| description: |
In modern cell therapy it is often important to replace cell populations destroyed by a degenerative disease or injury. The cells propagated in vitro and/or genetically manipulated could be used. The main aim of this project is to get new knowledge on stem cell biology, and the possibilities to use them for the therapy of neural diseases. The conditions of isolation, propagation, integration, and differentiation of neural stem cells will be investigated using morfological characteristics, the expression of cell surface antigens, transcription-, replication-, and reparation factor genes, extracellular matrix proteins, etc., karyotype, and biological activity. Later, transplantation studies on experimental animals will be performed. The objects of the study are neural stem cells which are isolated from normal and genetically defective fetuses. Further, hopefully, also from umbilical blood, bone marrow or inner cell mass of embryos (embryonal stem cells). Parallel the same characteristics are investigated both in the tissue of brain tumors (gliomas), cell cultures and in sphereforming tumour cells according to the hypothesis that at least part of brain tumours might be arisen from pre-existing neural stem cells. As the result of the project both new knowledge on the neural cell biology, and the conditions how to direct stem cell differentiation, and how to propagate them in optimal amount (for cell therapy) are expected. We also hope to get new knowledge on the brain tumours to improve their molecular genetic (differential)diagnostics, and increase the therapy possibilities. |