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Parkinson disease

Protein-based stem cells generate healthy dopamine neurons

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 7, page 357 (2011)Cite this article

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PD results from a progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons, and transplant therapy is an attractive treatment strategy. Fetal-tissue transplants have shown some success, but their availability is limited. hiPSCs are a promising alternative for personalized therapy; many cells can be generated and the chances of immunorejection are low. Several reprogramming methods can generate hiPSCs, the most common of which are lentiviral and retroviral methods, but these can generate mutations and lead to chromosomal aberrations. The authors previously derived hiPSCs through the use of proteins rather than viruses, and in the current study they aimed to systematically compare the safety of cells generated by protein-based and virus-based methods.

The researchers examined eight hiPSC lines that had been generated by delivery of viral vectors or arginine-tagged reprogramming proteins. The virus-generated cells had abnormal properties and showed early senescence and cell death, whereas the protein-based hiPSCs differentiated and functioned normally. The hiPSC lines all efficiently generated functioning midbrain-type neurons that exhibited gene-expression, physiological and electrophysiological properties similar to authentic dopamine neurons.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Rhee, Y.-H. et al. Protein-based human iPS cells efficiently generate functional dopamine neurons and can treat a rat model of Parkinson disease. J. Clin. Invest. 121, 2326–2335

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Authors
  1. Eleanor Beal
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Beal, E. Protein-based stem cells generate healthy dopamine neurons. Nat Rev Neurol 7, 357 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2011.86

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