Epithelial cells can replace neurons

Alexander Kornev, Naked Science 

Swiss scientists have found out that the freshwater polyp hydra is able to survive, even completely left without neurons. With the loss of neurons, hydra is able to completely modify its genetic program. The researchers hope that this discovery will help in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

In these hydra (about 1 cm long), the nervous system is colored with a green fluorescent marker – VM

The high regeneration ability of the freshwater hydra polyp was discovered more than 250 years ago by the Swiss naturalist Abraham Tremblay. Having cut the hydra into several parts, Tremblay saw that from each part, regardless of the direction of the incision and its size, one new polyp grows.

According to the EurekAlert portal (Hydra can modify its genetic program), a group of researchers led by Brigitte Gallio, professor of the Department of Medical Genetics and Development at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva (Switzerland), studied the functioning of stem cells and cellular plasticity of the polyp. In the course of the study, they found out that even if all the neurons in the hydra disappear, it is able to survive. "We wanted to understand how this is possible," says Professor Bridget Galliot. Scientists compared the expression of genes throughout the body of the polyp. As a result, they were able to observe a change in the genetic program of individuals with depleted stem cells. The researchers found that with the loss of neurons, hydra is able to completely modify its genetic program, as a result of which epithelial cells begin to perform functions unusual for them, compensating for the absence of the nervous system.

Scientists hope that studying the cellular plasticity of hydra can help in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. They believe that they will be able to use the genes that are responsible for neurogenesis in hydra in order to learn how to revive dead neurons in humans. Let's add that a few years ago, scientists from Germany discovered a "gene of immortality" in hydra – the FogO gene.

Specialists isolated the hydra stem cells, and then screened all its genes. The researchers examined several modifications of hydra with different levels of FoxO genes – normal, inactive and elevated. When they compared the activity of genes in different hydra stem cell lines, they found that the FoxO gene was highly active in all three lines. It turns out that the FoxO gene is important for maintaining stem cells in an active healthy form in all animals. According to scientists, theoretically it is possible to change the activity of genes with the help of drugs. FoxO is a transcription factor that regulates the activity of other genes, and if you find a chemical that can affect the activity of FoxO itself, it will be possible to maintain the activity of stem cells at a high level and thus prolong people's lives or improve the condition of the elderly.

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24.11.2015