{"id":13590,"date":"2017-11-09T09:41:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T09:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=13590"},"modified":"2017-11-09T09:41:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T09:41:07","slug":"uw-scientists-create-recipe-make-human-blood-brain-barrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/uw-scientists-create-recipe-make-human-blood-brain-barrier\/","title":{"rendered":"UW scientists create a recipe to make human blood-brain barrier"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A team of UW\u2013Madison researchers has developed a tightly defined, step-by-step process to turn multipurpose stem cells (top) into the cells that make the human blood-brain barrier (bottom), the anatomical feature that protects our brain from toxins and other threats that may be in circulating blood. IMAGE: TONGCHENG QIAN, UW\u2013MADISON<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The blood-brain barrier is the brain\u2019s gatekeeper. A nearly impenetrable shield of cells, it keeps toxins and other agents that may be in circulating blood from gaining access to and harming the brain.<\/span><\/p>\n

A critical anatomical structure, the barrier is the brain\u2019s first and most comprehensive line of defense. But in addition to protecting the brain, it also is involved in disease and effectively blocks many of the small-molecule drugs that might make effective therapies for a host of neurological conditions, including such things as stroke, trauma and cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rudimentary models of the barrier have been created in the laboratory dish using human stem cells, but such models have depended on mixing a cocktail of cell types to elicit the complex chemical interplay that directs blank slate stem cells to become the endothelial cells that make up the blood-brain barrier.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a report published this week (Nov. 8, 2017) in\u00a0Science Advances<\/a>, researchers from the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison detail a defined, step-by-step process to make a more exact mimic of the human blood-brain barrier in the laboratory dish. The new model will permit more robust exploration of the cells, their properties and how scientists might circumvent the barrier for therapeutic purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe main advance is we now have a fully defined process that uses small molecules to guide cells through the developmental process,\u201d says University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering\u00a0Sean Palecek<\/a>\u00a0of the method that substitutes chemical factors for cells to push stem cells to become the brain endothelial cells that compose the blood-brain barrier. \u201cIt is fully defined. We know what components are acting on the cells\u201d and at what stages of development.<\/span><\/p>\n

To develop the new method for making the cells, Palecek collaborated with the laboratory of UW\u2013Madison chemical and biological engineering Professor\u00a0Eric Shusta<\/a>.\u00a0Tongcheng Qian<\/a>, a Wisconsin postdoctoral researcher in chemical and biological engineering, led the study. The team has applied for a patent on the process through the\u00a0Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation<\/a>, the not-for-profit organization that manages UW\u2013Madison intellectual property.<\/span><\/p>\n

In stem cell science, directing stem cells to become any of the hundreds of cell types that make up the human body is often as much art as science. By identifying specific chemical molecules that can chaperone the cells through the various stages of development to become the brain endothelial cells, the Wisconsin team, in effect, provides a recipe to standardize making the cells in quantities useful for research and things like high-throughput drug screens.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOther approaches require mixing and co-culture of other cell types,\u201d explains Shusta. \u201cThis will enable the non-expert to deploy the model. It\u2019s an off-the-shelf recipe.\u201d Using induced cells, adult cells from patients, which are reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state, will also allow researchers to better understand the etiology and progression of a variety of neurological disorders. Things like infections of the brain and multiple sclerosis may be better understood at their onset.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt standardizes the approach. It can be applied to a broader portfolio of cells. We can really investigate disease,\u201d says Palecek, noting that an ability to track cells as they progress through various phases of development can help scientists see the cascade of cellular events that occur as neurological conditions manifest themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new method, he adds, will also allow industry to scale up production of the brain endothelial cells for drug discovery. By exposing cells to various agents, researchers can assess toxicity and effect of promising therapies.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The blood-brain barrier is the brain\u2019s gatekeeper. A nearly impenetrable shield of cells, it keeps toxins and other agents that may be in circulating blood from gaining access to and harming the brain. A critical anatomical structure, the barrier is the brain\u2019s first and most comprehensive line of defense. But in addition to protecting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324-300x194.jpg",300,194,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",95,62,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",500,324,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",96,62,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NEW_Image-500x324.jpg",150,97,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Medicine<\/a> Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}