PMID: previous work WAS:Stem-Cell Advances Are Likely to Heighten Ethics Debate

[Raymond Strand <strandra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello list:

 Janet P sent a news article from the New York Times.
 A quick search of the Pub Med turned up previous research
 by Lumelsky and McKay.

 We will be looking forward to seeing new work soon to be published in Science.

 Science, unlike many other medical journals, is commonly
 available in just about any library... if you are curious.

 Ray

 .......................................................
 Nat Biotechnol 2000 Jun;18(6):675-9

Efficient generation of midbrain and hindbrain neurons from mouse embryonic stem
cells.

Lee SH, Lumelsky N, Studer L, Auerbach JM, McKay RD.

Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are clonal cell lines derived from the inner cell mass
of the developing blastocyst that can proliferate extensively in vitro and are
capable of adopting all the cell fates in a developing embryo. Clinical interest
in the use of ES cells has been stimulated by studies showing that isolated
human cells with ES properties from the inner cell mass or developing germ cells
can provide a source of somatic precursors. Previous studies have defined in
vitro conditions for promoting the development of specific somatic fates,
specifically, hematopoietic, mesodermal, and neurectodermal. In this study, we
present a method for obtaining dopaminergic (DA) and serotonergic neurons in
high yield from mouse ES cells in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrate that
the ES
cells can be obtained in unlimited numbers and that these neuron types are
generated efficiently. We generated CNS progenitor populations from ES cells,
expanded these cells and promoted their differentiation into dopaminergic and
serotonergic neurons in the presence of mitogen and specific signaling
molecules. The differentiation and maturation of neuronal cells was completed
after mitogen withdrawal from the growth medium. This experimental system
provides a powerful tool for analyzing the molecular mechanisms controlling the
functions of these neurons in vitro and in vivo, and potentially for
understanding and treating neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.

PMID: 10835609 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 .......................................................

                                 Ray Strand
                             Prairie Sky Design
 -----------------(   on  the Edge of the Prairie Abyss  )---------------
                          when  the  sky  is  clear
                            the ground is visible

                     49/dx PD 2 yrs/40? onset/retired

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