Researchers Find Safer Way To Make Stem Cells From Mature Cells

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Genetics;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 30 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PST

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ake Stem Cells From Mature Celld a safer way to convert mature cells into an embryonic-like state, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Science, the Wall Street Journal reports (Naik, Wall Street Journal, 9/26). According to the Washington Post, the advance could help sidestep the "political and ethical tempest" surrounding stem cells and has increased hope that the technology can bring about a "new generation of medical treatments." A previous method for inducing such changes to mature cells used a retrovirus to transport genes into cells, which can cause cancer in animals. The method announced on Thursday transports the genes using a cold virus, which does not pose such a threat, the Post reports (Stein, Washington Post, 9/26).

Although the results reported on Thursday were achieved using skin cells from mice, several groups of researchers have created pluripotent cells -- those which have the potential to become different types of cells -- using mature human cells. Recent experiments have shown that tissue derived from pluripotent cells has the ability to lessen or eliminate symptoms of Parkinson's disease and sickle-cell anemia in mice. Research reported earlier this month showed that mature human skin cells could be reprogrammed into cells that produce insulin, the hormone used to treat diabetes (Wall Street Journal, 9/26).

Konrad Hochedlinger, a Harvard University stem cell researcher who authored the study, said, "We have removed a major roadblock for translating this into a clinical setting." