| Abstract [eng] |
New stem cell-based therapeutic strategies for human neurological disorders have attracted a great deal of interest in recent years, but clinically useful therapies are still not available for most patients. The main reason for this is insufficient understanding of fundamental molecular processes regulating growth, differentiation and survival of human neural cells. These issues may be resolved only with adequate and effective in vitro experimental models. During the first part of our study we established a novel three-stage protocol for neural differentiation of SHED cells. SHEDs treated according to our new differentiation protocol gave rise to mixed neuronal/glial cell cultures, which opens new possibilities for in vitro studies of neuronal and glial specification and broadens the potential for the employment of such cells in experimental models and future treatment strategies. The second part of this study was dedicated to investigation of neuroprotective properties of SHED cells. Specifically, we investigated the effects of exosomes and microvesicles derived from SHEDs during 6-hydroxydopamine-induced apoptosis in human dopaminergic neurons. We found, that exosomes, but not microvesicles derived from SHEDs grown on laminin-coated microcarriers in bioreactor suppress 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis in human dopaminergic neurons. Our results demonstrate that exosomes derived from SHEDs are potential new therapeutic tools against Parkinson's Disease. |
