| Abstract No.: | 302 |
| Country: | Canada |
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| Title: | HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS TO THE RESCUE OF BRAIN DISEASES |
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| Authors/Affiliations: | 1 Serge Rivest*;
1 CHUL Research Center, Québec, QC, Canada
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| Content: | Microglia are the immune cells of the central nervous system. They patrol of the brain environment with their ramifications and they respond quickly in presence of pathogens and brain damages. Others and we have recently reported the existence of two different types of microglia, the resident and the newly differentiated microglia that derive from the bone marrow stem cells. Of great interest is the fact that blood-derived microglial cells are associated with amyloid plaques and these cells are able to prevent the formation or eliminate the presence of amyloid deposits in mice that develop the major hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). These cells are also recruited in the brain of other mouse models of brain diseases and acute injuries. They represent therefore a fantastic new vehicle for delivering key molecules to improve recovery, repair and elimination of toxic proteins. However recent studies have challenged this concept and raised concerns regarding the physiological relevance of bone marrow-derived microglia. This lecture will present both sides of the story and why the models used to follow the phenotypic fate of these cells are so critical to reach the proper conclusion. Blood-derived progenitors have the ability to populate the CNS, especially during injuries and chronic diseases. However they do not do it in an efficient manner and such a lack of proper recruitment may explain the delay in recovery and repair after acute damages and accumulation of toxic proteins in chronic brain diseases. We will show new data regarding the very effective molecular strategies for modifying genetically microglial progenitors to be used as a cure for brain diseases. Our work is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, grant # RMF 72554. |
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