Rapid Stem Cell Differentiation Technology

[DIujlda]

Researchers from the Tufts University have developed a rapid method to make neuron stem cells differentiate more efficiently to shorten the time needed for related researches greatly. And now the new tech is applied in three dimensional models and everything is developing in the target direction.

Traditional differentiation boosting methods still take weeks even months to a stage that can be used in an experiment, which hugely lag the whole research. While the new method can let the neuron stem cells differentiate into the ideal state as fast as in four days, making the period of a research much shorter.

How the new method achieved this?
Since most researches will only employ cells with the characters of its tissues, which requires highly in the differentiation process to keep its original attributes. The research team chose to make the stem cells develop into human induced neural stem cells to keep the cells biological characters. The method make it by making use of one of the featured points that neuron stem cells hold-can develop faster when cultured with other cells.

The advancement will definitely help greatly in the future neuron system studies, and is extremely helpful for researches on nervous system changed diseases like the Alzheimer’s and many others. Besides, 3D cultured models can be developed with more ease, furtherly boost the brain related studies.

The research article is published on the Stem Cell Reports titled in New technique generates human neural stem cells for tissue engineering, 3D brain models with the doi number being 10.1016/j.stemcr.2016.07.017.

Autism and many other diseases will benefit from this advancement. The new tech may also bring breakthrough to the culturing of human primary cells and fibroblasts.