Stem cell image of the week: Do they or don’t they? The debate on new nerve cell growth in adult brain rages on.

Young neurons (green) are shown in the human hippocampus at the ages of (from left) birth, 13 years old and 35 years old. Images by Arturo Alvarez-Buylla lab

For the longest time, it was simply a given among scientists that once you reach adulthood, your brain’s neuron-making days were over. Then, over the past several decades, evidence emerged that the adult brain can indeed make new neurons, in a process called neurogenesis. Now the pendulum of understanding may be swinging back based on research reported this week out of Arturo Alvarez-Buylla’s lab at UCSF.

Through the careful examination of 59 human brain samples (from post mortem tissue and those collected during epilepsy surgery), Alvarez-Buylla’s team in collaboration with many other labs around the world, found lots of neurogenesis in neonatal and newborn brains. But after 1 year of age, a steep drop in the number of new neurons was observed. Those numbers continued to plummet through childhood and were barely detectable in samples from teens. New neurons were undetectable in adult brain samples.

This week’s stem cell image shows this dramatic decline of new neurons when comparing brain samples from a newborn, a 13 year-old and a 35 year-old.

It was no surprise that these surprising results, published in Nature, got quite a bit of attention by a wide range of news outlets including the LA Times, CNN, The Scientist and NPR to name just a few.

Limitless life of stem cells requires taking out the trash

It’s minding blowing to me that, given the proper nutrients, an embryonic stem cell in a lab dish can exist indefinitely. The legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de León searched in vain for is actually hidden inside these remarkable cells. So how do they do it? It’s a tantalizing question for researchers because the answers could lead to a better understanding of and eventually novel therapies for age-related diseases.

Cartoon of a proteosome, the cell’s garbage disposal. Image: Wikipedia

A team from the University of Cologne reports this week on a connection between the removal of degraded proteins and the longevity of stem cells. Cells in general use special enzymes to tag wonky proteins for the cellular trash heap, called a proteasome. Without this ability to clean up, unwanted proteins can accumulate and make cells unhealthy, a scenario that is seen in age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s. The research team found that reducing the protein disposal activity in embryonic stem cells disrupted characteristics that are specific to these cells. So, one way stem cells may keep their youthful appearance is by being good about taking out their trash.

The study was published in Scientific Reports and picked up by Science Daily.

Why tattoos stay when your skin cells don’t ( by Kevin McCormack)

We replace our skin cells every two or three weeks. As each layer dies, the stem cells in the skin replace them with a new batch. With that in mind you’d think that a tattoo, which is just ink injected into the skin with a needle, would disappear as each layer of skin is replaced. But obviously it doesn’t. Now some French researchers think they have figured out why.

Thank your macrophages for keeping your tattoo intact. Tattoo by: Sansanana

It’s not just fun science, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, it could also mean that that embarrassing tattoo you got saying you would love Fred or Freda forever, can one day be easily removed.

The researchers found that when the tattoo needle inflicts a wound on the skin, specialized cells called macrophages flock to the site and take up the ink. As those macrophages die, instead of the ink disappearing with them, new macrophages come along, gobble up the ink and so the tattoo lives on.

In an interview with Health News Digest, Bernard Malissen, one of the lead investigators, says the discovery, could help erase a decision made in a moment of madness:

“Tattoo removal can be likely improved by combining laser surgery with the transient ablation of the macrophages present in the tattoo area. As a result, the fragmented pigment particles generated using laser pulses will not be immediately recaptured, a condition increasing the probability of having them drained away via the lymphatic vessels.”