Summary
Immunosuppressant drugs such
as cyclosporin and tacrolimus are used to prevent rejection of
organs after a transplant. It has also been discovered that these agents have
other biological effects, including cell proliferation and neuroprotection in
animals which have suffered stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. Though
research has shown that immunosuppressants prevent the rejection of
neurons which have been transplanted into both animal models and human cases of
Parkinson’s disease, adequate research has not yet been carried out to
determine their effect on stem cells for the neurodegenerative repair of the
brain.
The objective of this study
was to examine the effect of cyclosporin and tacrolimus on stem cells
undergoing differentiation in culture to determine whether these drugs
have biological effects in addition to their anti-rejection use.
Objectives:
-
Determine whether adult mouse neural stem cells of the cell
line C17.2 can be successfully cultured in vitro.
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Determine the effects of exposing the stem cells to
cyclosporine-A and tacrolimus for different lengths of time.
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Determine the effects of different doses of cyclosporine-A and
tacrolimus on the survival of adult mouse neural stem cells in culture.
-
Examine the effects of these immunosuppressive agents on the
differentiation of the cultured stem cells.
Hypotheses:
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Based on previous research, it is hypothesized that the growing
of stem cells in culture using the appropriate media will be successful.
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It is believed that immunosuppressant agents cyclosporin-A and
tacrolimus will not have adverse effects on the survival of the cells
as they have been widely used as anti-rejection drugs successfully for some
time.
-
It is thought that the drugs may have some effect on the
differentiation of the stem cells, causing them to become a certain specific
type of cell. There are, however, no conjectures as to which type of cell the
drugs will cause them to become.