The British "Nature" magazine published an important achievement on the 29th: Japanese scientists successfully restored the neurological function of the Parkinson's disease monkey model using stem cell therapy. This study demonstrates that implantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopaminergic neurons can improve the motor's ability to exercise, and the same method may be used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. iPSC stem cells are adult cells that can be differentiated into various cells after reprogramming. Cell therapy refers to the replacement of damaged nerve cells in the brains of patients with neurological diseases, and human iPSCs are an alternative source of potential. In the case of Parkinson's disease, the patient is damaged by nerve cells (dopaminergic neurons) that communicate using dopamine. To date, long-term studies of human iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons have not been performed in Parkinson's disease primate models. This time, Kyoto University scientist Takahashi and colleagues applied the neurons to the Parkinson's disease monkey model to evaluate their safety and function. The results showed that these human cells survived for a long time, exerted the role of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, and restored various motor functions of the diseased monkeys. As for safety, these cells do not form any tumor in the brain for at least two years and do not cause any immune response, or just cause a mild immune response. The number of dopaminergic neurons surviving varies from animal to animal, and the team identified genetic markers that may have an impact on them, which may be used to select the best cell line in a clinical setting. The authors conclude that further research is needed to clarify the best donor cell markers, but the current findings help to advance the development of cell therapy for neurological diseases. At the same time, the Takahashi team introduced a method to improve the survival rate of iPSC-derived neurons after transplantation in another related paper published in Nature Communication. They believe that matching the major histocompatibility complex (MHC, affecting the immune response) in the iPSC with the MHC of the recipient can reduce the immune response to the transplanted neurons and thus improve survival. (Reporter Zhang Mengran) Source: Technology Daily Shaanxi Kang New Pharmaceutical co., Ltd. , https://www.bio-pharmacies.com