Two types of sensory cells can be produced by using a bone morphogenetic protein called BMP4, and a signaling molecule called retinoic acid.

‘Adding a bone morphogenetic protein called BMP4, and a signaling molecule called retinoic acid, to human embryonic stem cells, enabled the formation of two types of sensory interneurons DI1 and dI3.’

"The field has for a long time focused on making people walk again," said Butler, the study's senior author. "'Making people feel again doesn't have quite the same ring. But to walk, you need to be able to feel and to sense your body in space; the two processes really go hand in glove." 




In a separate study, Butler and her colleagues discovered how signals from a family of proteins called bone morphogenetic proteins, or BMPs, influence the development of sensory interneurons in chicken embryos. The Stem Cell Reports research applies those findings to human stem cells in the lab.
When the researchers added a specific bone morphogenetic protein called BMP4, as well as another signaling molecule called retinoic acid, to human embryonic stem cells, they got a mixture of two types of sensory interneurons. DI1 sensory interneurons give people proprioception -- a sense of where their body is in space -- and dI3 sensory interneurons enable them to feel a sense of pressure.
The research team found the identical mixture of sensory interneurons developed when they added the same signaling molecules to induced pluripotent stem cells, which are produced by reprogramming a patient's own mature cells such as skin cells. This reprogramming method creates stem cells that can create any cell type while also maintaining the genetic code of the person they originated from.
The ability to create sensory interneurons with a patient's own reprogrammed cells holds significant potential for the creation of a cell-based treatment that restores the sense of touch without immune suppression.
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The researchers also have yet to determine the specific recipe of growth factors that would coax stem cells to create other types of sensory interneurons.
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"This is a long path," Butler said. "We haven't solved how to restore touch but we've made a major first step by working out some of these protocols to create sensory interneurons."
Source-Eurekalert