NIH Grants Will Fund University Of Wisconsin Stem Cell Research

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 07 Aug 2008 - 7:00 PST

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The National Institute of General Medical Sciences recently awarded an $8.9 million grant to a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to investigate the "fundamental power" of human embryonic stem cells, as well as cells that have been "reprogrammed" to function like embryonic stem cells, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The reprogrammed cells are derived without the destruction of human embryos yet share some of the properties of embryonic cells, including pluripotency, which is the ability to become all other forms of human cells, the Journal Sentinel reports. This technique, which has been successfully exhibited by separate teams from Wisconsin and Japan, might help to resolve some of the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research, according to the Journal Sentinel.

James Thomson, one of the UW researchers, said, "The basic theme (of the award) is pluripotency and reprogramming." Marion Zatz, the federal official overseeing the grants, said, "The Wisconsin team will conduct research to address some of the most fundamental questions about stem cells." The project will involve researchers from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the Genome Center of Wisconsin, the Morgridge Institute for Research and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The grant will support three research initiatives, including those that will aim to: detail the changes that occur in certain proteins that play a role in gene regulation as embryonic stem cells become more specific cell types; describe the changes that occur as stem cells are exposed to growth factors and make the transition from the embryonic state to a specific cell type; and examine how proteins found in embryonic stem cells can serve as genetic switches to reprogram blood cells back to an embryonic state. The grant also will help create and refine methods for large-scale embryonic stem cell culture to help researchers who need large amounts of stem cells to study the proteins made by them and their interactions (Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/4).

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