The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 2000-2001

Genetically Modified Neurons Derived from Embryonic Stem Cells: A Versatile Cell Culture System for Research and Testing

Brian G. Condie, PhD
IMMAG - Developmental Biology Program Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are cell lines that retain the characteristics of early embryonic cells and have not yet become committed to forming specific tissues or cell types (i.e. nerves, blood cells). Through simple manipulations of the cell culture conditions mouse ES cells can be made to develop into many mature cell types including nerve cells. The ability of these cells to undergo development in culture makes them an important alternative to the isolation of embryonic or mature cells from animals. The experiments in my lab that are supported by the CAAT grant have two objectives. One goal is to develop simple methods to transfer specific genes into young nerve cells that are developing from mouse ES cells in culture. These methods would pave the way for the use of this cell culture system in a wide range of experiments that depend on the genetic manipulation of neural cells. The second goal is to develop a simple and general strategy to isolate pure nerve cell cultures from developing mouse ES cells. This technology would ensure that ES derived neuron cultures are uniform and reproducible, reducing variability and improving the reliability of tests that use these cell cultures.