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ABSTRACT TRANSPLANTATION OF EMBRYONIC NIGRAL TISSUE AMELIORATES FUNCTIONAL DEFICIENCIES IN PARKINSON DISEASE1,2. THE MAIN PRACTICAL CONSTRAINTS OF NEURAL GRAFTING ARE THE SHORTAGE OF HUMAN
DONOR TISSUE AND THE POOR SURVIVAL OF DOPAMINERGIC NEURONS GRAFTED INTO PATIENTS, WHICH IS ESTIMATED AT 5–10% (REFS. 3,4 ). THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF HUMAN TISSUE COULD BE CONSIDERABLY REDUCED
IF THE NEURONAL SURVIVAL WAS AUGMENTED. STUDIES IN RATS INDICATE THAT MOST IMPLANTED EMBRYONIC NEURONS DIE WITHIN 1 WEEK OF TRANSPLANTATION5,6, AND THAT MOST OF THIS CELL DEATH IS
APOPTOTIC6. MODIFIED PEPTIDES, SUCH AS ACETYL–TYROSINYL–VALYL–ALANYL–ASPARTYL–CHLORO– METHYLKETONE (AC–YVAD–CMK), THAT SPECIFICALLY INHIBIT PROTEASES OF THE CASPASE FAMILY7 EFFECTIVELY BLOCK
APOPTOSIS IN A PLETHORA OF EXPERIMENTAL PARADIGMS, SUCH AS GROWTH FACTOR WITHDRAWAL8, EXCITOTOXICITY9, AXOTOMY10, CEREBRAL ISCHEMIA11 AND BRAIN TRAUMA12. HERE WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF
CASPASE INHIBITION BY AC–YVAD–CMK ON CELL DEATH IMMEDIATELY AFTER DONOR TISSUE PREPARATION AND ON LONG–TERM GRAFT SURVIVAL. TREATMENT OF THE EMBRYONIC NIGRAL CELL SUSPENSION WITH AC–YVAD–CMK
MITIGATED DNA FRAGMENTATION AND REDUCED APOPTOSIS IN TRANSPLANTS. IT ALSO INCREASED SURVIVAL OF DOPAMINERGIC NEURONS GRAFTED TO HEMIPARKINSONIAN RATS, AND THEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED
FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution
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Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS MITOCHONDRIA TRANSPLANTATION TRANSIENTLY RESCUES CEREBELLAR NEURODEGENERATION IMPROVING MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION AND REDUCING
MITOPHAGY IN MICE Article Open access 22 March 2025 HUMAN STEM CELLS HARBORING A SUICIDE GENE IMPROVE THE SAFETY AND STANDARDISATION OF NEURAL TRANSPLANTS IN PARKINSONIAN RATS Article Open
access 27 May 2021 OPTIMIZING MATURITY AND DOSE OF IPSC-DERIVED DOPAMINE PROGENITOR CELL THERAPY FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE Article Open access 21 April 2022 REFERENCES * Lindvall, O. Neural
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Haraldsson, H. Naumann, B. Lindberg and M. Pettersson. This study was supported by grants from the Medical Faculty at Lund University, the Swedish Medical Research Council, the Thorsten and
Elsa Segerfalk Foundation, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. G.S.S. was supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship within the 4th framework program of the European Commission._ AUTHOR
INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Section for Neuronal Survival, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Sölvegatan 17, Lund, S–223 62, Sweden Gabriele S. Schierle, Oskar
Hansson, Håkan Widner & Patrik Brundin * Chair of Molecular Toxicology, Faculty of Biology, Konstanz University, Box X911, Konstanz, D–78457, Germany Marcel Leist & Pierluigi
Nicotera Authors * Gabriele S. Schierle View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Oskar Hansson View author publications You can also search for
this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Marcel Leist View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Pierluigi Nicotera View author publications You can
also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Håkan Widner View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Patrik Brundin View author
publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Gabriele S. Schierle. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT
THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Schierle, G., Hansson, O., Leist, M. _et al._ Caspase inhibition reduces apoptosis and increases survival of nigral transplants. _Nat Med_ 5, 97–100 (1999).
https://doi.org/10.1038/4785 Download citation * Received: 16 August 1998 * Accepted: 23 November 1998 * Issue Date: January 1999 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4785 SHARE THIS ARTICLE
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