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Advancing Our Understanding of Brain Disorders: Research Using Postmortem Brain Tissue.
Maurice A Curtis1, Vinata Vedam-Mai2
1Centre for Brain Research, and Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|September 24, 2021
Summary
Neural progenitor cells in Parkinson's disease (PD) brains show regenerative potential. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy may enhance neural stem cell proliferation in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Stem Cell Biology
- Neurological Disorders
Background:
- Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) brains harbor neural progenitor cells with proliferative potential.
- Adult stem/progenitor cells in the PD brain offer avenues for understanding disease progression and developing therapies.
- The mechanism of action for deep brain stimulation (DBS), a PD therapy, remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of DBS on neural stem cell proliferation in PD patients.
- To explore the regenerative potential of endogenous progenitor cells in the diseased brain.
- To examine cellular plasticity in response to DBS therapy.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of banked postmortem brain tissue from idiopathic PD patients treated with DBS.
- Comparison with control brains lacking central nervous system (CNS) disease.
- Quantification of proliferating precursor cells in germinal niches and perielectrode tissue.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in proliferating precursor cells was observed in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and surrounding DBS lead tissue in PD patients treated with DBS.
- Evidence of increased cellular plasticity in the brain following DBS therapy.
- Confirmation of proliferative potential within diseased brains.
Conclusions:
- DBS may influence neural stem cell proliferation, contributing to its therapeutic effects.
- Banked human brain tissue from germinal niches and DBS sites is crucial for research.
- Diseased brains exhibit inherent regenerative potential, which may be modulated by therapies like DBS.
