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    • Rights: University of Waikato
    Published 9 November 2011 Referencing Hub media
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    LCT is trialling encapsulated pig cells to treat type 1 diabetes, but this technology may also be applied to other diseases1 with cell loss. For example, in patients with Parkinson’s disease, specific brain cells progressively die out causing slowness of movement, tremor and poor balance. LCT is transplanting pig cells from a region of the brain called the choroid plexus. Cells in the choroid plexus release hormones2 that can stimulate new brain cell growth. This treatment has shown promising results in animal models of Parkinson’s disease3.

    Transcript

    Bob Elliott (Living Cell Technologies)
    The idea of using live cells that are protected from rejection for the treatment of diabetes can be extended out to other diseases, a whole raft of other diseases, characterised by cell loss or death of cells in the body. And one we’ve become particularly interested in is the death of cells in the brain which make dopamine and cause the disease4 Parkinson’s disease.

    Parkinson’s disease may be found in up to 10% of the population5 over the age of 70. It’s progressive due to cell loss in the brain. Now the original approach here from others has been to replace those cells by transplanting human cells that make dopamine, and that has not been particularly successful.

    What we’ve done is something quite novel6. The brain is capable of repairing itself and then making new cells, and it looks like this is under the control7 of hormones made by the brain itself from cells placed deep within the cavities inside the brain, called the choroid plexus. So you can get these cells out of the brain which make these hormones, you can put them in these capsules and deliver them to the part of the brain that needs new cells.

    Now we’ve done this in animal models of Parkinson’s disease where these cells are being deliberately depleted, killed, and put these cells which stimulate regeneration8 within the brain in that area, and wow, what we see is repopulation of that area of dead cells with new cells, generated from the animal’s own brain itself and the disappearance of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It’s a very, very new approach, pretty exciting stuff actually, and we think has a high chance of success in that disease.

    Acknowledgements
    Certain images in this video are the copyrighted property of 123RF Limited, their Contributors or Licensed Partners and are being used with permission under license. These images may not be copied or downloaded without permission from 123RF Limited
    Geoff Hall, Creative Commons 1.0 Universal

    1. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    2. hormone: A chemical substance secreted by an endocrine gland into the bloodstream. It acts on specific target cells to produce a given response to control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs.
    3. Parkinson’s disease: A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech.
    4. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    5. population: In biology, a population is a group of organisms of a species that live in the same place at a same time and that can interbreed.
    6. novel: New or unusual in an interesting way.
    7. control: 1. Part of a scientific experiment in which no treatment has been applied in order to see whether there are any detectable differences to the experiment that did receive a treatment. 2. To hold in check or to curb.
    8. regeneration: The process of ecological restoration, which provides conditions to build up populations of native flora and fauna. The focus can be on an individual species or widened to include an entire ecosystem.
      In biology, the process by which some organisms replace or restore lost or amputated body parts.

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    ARTICLE

    Pig cell transplants – introduction

    Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is a New Zealand company at the forefront of xenotransplantation research. Use our resources to explore why and how they’re using pig cells to treat disease ...

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      diseases

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      2. 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions.

      2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.

      population

    2. + Create new collection

      3. In biology, a population is a group of organisms of a species that live in the same place at a same time and that can interbreed.

      regeneration

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      4. The process of ecological restoration, which provides conditions to build up populations of native flora and fauna. The focus can be on an individual species or widened to include an entire ecosystem.
      In biology, the process by which some organisms replace or restore lost or amputated body parts.

      hormone

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      5. A chemical substance secreted by an endocrine gland into the bloodstream. It acts on specific target cells to produce a given response to control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs.

      novel

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      6. New or unusual in an interesting way.

      Parkinson’s disease

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      7. A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech.

      control

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      8. 1. Part of a scientific experiment in which no treatment has been applied in order to see whether there are any detectable differences to the experiment that did receive a treatment.

      2. To hold in check or to curb.

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