Researchers produce interneurons from stem cells

Scientists have managed to produce cortical interneurons (an important type of brain cell) from human embryonic stem cells, which could lead to advances in studying neurodevelopmental disorders like epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism.

Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research directed human embryonic stem cells, which can differentiate into many different types of cell, into becoming cortical interneurons.  These neurons control firing in the brain by releasing the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.  They are vitally important: according to Stewart Anderson, a co-leader of the study, interneurons direct “other excitatory brain cells to fire in synchrony”, and so when they go wrong “seizures or mental disorders can result.”

The cortical interneurons grown by the researchers can ‘wire up’ with other brain cells (from mice) allowing them to investigate cell signalling.  They can therefore be used to research normal development as well as disorders that arise from their malfunction. Being able to grow the cells in the lab is necessary because unlike in other diseases, in which diseased tissue can be taken with a biopsy, doctors cannot simply biopsy a patient’s brain tissue.

These interneurons are likely to contribute greatly to our understanding of development and disorders.  Genetic abnormalities can also be studied by manipulating the genes in the interneurons and observing the effects.  Additionally, the interneurons can also be used to test the efficacy of possible new drugs and what effect they would have on the brain.  Being able to grow these neurons is a great advance and could lead to better understanding of development (both normal and abnormal), genetics and treatments for psychiatric disorders.