Colture di cellule staminali neurali come modello per lo studio di patologie del sistema nervoso, studi farmacologici e di neurotossicità

Neural stem cell coltures as model to study neurological diseases and evaluate drug neurotoxicity. New effec- tive therapies are required to treat chronic and acute brain pathologies. Clinical intervention strategies aimed to increase mobilization of neural stem cells (NSC) located in the adult mammalian brain and to strengthen neurogen- esis have been proposed as possible regenerative therapy in several brain pathologies. Though in vivo studies are mandatory, human and rodents NSC cultures constitute an important complementary model to identify the effects of endogenous (e.g. pro-inflammatory cytokines produced in the lesioned brain) and exogenous molecules (e.g. drugs) on neurogenesis. In this review we illustrate the use of NSC as a cellular model to clarify mechanisms implicated in brain disease and to screen the efficacy of new drugs. We will also present some studies that highlight the rising inter- est around embryonic inducible pluripotent cells (iPS) as cellular models for studying brain pathologies in vitro.