Scientists have revealed a way to use gene
therapy to turn glial brain cells into neurons, restoring vision and
potentially restoring motor function.
A team at Purdue University, US, in
collaboration with Jinan University, China, has discovered a way to use gene
therapy to turn glial brain cells into neurons, restoring visual function and
offering hope for a way to restore motor function.
The researchers explained that the brain can
sometimes remap its neural pathways enough to restore some visual function
after ischemic injury, or a stroke, however that process is slow and
inefficient and for some patients, it never happens at all. Meanwhile, stem
cell therapy relies on finding an immune match which is cumbersome and
difficult.
The team therefore used gene therapy as a method
to restore vision after stroke in mouse models. According to the paper, they
investigated the effect of NeuroD1-mediated reprogramming on visual cortical
circuit integration and functional recovery in a mouse model of ischemic
injury.
After performing electrophysiological
extracellular recordings and two-photon calcium imaging of reprogrammed cells
in vivo and mapping the synaptic connections formed onto these cells, the team
discovered that NeuroD1 reprogrammed neurons were integrated into the cortical
microcircuit and acquired direct visual responses.
“We are directly reprogramming the local
glial cells into neurons,” explained associate professor Alexander Chubykin,
who led the study. “We do not have to implant new cells, so there is no
immunogenic rejection. This process is easier to do than stem cell therapy and
there is less damage to the brain. We are helping the brain heal itself. We can
see the connections between the old neurons and the newly reprogrammed neurons
get re-established. We can watch the mice get their vision back.”
The
team stated that their research, published Frontiers in Cell and Developmental
Biology, is especially important because visual function is easier than motor
skills to measure accurately. Perfecting and understanding this new gene
therapy technique could thus lead to a similar technique re-establishing motor
function, bridging the gap in understanding between the basic interpretation of
the neurons and the function of the organs.
World Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images (ISSN 2835-1568)
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