Zaal Kokaia
Lund University
Sweden
Stem cell therapy for stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases
Swedish Research Council
652,884
01-01-2013
4.0
Parkinson's disease & PD-related disorders
Background: We have previously shown restoration of function in damaged human brain by neural transplantation. Also that human neural stem cells survive transplantation and improve deficits in the stroke-damaged rodent brain, and that the adult brain tries to repair itself after stroke by producing new neurons from its own neural stem cells. Objectives: (1) To develop new strategies to repair the brain and improve functional recovery after stroke by neuronal replacement from endogenous or grafted neural stem/progenitor cells or reprogrammed somatic cells; (2) To determine and optimize the actions of inflammation and immune cells on neurogenesis from grafted and endogenous cells and on the functional restoration after stroke; (3) To continue to develop a clinically effective cell replacement therapy in Parkinson?s disease using stem cell-derived dopamine neurons. Methods: (i) In vitro systems for neural stem/progenitor cells; (ii) Cell sorting and transplantation techniques; (iii) Disease models in rats and mice; (iv) Gene transfer techniques and transgenic mice; (v) Microarray; (vi) Immunocytochemistry, stereology and anatomical tracing; (vii) Electron microscopy; (viii) Patch-clamp technique; (ix) Behavioral test battery; (x) Clinical assessment of patients, MRI and PET imaging. Significance: This translational research may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to restore and preserve function in human neurodegenerative disorders.