比利时和法国的科学家最近在实验中将胚胎干细胞分化为大脑皮层神经元，并成功地移植到实验鼠大脑中。科学家说，这一成果将有助于神经性疾病的研究，并有望以此为基础开发出针对这类疾病的新疗法。
大脑皮层由神经元构成，结构十分复杂，它的病变通常会引发癫痫、卒中以及早老性痴呆症等。而在新研究中，移植神经元一个月后进行的检查表明，所植入的神经元已和其他细胞建立了联系，并与鼠脑融为一体。
这项研究由比利时布鲁塞尔自由大学和法国国家科研中心共同完成。参与研究的阿弗萨奈·盖拉德女士说，这一成果可以为科学研究提供大量的大脑皮层神经元，从长远来看，它也会使神经元移植成为可能，从而为那些脑血管疾病患者和大脑受到创伤者带来福音。
这项研究成果已发表在最新一期英国《自然》（Nature）杂志上。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Nature，doi:10.1038/nature07287，Afsaneh Gaillard，Pierre Vanderhaeghen
An intrinsic mechanism of corticogenesis from embryonic stem cells
Nicolas Gaspard1, Tristan Bouschet1, Raphael Hourez2, Jordane Dimidschstein1, Gilles Naeije1, Jelle van den Ameele1, Ira Espuny-Camacho1, Adèle Herpoel1, Lara Passante1, Serge N. Schiffmann2, Afsaneh Gaillard3 & Pierre Vanderhaeghen1
1 IRIBHM (Institute for Interdisciplinary Research),
2 Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
3 Institut de Physiologie et Biologie Cellulaires, Université de Poitiers, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 40 avenue du recteur Pineau, Poitiers, F-86022, France
The cerebral cortex develops through the coordinated generation of dozens of neuronal subtypes, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here we show that mouse embryonic stem cells, cultured without any morphogen but in the presence of a sonic hedgehog inhibitor, recapitulate in vitro the major milestones of cortical development, leading to the sequential generation of a diverse repertoire of neurons that display most salient features of genuine cortical pyramidal neurons. When grafted into the cerebral cortex, these neurons develop patterns of axonal projections corresponding to a wide range of cortical layers, but also to highly specific cortical areas, in particular visual and limbic areas, thereby demonstrating that the identity of a cortical area can be specified without any influence from the brain. The discovery of intrinsic corticogenesis sheds new light on the mechanisms of neuronal specification, and opens new avenues for the modelling and treatment of brain diseases.
