Function Of The Lysophospholipid Receptor Family In Neuronal Stem Cells And Their Progenitors.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,723.00
Summary
Stem cells have the potential to give rise to a vast array of differentiated cells. Neuronal stem cells (NSC) can differentiate into progenitor cells which can themselves differentiate into cells of the nervous system: neurons and macroglial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells). This in turn can assist in the treatment of degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motoneuron desease etc. Our project aims to study the effects on NSC and their progenitor ....Stem cells have the potential to give rise to a vast array of differentiated cells. Neuronal stem cells (NSC) can differentiate into progenitor cells which can themselves differentiate into cells of the nervous system: neurons and macroglial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells). This in turn can assist in the treatment of degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motoneuron desease etc. Our project aims to study the effects on NSC and their progenitor cells of the lysophospholipids lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), bioactive molecules known to play an essential role in the nervous system during development and inflammation. Our project aims to understand the mechanisms of action of these molecules in NSC maintenance, proliferation, differentiation and migration. By understanding how these molecules are able to regulate NSC biology will provide new avenues in the development of tools necessary for stem cell therapy.Read moreRead less
Neogenin: A Regulator Of Neuronal Differentiation And Migration In The Adult Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,053.00
Summary
Conditions such as Alzheimer�s and Huntington�s diseases, as well as stroke, represent a major burden of disease in Australia. One goal of modern neurobiology is to harness the brain's ability to make new neurons so that we can replace those damaged by disease or injury. We will investigate how an important developmental molecule, Neogenin, promotes the production of new neurons in the adult brain. A second goal is to show that Neogenin can be activated to promote the repair of the damaged brain ....Conditions such as Alzheimer�s and Huntington�s diseases, as well as stroke, represent a major burden of disease in Australia. One goal of modern neurobiology is to harness the brain's ability to make new neurons so that we can replace those damaged by disease or injury. We will investigate how an important developmental molecule, Neogenin, promotes the production of new neurons in the adult brain. A second goal is to show that Neogenin can be activated to promote the repair of the damaged brain.Read moreRead less
Neural Crest Stem Cell Therapy For Absence Of Intestinal Nerves In Hirschsprungs Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$504,377.00
Summary
Hirschsprung's disease is acommon birth defect caused by failure of nerve cells to get into the colon. This results in intractable often fatal constipation. Current treatment is surgical removal of the affected colon soon after birth but often problems persist. These nerves might be rebuilt using nerve stem cells, but not all stem cells have this capacity. And is not known if this can be achieved after birth: This project will define which stem cell populations to use and in what age of bowel.
Understanding how the brain grows and is organised is one of the great challenges of science. This project seeks to identify key regulators of neural progenitors as these are the building blocks from which all brains cells are derived. This knowledge may also identify new avenues through which to manipulate neural progenitor function. This has implications not only for normal brain development but also potential therapies for neural disorders and disease.
Neural Transplantation Of Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells To Replace Oligodendrocytes Lost In Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$249,750.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system in which myelin (an insulative coating around the axons of neurons) and oligodendrocytes (the cells that produce myelin) are attacked and damaged by an unknown process. This damage is referred to as demyelination and results in a blocking or weakening of nerve signal conduction. Some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are weakness, tingling or numbness of limbs, and double vision or visual loss. One strategy to repair the demyelina ....Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system in which myelin (an insulative coating around the axons of neurons) and oligodendrocytes (the cells that produce myelin) are attacked and damaged by an unknown process. This damage is referred to as demyelination and results in a blocking or weakening of nerve signal conduction. Some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are weakness, tingling or numbness of limbs, and double vision or visual loss. One strategy to repair the demyelination is to transplant cells into the damaged brain that can replace the damaged oligodendrocytes and remyelinate. Studies have shown that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells and neural stem cells transplanted into the brain can mature into oligodendrocytes and myelinate axons. However these cells are very difficult to obtain, the best source is foetal terminations but the use of such tissue raises ethical and practical problems. Recently cells found in adult bone marrow, called marrow stromal cells, have been shown to differentiate into neural cells when transplanted into the brain. This raises the possibility that sufferers of multiple sclerosis may be able to have marrow stromal cells taken from their bone marrow and then transplanted into their brains to replace their damaged oligodendrocytes. Our study will investigate the differentiation of marrow stromal cells into oligodendrocytes and determine if marrow stromal cells transplanted into demyelinated mouse brain can replace damaged oligodendrocytes and remyelinate areas of damage.Read moreRead less
Can Human Neural Stem Cells Form Enteric Nerves In Human Hirschsprungs Disease Colon?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$598,815.00
Summary
The intestine has its own nervous system which develops from cells that migrate into the intestine during early development. Sometimes this does not work and part of the bowel has no nerves and cannot function. This is treated now by cutting out this bad bowel and joining the sections of good bowel. But it may be possible to grow new nerves in the bad bowel using stem cells. This project aims to test whether this treatment, which would avoid loss of bowel, is possible.
