Kiminobu Sugaya
University of Central Florida, USA
Title: Stem cell based therapies for neurodegenerative diseases under the pathological condition
Biography
Biography: Kiminobu Sugaya
Abstract
Advances in stem cell technologies; including the ability to produce pluripotent stem cells from adult stem cells by the over expression of an embryonic stem cell gene and to increase endogenous stem cells by administration of a small molecule may bring a cure for neurodegenerative diseases. However in order for the stem cells to be functional, they have to be differentiated into the proper types of cells and integrated into the proper part of the host brain. Thus we need to consider the pathological condition of the disease, which may. Thus, we have to consider the pathological environment that might alter environmental cues for migrate and differentiate of the stem cells. Here we show the effects of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and reelin on neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation and how to regulate this effect to produce desirable cells under pathological conditions. We found that APP increases glial differentiation via the notch and cytokine-signaling pathway, while reelin induces radial glial differentiation followed by neuronal differentiation via increasing phosphorylation of adapter protein disable-1. Since amyloid and reelin are found in the plaques within Alzheimer's disease (AD), these findings may closely associate with NSC biology under its pathology. By regulating these factors in AD, we may be able to not only guide differentiation of transplanted NSCs but also modify progression of disease by guiding differentiation of endogenous NSCs.