Researchers here report on a demonstration of glial cell competition in the brain, conducted in mice but using human cells. The humanized mice started out with diseased glial cells possessing the mutation characteristic of Huntington’s disease. Young human glial progenitor cells without the mutation were transplanted, and subsequently outcompeted the mutated cells, replacing them in the brain. This suggests that a similar strategy could work for a range of neurodegenerative conditions, one treatment to gradually replace problematic supporting cells in the brain. The regenerative medicine community is still struggling to achieve the reliable engraftment and survival of transplanted cells, as…
Young Glial Progenitor Cells Outcompete Diseased Glial Cells in the Brain
Researchers here report on a demonstration of glial cell competition in the brain, conducted in mice but using human cells. The humanized mice started out with diseased glial cells possessing the mutation characteristic of Huntington’s disease. Young human glial progenitor cells without the mutation were transplanted, and subsequently outcompeted the mutated cells, replacing them in the brain. This suggests that a similar strategy could work for a range of neurodegenerative conditions, one treatment to gradually replace problematic supporting cells in the brain. The regenerative medicine community is still struggling to achieve the reliable engraftment and survival of transplanted cells, as…