Canadian Group Makes Nerve Cells From Skin

Francois Berthod at Laval University in Quebec City and colleagues say they’ve isolated cells that can become mature human neurons (nerve cells) from human skin cells, with implications for both research and treatment.

The investigators, who published their findings in the February issue of the Journal of Cellular Physiology, say they obtained skin cells from patients who had undergone breast reduction surgeries, grew them in plastic lab dishes in an environment that favors neuron development, and monitored them for seven weeks.

During that time, the cells went through the normal nerve cell developmental stages, producing proteins characteristic of each stage. They also began to form connections with each other, as nerve cells normally do.

“We are now trying to push the differentiation [maturation] of these neurons into a motor neuron fate,” says Berthod, who has MDA support for research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Motor neurons are the cells affected in this disease.