The Development Of Glial Cells In The Sympathetic Nervous System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,025.00
Summary
Nervous system development entails the co-ordinated multiplication of a small number of founder cells to give the millions of cells of the mature nervous system. Each founder generates a many different cell types. Understanding how this is controlled is among the most challenging problems in modern biology. We will show how the development of the two basic cell types (neurons and glia), is controlled in a part of the nervous system that is relatively simple and accessible for manipulation.
Adult Stem Cell Transplantation Therapy In Parkinsonian Rat
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$526,517.00
Summary
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by slowness of movement, muscle rigidity and tremor. It affects about 1% of the population at age 50 and 10% over age 80. Symptoms are caused by low levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that helps control movement. The symptoms increase in severity with time, leading to increasing difficulty in walking, speaking, writing, swallowing and sleeping and increasing the incidence of broken bones from falls. Parkinson' ....Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by slowness of movement, muscle rigidity and tremor. It affects about 1% of the population at age 50 and 10% over age 80. Symptoms are caused by low levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that helps control movement. The symptoms increase in severity with time, leading to increasing difficulty in walking, speaking, writing, swallowing and sleeping and increasing the incidence of broken bones from falls. Parkinson's disease is incurable but the symptoms can be controlled with medications that replace the lost dopamine. Medications become less effective as the disease progresses and there is need for new therapies. Worldwide the hunt is on to discover new cell transplantation therapies to replace the dopamine in the brain and to prevent degeneration of the still surviving dopamine cells. Although embryonic stem cells might be useful for such therapies, they raise the risk of tumour formation from the transplanted cells. This aim of this proposal is to test, in parkinsonian rat, a therapy in which adult stem cells from the patient are transplanted into their own brain to provide a new source of dopamine. We have discovered a new and unique source of adult stem cells, the sense organ of smell in the nose. Small samples can be taken through the nose and we can grow these adult stem cells from people of all ages, including people with Parkinson's disease. As adult stem cells they avoid the ethical issues associated with embryonic stem cell transplantation and as cells from the same patient, they are not rejected by the immune system. This is being tested in principle by a world-first clinical trial in which we are taking another cell type from the nose, growing it in the lab, and transplanting into the injured spinal cord in a search for a cure for paraplegia. This project takes the first steps to developing a new treatment for Parkinson's disease using a patient's own adult stem cells.Read moreRead less
The overall incidence of primary brain tumours in the Western world is 10 per 100,000 people. Unlike many other tumours, these occur in patients of all ages and comprise the second most common tumour type among children and young adults. Most brain tumours remain incurable. We are using our expertise in the field of neural stem cell research to characterise tumour cells responsible for resistance to treatment, with the final goal of identifying new targets for therapeutic intervention.
The Role Of BMP4 Signalling In Oligodendrogenesis Following Central Demyelination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,202.00
Summary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurodegenerative disease affecting young adults. It is a disease that kills myelin cells, which are necessary support cells for neurons and are critical for their function. This research investigates the role that BMPs play in myelin cell production and repair. Our aim is to identify regenerative therapeutics for MS.