Cultured human foetal cerebral cortex, transfected with tyrosine hydroxylase cDNA, as a source of neural transplant material

Obtaining an adequate supply of foetal dopaminergic tissue to treat Parkins on's disease by neural transplantation can be difficult. In this study prim ary cultures of human foetal cerebral cortex cells were transfected, using cationic lipids, with a eukaryotic expression vector (pCIneo-THI) containin g the cDNA for human tyrosine hydroxylase isoform I (TH). Cortical cells fr om human (10-14 week) foetuses were cultured for 11 days in vitro and trans fected twice with pCIneo-TH1 during this time. The double transfection proc ess resulted in 3-4% of the cells becoming TH positive. When grafted into t he striatum of 6-OHDA lesioned rats the transfected foetal cerebral cortex cells reduced amphetamine-induced circling behaviour by 75%, while grafts o f untransfected cells had no significant effect on turning. TH transfected foetal cerebral cortex cells may therefore be a useful alternative supply o f tissue for use in neural transplants to treat Parkinson's disease.