Using iPS technology researchers develop new therapies for Parkinson's disease and ALS

Dresden. Dr. Jared Sterneckert is entering the research area "Neurodegenerative Diseases" of the DFG Research Center and Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden (CRTD) as a new junior group leader. Since 2006, he has led a team working at the "Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine" in Münster to develop models of Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). For that, they reprogrammed human cells into so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. With the help of this model specially generated for patients, Jared Sterneckert hopes to develop new therapies for Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Dresden.

PD and ALS are adult onset disorders and have average ages of onsets of about 60 years. PD is the second most common disease worldwide affecting especially the increasingly aging population, and ALS is the most common motor neuron disease. In the past, researchers used animal models and cell lines to study disease pathogenesis. However, both research systems can behave differently compared to patient samples.

Jared Sterneckert's team generated iPS cell lines from cells provided by patients with observable phenotypes and known genotypes. With these iPS cell lines, the American stem cell researcher is able to almost limitless numbers of differentiated cells, including neuronal cells which are affected by PD and ALS. "With these neuronal cells, we are able to mimick the pathological process of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the laboratory and use it as a model to study the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis", Jared Sterneckert reports. "At the same time, iPS cell lines are an almost inexhaustible source of human neuronal cells for drug discovery for Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis."

The Sterneckert team's expertise with iPS cell technology complement the current research work in the area of neurodegenerative diseases at the CRTD as well as in Dresden. During his time in Münster, Jared Sterneckert already cooperated with Professor Alexander Storch, the deputy director of the Clinic and Policlinic for Neurology of the University Hospital Dresden.

Source: http://www.crt-dresden.de/news.html