Source: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
Date: February 1, 2010
Summary:
LA JOLLA, Calif., -- Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research), the Karolinska Institutet, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School and Université Libre de Bruxelles have demonstrated in mouse models that transplanted stems cells, when in direct contact with diseased neurons, send signals through specialized channels that rescue the neurons from death. These direct cell-to-cell connections may also play a role in normal development by laying down the blueprint for more mature electrical connections between neurons and other cells. The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on February 1.
