Neural Stem Cells
Principal Investigator: Dwain Morris-Irvin, PhD, MPH
This research group focuses on identifying novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. More specifically, researchers utilize viral gene delivery techniques to manipulate intrinsic factors associated with neural stem/progenitor cells proliferation, differentiation and cell fate choices. Additionally, the team also examines the potential of neural stem cells as a pool or source of cells for cell replacement therapy. Currently, they are examining the potential of neural stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and have demonstrated an ability to generate dopaminergic neurons, the cells lost in Parkinson's, from ventral midbrain stem/progenitor cells. This group also examines the potential of neural stem cells to act as vehicles for gene delivery. This group and others have demonstrated the potential of neural stem cells to behave as vehicles for targeted delivery of anti-tumor agents to tumors. Stem cells may also behave as vehicles for gene delivery to damaged areas of the brain, including trauma and neurodegeneration. Currently, researchers are examining the molecular signaling that underlie these functions.
Recent Publications
2008
Yin D, Wang X, Konda B, Ong J, Hu J, Sacapano M, Ko M, Espinoza A, Irvin DK, Shu Y, Black K. Increase in Brain Tumor Permeability in Glioma-bearing Rats with Nitric Oxide Donors. Clinical Cancer Research, 14(12): 4002-9, 2008.Irvin DK, Thompson L, Kirik D, Björklund A In Vivo Gene Delivery to Endogenous Striatal Progenitors Generated by a 6-hydroxydopamine Lesion of the Nigrostriatal Dopamine Pathway. In Press, Neurobiology of Disease. 2008.
Wheeler C, Black K, Liu G, Wagenberg M, Zhang X, Pepkowitz S, Goldfinger D, Ng H, Irvin DK, Yu J. Vaccination with tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells elicits correlated immune and clinical response magnitudes in patients with glioblastoma multiforme. Cancer Research, 68(14): 5955-64, 2008.
2007
Ghods-Jourabchi A, *Irvin DK, Gentao Liu G, Abdulkadir I, Yuan X, Tunici P, Wachsmann-Hogi S, Konda B, Black K, Yu J, Spheres Isolated from 9L Gliosarcoma Rat Cell Line Possess Chemoresistant and Aggressive Cancer Stem-Like Cells. Stem Cells. July, 2007.2006
Liu G, Yuan X, Zeng Z, Tunici P, Ng H, Abdulkadir IR, Lu L, Irvin DK, Black KL, Yu JS. Analysis of gene expression and chemoresistance of CD133+ cancer stem cells in glioblastoma. Molecular Cancer. 2006 Dec 2; 5:67.Andersson E, Irvin DK, Ahlsiö J Parmar M. Ngn2 and Nurr1 act in synergy to induce midbrain dopaminergic neurons from expanded neural stem and progenitor cells. Experimental Cell Research. December, 2006.
Irvin DK, Yuan X, Tunici P, Yu JS. Neural Stem Cells: A Promising Potential Therapy for Brain Tumors. Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Vol.1, 2006.
Tunici P, Irvin DK, Liu G, Yuan X, Zhaohui Z, Ng H, Yu J, Brain Tumor Stem Cells: New Targets for Clinical Treatments. Neurosurgical Focus 20(4) E27, 2006.
Irvin D, Yu JS Stem Cells A Potential Therapy for Brain Tumors. NeuroReport 2006.
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