Isolation, culture and characterization of adult carotid body-derived cells

Recent studies indicate that carotid body (CB) could be a suitable cell source for cell therapy in Parkinson’s disease.We have isolated and successfully expanded in culture as monolayer adult CB-derived cells using a modification of the culture medium employed for bone marrow multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs). These cells express variable amounts of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), -III tubulin and Sox2. In addition, CB-derived cells showed high expression of Sox2 related to a high rate of proliferation and consistent with an undifferentiated state. Under culture conditions that reduced cell proliferation, Sox2 expression decreased while TH and -III tubulin expression was increased. This could indicate that the differentiation of some cells occurs in the culture, thus accounting for a certain neural differentiation potential of CB-derived cells

The number of dopaminergic cells is increased in the olfactory bulb of monkeys chronically exposed to MPTP

We investigated the impact of the nigrostriatal lesion on the olfactory tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) cells in monkeys. The majority of these TH-ir cells appeared in the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb and many were immature but functional dopaminergic neurons. In parkinsonian monkeys the number of olfactory dopaminergic neurons increased up to 100% as compared to controls, but their phenotype did not change. This increased TH-ir cell population might be a direct consequence of the nigral cell loss and contribute to the hyposmia reported by Parkinson's disease patients