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World J Stem Cells. Mar 26, 2015; 7(2): 502-511
Published online Mar 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i2.502
Neural stem cells could serve as a therapeutic material for age-related neurodegenerative diseases
Sarawut Suksuphew, Parinya Noisa
Sarawut Suksuphew, School of Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand
Parinya Noisa, School of Biotechnology, Institute of Agricultural Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima 3000, Thailand
Author contributions: Suksuphew S and Noisa P equally contributed to this work.
Supported by Suranaree University of Technology.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Parinya Noisa, PhD, School of Biotechnology, Institute of Agricultural Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Nakhon Ratchasima 3000, Thailand. p.noisa@sut.ac.th
Telephone: +66-9-26641118 m Fax: +66-9-44224154
Received: July 28, 2014
Peer-review started: July 29, 2014
First decision: September 4, 2014
Revised: October 6, 2014
Accepted: October 23, 2014
Article in press: October 27, 2014
Published online: March 26, 2015
Abstract

Progressively loss of neural and glial cells is the key event that leads to nervous system dysfunctions and diseases. Several neurodegenerative diseases, for instance Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease, are associated to aging and suggested to be a consequence of deficiency of neural stem cell pool in the affected brain regions. Endogenous neural stem cells exist throughout life and are found in specific niches of human brain. These neural stem cells are responsible for the regeneration of new neurons to restore, in the normal circumstance, the functions of the brain. Endogenous neural stem cells can be isolated, propagated, and, notably, differentiated to most cell types of the brain. On the other hand, other types of stem cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells can also serve as a source for neural stem cell production, that hold a great promise for regeneration of the brain. The replacement of neural stem cells, either endogenous or stem cell-derived neural stem cells, into impaired brain is highly expected as a possible therapeutic mean for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, clinical features and current routinely treatments of age-related neurodegenerative diseases are documented. Noteworthy, we presented the promising evidence of neural stem cells and their derivatives in curing such diseases, together with the remaining challenges to achieve the best outcome for patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Neural stem cells, Parkinson’s disease, Cell therapy, Neurodegenerative diseases

Core tip: Neural stem cells present throughout life of human. The cells can be distinguished from differentiated progeny by acknowledging a few key features, including proliferation, self-renewal, multipotency and molecular markers. These features make neural stem cells as an essential component in the development of nervous system and in maintaining cell number of adult nervous tissues following injury and diseases. Besides conventional treatments, neural stem cells have been proposed as a promising approach to cure patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Several animal studies showed the efficiency of neural stem cells in treating age-related neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.