Emerging Diseaes Models

Models of disease allow researchers to study MND on a level that would otherwise be impossible. As our motor neurones can be as long as one metre in practically every area of our body, it is not possible for researchers to find the causes of the disease, or develop future therapies without using models. This session therefore discussed new models that may be used to find causes and develop future treatments for MND.

The first talk was given by an eminent MND stem cell researcher called Prof Chris Henderson who has been developing a new ‘in a dish’ human motor neurone model for MND. These motor neurones were derived from skin cells using an intermediate stem cell-like cell called an ‘induced pleuripotent stem cell’ – or iPS cells for short. This is a truly exciting prospect to have a human motor neurone model, as studying the progression of MND in a human motor neurone can be directly related to what causes the disease in people. This model will also allow researchers to test future therapies to speed up the process of finding a new treatment for MND. Prof Henderson sees this research as having two potential aims, the first being to better understand what goes wrong in MND on a cellular level and the second being the potential to use this new technology to replace damaged motor neurones. However, although the latter is an exciting prospect, the road ahead is paved with many hurdles that we simply do not know how to overcome yet. So for now, Prof Henderson said that his team will focus on finding the answers to the first question which will help us to better understand the causes of MND.

We also heard talks on the development of the zebrafish model for MND. Amazingly, we are actually quite similar to the zebrafish in terms of our motor neurone system which allows researchers to study MND in this model.

Lastly, we heard about the development of the chick as a “functional model” of MND. This means that they are not researching the progression of MND in a chick but that they are looking for the effects that taking out particular proteins in the chick (such as TDP-43) has on its early development inside the eggshell.

Studies such as these will lead us to learn more about what goes wrong in our motor neurones when MND develops and if we can identify the causes by using rigorous models then we will be able to develop new treatments for MND.