Growing a Brain: Small Brain Biopsies Create Cells for Treatments

Growing a brain may not be as farfetched as you might think. Scientists have moved closer to growing "therapeutic" brain cells in a lab that can then be re-integrated back into patients' brains to treat a wide range of neurological conditions. The finding could be huge in the field of medicine.

"This work is an example of how integrating basic science and clinical care may reveal privileged opportunities for biomedical research," said Matthew Hebb, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In order to examine whether they could culture brain cells that could be reintroduced, the researchers turned to volunteers with Parkinson's disease. These patients were scheduled to have deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, a commonly used procedure that involves placing electrodes into the brain. Before the electrodes were implanted, though, the researchers took small biopsies near the surface of the brain.

The next step was to culture these cells. The scientists multiplied the brain cells to generate millions of patient-specific cells. They then subjected these cells to genetic analysis. While the cells were complex in their makeup, they exhibited regeneration and characteristics of a fundamental class of brain cells, called glia. More specifically, they expressed a broad array of natural and potent protective agents, called neurotrophic factors.

"From an extremely small amount of brain tissue, we will one day be able to do very big things," said Gerald Weissmann, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "For centuries, treating the brain effectively and safely has been elusive. This advance opens the doors to not only new therapies for a myriad of brain disease, but new ways of delivering therapies as well."

In fact, the new treatment could be used to grow large numbers of new personalized cells that are not only healthy, but also possess powerful attributes to preserve and protect the brain from future injury, toxins and diseases. In fact, they might be able to be transformed in the lab to yield specific cell types for a particular treatment, or to cross the "blood-brain barrier" by expressing specific therapeutic agents that are released directly into the brain.

"It is our hope that the results of this study provide a footing for further advancement of personalized, cell-based treatments for currently incurable and devastating neurological disorders," said Hebb.

The findings are published in The FASEB Journal.