MIPS researcher secures prestigious stem cell grant

Thursday 21 May 2009

MIPS researcher, Professor Colin Pouton is one of the first recipients of collaborative grants under the Victoria-California Stem Cell Alliance.

Four collaborative stem cell projects involving researchers from the Australian Stem Cell Centre, Monash University and the Florey Neuroscience Institutes are the first to be funded under the International Alliance between the State of Victoria and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

The projects were announced late last night (AEST) by Victoria’s Minister for Innovation, Gavin Jennings at BIO2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Professor Pouton, Dr John Haynes and their MIPS research team will collaborate with Florey Neuroscience Institutes and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research on a project ‘Developmental candidates for cell-based therapies for Parkinson's disease.’ The project will receive a total of $6 million including approximately $1 million to fund the research of the Victorian group.

The project aims to identify the best candidates for cell-based therapies for Parkinson’s disease using animal models. Parkinson’s disease severely debilitates about two per cent of the US population and approximately 80,000 Australians. The disease results from the progressive loss of a population of cells in the brain (dopamine neurons).  These cells release the chemical dopamine in a region of the brain that is important for regulating movement. There are currently no effective therapies for the treatment of Parkinson’s.

"The project aims to identify and provide the ideal cell type for implantation in Parkinson’s and could have a lasting impact on treatment of this debilitating disease." said Professor Pouton.

Researchers from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have discovered that human neural stem cells (hNSCs) may exert a significant beneficial impact in predictive animal models of actual human Parkinson’s disease. While some of the hNSCs differentiate into replacement dopaminergic neurons, much of the therapeutic benefit derived from a stem cell action is due to what is called the ‘Chaperone Effect’ – whereby hNSC-derived cells that do not become dopamine neurons contribute to the reversal of severe Parkinsonian symptoms. While the ultimate goal may someday be to replace dead dopamine neurons, the Chaperone Effect represents a more tractable near-term method of using cells to address this serious condition. However, many questions remain in the process of developing these cellular therapeutic candidates.

This project aims to answer the important questions by studying implantation of cells derived from embryonic and neural stem cells, and investigating what other supporting factors such as specific brain proteins contribute to this effect. Professor Pouton’s MIPS research team and collaborators at Florey Neuroscience Institutes will use genetic methods for identifying specific precursors of dopaminergic neurons which allow these precursors to be purified for use in implantation experiments. Implantation of committed precursors may represent an improved or complementary approach to hNSC cell therapy of Parkinson’s disease. Professor Pouton’s research team will examine whether early or late dopaminergic progenitors represent the best approach for cell therapy and will provide suitable human cells to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research for inclusion in cell therapy studies.