Neural stem cells improve neuronal survival in cultured postmortem brain tissue from aged and Alzheimer patients

TY - JOUR

T1 - Neural stem cells improve neuronal survival in cultured postmortem brain tissue from aged and Alzheimer patients

AU - Wu, L.

AU - Sluiter, A.A.

AU - Guo, Ho Fu

AU - Balesar, R. A.

AU - Swaab, D. F.

AU - Zhou, Jiang Ning

AU - Verwer, R. W H

PY - 2008/9

Y1 - 2008/9

N2 - Neurodegenerative diseases are progressive and incurable and are becoming ever more prevalent. To study whether neural stem cell can reactivate or rescue functions of impaired neurons in the human aging and neurodegenerating brain, we co-cultured postmortem slices from Alzheimer patients and control participants with rat embryonic day 14 (E14) neural stem cells. Viability staining based on the exclusion of ethidium bromide by intact plasma membranes showed that there were strikingly more viable cells and fewer dead cells in slices co-cultured with neural stem cells than in untreated slices. The presence of Alzheimer pathology in the brain slices did not influence this effect, although the slices from Alzheimer patients, in general, contained fewer viable cells. Co-culturing with rat E14 fibroblasts did not improve the viability of neurons in the human brain slices. Since the human slices and neural stem cells were separated by a membrane during co-culturing our data show for the first time that neural stem cells release diffusible factors that may improve the survival of aged and degenerating neurons in human brains.

AB - Neurodegenerative diseases are progressive and incurable and are becoming ever more prevalent. To study whether neural stem cell can reactivate or rescue functions of impaired neurons in the human aging and neurodegenerating brain, we co-cultured postmortem slices from Alzheimer patients and control participants with rat embryonic day 14 (E14) neural stem cells. Viability staining based on the exclusion of ethidium bromide by intact plasma membranes showed that there were strikingly more viable cells and fewer dead cells in slices co-cultured with neural stem cells than in untreated slices. The presence of Alzheimer pathology in the brain slices did not influence this effect, although the slices from Alzheimer patients, in general, contained fewer viable cells. Co-culturing with rat E14 fibroblasts did not improve the viability of neurons in the human brain slices. Since the human slices and neural stem cells were separated by a membrane during co-culturing our data show for the first time that neural stem cells release diffusible factors that may improve the survival of aged and degenerating neurons in human brains.

KW - Alzheimer's disease

KW - Neuronal reactivation

KW - Rat embryonic neural stem cells

KW - Tissue culture

U2 - 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2007.00203.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2007.00203.x

M3 - Article

C2 - 18088384

AN - SCOPUS:54049120013

SN - 1582-1838

VL - 12

SP - 1611

EP - 1621

JO - Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

JF - Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

IS - 5A

ER -