Haryana-based scientist develops human models to study neuro disorders
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 4
Human-based models to study neuron development and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism have been developed by a Haryana-based scientist, which can help design treatment strategies for such brain disorders.
For decades, animal models have been used to understand brain-related disorders, and drugs that function in animal models have failed in clinical trials. The dearth of human models has led to a lack of knowledge of the patho-physiology of such disorders, an essential requirement for designing their treatment strategies.
This gap has now been filled by Dr Yogita K Adlakha by generating human-based stem cell model to understand brain development and dysfunction at the National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana. Currently, she is working as a scientist at Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad. The study, undertaken with support from the Department of Science and Technology, has been published in Stem Cells, a US-based peer-reviewed journal.
Along with her research group, she established a protocol from India for the first time by generating and producing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from human peripheral blood. They have further refined the protocol of differentiation of iPSCs into the brain-specific stem cells called neural stem cells (NSCs).
Her group has contributed immensely in understanding the role of micro-RNA in neural stem cell fate. This has revealed how certain small non-coding RNAs called micro-RNA, which do not form protein but regulate expression of other genes, can enhance the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons. This research has contributed to expanding the knowledge of neuron development and the role of small non-coding RNA in brain-specific stem cells fate, thereby changing the face of neuroscience and stem cells.
Dr Yogita’s models could help study how the brain develops, particularly the neurons, and what goes awry during brain development leading to cognitive decline, impairment in language, and social interaction.
The study provides the first evidence that a brain enriched miRNA-137 induces neuronal differentiation and inhibits proliferation using human neural stem cells derived from iPSCs, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology today. The findings of the study can facilitate the design of treatments for aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases and autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, the ministry’s statement added.
A decrease in the proliferation of brain-specific stem cells with age leads to the compromised regenerative capacity of the brain. In her present work, she proposes that differentiation of brain-specific stem cells induced by a small non-coding RNA may promote the design of treatments for aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases and autism.
