLS –
HOW DOES THE CURRENT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
INDICATE THEIR FUTURE APPLICATIONS
The formation of new neurons is investigated on experimental animals,
primarily mice and rats, and afterwards the basic assumptions are checked
on human brains. New neurons originate from neural stem cells, which are
located in the adult brain in the subventricular zone near brain ventricules,
and dentate gyrus in the hippocampal formation. The experiments on mice
show that in case of brain damage cells are redirected toward damaged areas.
Therefore one of the major scientific tasks is to clarify the possibilities
of these cells to influence the regeneration processes, whether after injury,
stroke or neurodegenerative disease.
The alternative approach is based on the application of specially prepared
neural stem cells obtained from other individuals, with foetal brain(s)
or embryonic stem cells as their potential source. The current experimental
approach is transplantation of neural stem cells to the brain mainly by
direct injection. Our research showed that these cells can be introduced as
well through blood circulation (Mitrečić et al. (2010) Cell Transplantation,
doi: 10.3727/096368910X498269). While in the healthy rat they would
stay in the blood, in the diseased animal the neural stem cells enter the
brain and are delivered mostly to the damaged brain regions.
Therefore the great hope is directed toward the future application of
neural stem cells in the reconstruction of irreversibly lost nerve cells in
patients with brain damage. The additional question is whether the neural
stem cells could be used in healthy people. Moreover, could we suggest
that the same paradigm could enhance the abilities of the healthy brain?
The extensive scientific research should clarify the positive aspects of neural
stem cell applications, its side effects, and the justification for its use as
cell therapeutics in humans.
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