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Host and graft glial composition in a stem cell transplantation model of Parkinson’s disease

Tsalkitzidou, Maria (2023) BINP52 20222
Degree Projects in Bioinformatics
Popular Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and it is known for the recognisable motor symptoms. The cause of the disease is the loss of a specific cell type in the brain, called dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Significant steps towards stem cell replacement therapy of DA neurons have been made in the last few decades. Despite that, one aspect has been quite overlooked, what about the cells that surround the transplanted stem cells?

Glial cells are habitats of the brain and play key roles in its function and homeostasis. They include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte or glial progenitor cells (OPCs or GPCs) and microglia. For this reason, it is important to study their specification and function... (More)
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and it is known for the recognisable motor symptoms. The cause of the disease is the loss of a specific cell type in the brain, called dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Significant steps towards stem cell replacement therapy of DA neurons have been made in the last few decades. Despite that, one aspect has been quite overlooked, what about the cells that surround the transplanted stem cells?

Glial cells are habitats of the brain and play key roles in its function and homeostasis. They include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte or glial progenitor cells (OPCs or GPCs) and microglia. For this reason, it is important to study their specification and function in stem cell transplantation models of diseases like PD.

In this project, we investigate the composition of the different cell types, that were captured by single nucleus sequencing (snRNA-seq). Human neuronal progenitors were transplanted in the brain of rats that were modified to simulate Parkinson’s disease. The transplanted cells and some of the surrounding rat brain tissue was analysed with a focus on pinpointing the glial populations and their function.

Using computational methods, we found glial cells such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), and microglia in the cells from the rat, as well as GABAergic neurons such as medium spiny neurons and striatal interneurons. In the graft, we found only astrocytes and glial progenitor cells (GPCs). Analysis of each glial population showed the different subpopulations that exist based on function, differentiation stage or region.

These findings can act as a foundation for further research into the role of the cellular environment that surrounds stem cell-derived transplanted cells. It is important, though, to validate these findings by in vitro or in vivo methods. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Tsalkitzidou, Maria
supervisor
organization
course
BINP52 20222
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9135501
date added to LUP
2023-08-29 11:44:52
date last changed
2023-08-29 11:44:52
@misc{9135501,
  author       = {{Tsalkitzidou, Maria}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Host and graft glial composition in a stem cell transplantation model of Parkinson’s disease}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}