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Human stem cells as a model of motoneuron development and diseases
Author(s) -
Liu Yan,
Zhang SuChun
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05537.x
Subject(s) - induced pluripotent stem cell , embryonic stem cell , stem cell , biology , neuroscience , human induced pluripotent stem cells , cellular differentiation , cell type , cell , directed differentiation , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene
Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) possess the potential to become all cell and tissue types of the human body. Under chemically defined culture systems, hESCs and hiPSCs have been efficiently directed to functional spinal motoneurons and astrocytes. The differentiation process faithfully recapitulates the developmental process predicted from studies in vertebrate animals and human specimens, suggesting the usefulness of stem cell differentiation systems in understanding human cellular development. Motoneurons and astrocytes differentiated from genetically altered hESCs or disease hiPSCs exhibit predicted phenotypes. They thus offer a simplified dynamic model for analyzing pathological processes that lead to human motoneuron degeneration, which in turn may serve as a template for pharmaceutical screening. In addition, the human stem cell‐derived motoneurons and astrocytes, including those specifically derived from a patient, may become a source for cell therapy.