Taupin P
Fighting Blindness Vision Research Institute.
Clin Med Oncol. 2008;2:451-4. doi: 10.4137/cmo.s747. Epub 2008 Jun 9.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are self-renewing multipotent cells that generate the main phenotypes of the nervous system, neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. As such they hold the promise to treat a broad range of neurological diseases and injuries. Neural progenitor and stem cells have been isolated and characterized in vitro, from adult, fetal and post-mortem tissues, providing sources of material for cellular therapy. However, NSCs are still elusive cells and remain to be unequivocally identified and characterized, limiting their potential use for therapy. Neural progenitor and stem cells, isolated and cultured in vitro, can be genetically modified and when transplanted migrate to tumor sites in the brain. These intrinsic properties of neural progenitor and stem cells provide tremendous potential to bolster the translation of NSC research to therapy. It is proposed to combine gene therapy and cellular therapy to treat brain cancers. Hence, neural progenitor and stem cells provide new opportunities for the treatment of brain cancers.
神经干细胞（NSCs）是自我更新的多能细胞，可生成神经系统的主要表型，即神经元、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞。因此，它们有望治疗多种神经系统疾病和损伤。神经祖细胞和干细胞已从成人、胎儿和死后组织中分离出来并在体外进行了表征，为细胞治疗提供了材料来源。然而，神经干细胞仍然难以捉摸，仍有待明确鉴定和表征，这限制了它们在治疗中的潜在应用。在体外分离和培养的神经祖细胞和干细胞可以进行基因改造，移植后可迁移至脑肿瘤部位。神经祖细胞和干细胞的这些内在特性为推动神经干细胞研究转化为治疗提供了巨大潜力。有人提议将基因治疗和细胞治疗相结合来治疗脑癌。因此，神经祖细胞和干细胞为脑癌治疗提供了新的机会。
