ReNcell^® VM Neural Stem Cell Line Models Parkinson’s Disease

Millipore Corporation, a Life Science leader providing technologies, tools and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, today announced the publication of a new discovery derived from its ReNcell VM neural stem cell line. A study published in June in the journal PLoS ONE established the first functional link between the PINK1 gene and neural degeneration.

Certain forms of familial Parkinson’s disease have been previously linked to mutations in the PINK1 gene, but no mechanistic link between the gene and the disease had been established until now. By suppressing the PINK1 gene in neurons derived from the ReNcell VM cell line, scientists in the laboratory of Nicholas Wood at the Institute of Molecular Neuroscience in London showed that loss of PINK1 function resulted in increased programmed cell death, more free radicals, decreased long-term survival of neurons, and other hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. A convenient source of differentiated neurons, ReNcell VM cells have now shown to be a valuable, physiologically relevant tool for studying Parkinson’s disease.

The ReNcell VM neural stem cell line was developed by ReNeuron Group plc and is now exclusively marketed by Millipore for the use of neurobiologists and stem cell researchers worldwide. The first marketed human neural progenitor line, ReNcell VM cells are able to readily differentiate into all three neural lineages (neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes). The cell line grows well and maintains its pluripotency in optimized serum-free media, and thus it is ideal for studying differentiation pathways.