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Volume 8, Issue 6 J Neurol Neurosci
ISSN: 2171-6625 Neuro, an open access journal Neuroscience 2017
October 16-17, 2017
Page 28
Notes:
conferenceseries.com
OCTOBER 16-17, 2017 OSAKA, JAPAN
17TH Global Neuroscience Conference
Neuroprotective and neurorestorative strategies for Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson Disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disease affecting millions of predominantly elderly individuals
worldwide. Despite intensive efforts devoted to drug discovery, the disease remains incurable. Compounding this problem
is the current lack of a truly representative mammalian model of PD. Interestingly; the drosophila has emerged as a good system
to model the salient features of the disease, including Dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration and associated locomotion
defects. Taking advantage of this and also the utility of the drosophila as a tool for drug discovery, we have uncovered several
neuroprotective compounds and associated targets. These include AMP Kinase (AMPK) activators that are relevant in human
PD cases. Our results support the use of drosophila PD model as an intermediate in vivo host for phenotype-based drug
screening. Because PD involves the degeneration of neurons in a rather circumscribed region in the brain, neuro-restorative
therapy via cell replacement represents another strategy to treat the disease. Here, we have exploited the induced pluripotent
stem cell (iPS) technology to derive transgene integration- and feeder-free iPS from cells lining the human umbilical cord, an
immune-privileged organ that mediates interactions across the feto-maternal interface. Collectively designated as CLiPS (Cord
Lining-derived iPS), we demonstrated that CLiPS-derived DA neuronal precursors transplanted into an immune-competent
6-hydroxydopamine mouse model of PD not only survived but also differentiated into mature DA neurons in the absence
of pharmacological immunosuppression. Further, the engrafted mice showed functional motor recovery and restoration of
dopamine level (illuminated via PET imaging). These results position CLiPS as a promising source of donor cells for allogeneic
cell replacement therapy for PD (Supported by NMRC-TCR).
Biography
Kah-Leong Lim has completed his PhD from the Singapore Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in 1999. He has completed his Postdoctoral training at the
Department of Pathology in Harvard Medical School (2000-2001) and subsequently at the Department of Neurology in Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
(2001-2002), where he has worked on the topic of Parkinson’s disease with Professor Ted Dawson. He is currently the Deputy Director of Research at the National
Neuroscience Institute of Singapore and Director of Basic and Translational Research in the Singhealth Duke-NUS Neuroscience Academic Clinical Program.
Kah-Leong Lim
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Kah-Leong Lim, J Neurol Neurosci 2017, 8:6
DOI: 10.21767/2171-6625-C1-004