• Question: I read a study which suggested that the rate of neurogenesis is increased by exercise. Do you know if any other forms of adult stem cell genesis can be mediated by other external actions/conditions like this? & if so, are these significant enough to show potential for alternative treatments in the future?

    Asked by oolevityoo to Emma, James, Jayne, Kara, Sharon on 24 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hi oolevityoo,

      I know of several studies that invoved older mice that they got to run on an exercise wheel and then they tested their “memory” by getting the mice to run through a maze. They also labeled the mice with a chemical called BrdU which sticks onto new nerve cells. They showed that they were able to prevent the normal decline in neurogenesis that happens as they get older by 50%. showing that exercise does increase neurogenesis.
      I’m not aware of any other cells that increase by exercise, maybe the other scientists do!
      it would be an interesting thing to study though as one of the things that stem cell scientists are trying to do is to make stem cells proliferate ( make more cells) as if they are going to be used for treatements of lots of diseases, we are going to need a LOT of cells! Understanding why the rate of nerve cell production increases could hold the key to this!
      Interestingly, there have been some studies that show an increase in red blood cell death after exercise, but this is thought to only really affect people doing long distance enducarnce events, who train over a long period as they are making the blood cells work much harder so they need to be replaced more often.

    • Photo: Emma King

      Emma King answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hi oolevityoo – hard question so I’m hoping some of the others have answered it! Epigenetics (the way that the environment can change what genes are expressed) probably happens more than we think. For instance during famines it’s been shown that women can give birth to reasonably healthy babies – but their babies (ie the grandchildren of the women who were starving) will have lower than average birth-weights, despite having enough food – so our environment can change our genes in many ways.
      I’m not sure whether the rate of neurogenesis is linked so much to a change in gene function or whether it’s just a byproduct of lifestyle – in the same way that we loose weight or build muscle.
      So I guess the answer is I don’t know if these effects can be better than other treatments – but what I do know is that people who have an active lifestyle, who are at a good weight and eat healthy are at less risk of disease – so we should encourage that anyway!

    • Photo: Kara Cerveny

      Kara Cerveny answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      This is a great question, oolevityoo, and one that is beginning to attract lots of attention. It turns out that our behaviors, especially the ones that influence our metabolism (such as eating, sleeping, and exercising) influence how all of the cells in our body age, this in turn directly affects stem cell behaviors (stasis vs. proliferation vs. differentiation).
      I would like to point out that most of the studies you have probably heard about were performed in mice and rats in a very controlled laboratory setting — human life is much more chaotic and complex with a whole host of variables, both external and internal, that are difficult to control for and isolate as causative. That said, there are entire departments at medical schools in the US that are aimed at bridging the gap between traditional medicines (herbs, physical therapy/massage, and meditation) and modern medicinal practices. Here is a link to one of them.
      http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/cam/

    • Photo: James Chan

      James Chan answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      You are obviously a budding scientist! You are right. Neurogenesis is increased by any type of stimulation. I see lots of patients who have had nerve damage in their fingers and one thing we ask them to do once we’ve repaired their nerves is to get them to keep touching the tips of their fingers with different materials as that can help the nerves heal faster – nobody really knows why.
      You question really hits the core concept of what we’re doing in our research. any time the body gets injured, inflammation happens – like a cut: the skin around it will swell up, go red, hot and become painful. that’s because of the release of chemicals by the white cells that move to the injured site. Now we know that inflammation is followed by the process of repair, but exactly how is unknown. We have lots of clues but it’s an unsolved puzzle at the moment.
      In my project, we have found that one of the chemicals secreted by the white cells can make the stem cells move to the injured bone and turn into bone, so we found that if we add more of that chemical at the fracture site, that made the stem cells that are already in the wound help with repair, without us having to extract stem cells and grow them up outside the body. this is probably a much more realistic application of stem cell technology because it’s much simpler and cheaper.

    • Photo: Jayne Charnock

      Jayne Charnock answered on 24 Mar 2011:

      I meant to answer this questiona while ago sorry, its really facinated me! I honestly have no idea, but its a really interesting concept, im so impressed that you have thought of it! You’ll make a brilliant scientist you know! Im really interested to read what the other scientists have to say about it….?

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