Ethical concerns over the use of embryonic stem cells has focused attention on the potential of adult bone-marrow cells to stimulate new cell growth in transplant recipients. Previous research has shown that the transplantation of adult human bone-marrow cells can generate new nerve cells in the brains of mice; a recent Lancet study (Lancet 2003; 361: 1084/88) showed how adult male bone-marrow cells regenerated growth in the cheek cells of female stem-cell recipients.
Edward Scott from the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, USA, and colleagues examined the brain tissue of three women who had received bone-marrow transplantation from male donors to help treat leukaemia. The investigators found that donor cells containing a Y chromosome (ie, from a male origin) were present in all three women's brains up to 6 years after bone-marrow transplantation. All recipients had transgender brain tissue, and in the longest survivor three different types of brain tissue including neurons were found.
Dr. Scott comments: "This study suggests that bone marrow could be used as a therapeutic source of readily harvestable cells for the regeneration of nerve cells, with potential application to various neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic central nervous system damage".
Contact: Dr. Edward Scott, University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, Academic Research Building Room R4-254, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville FL 32610, USA; T): 352-846-1149; F): 352-392-5802; E): escott@ufl.edu .
The Lancet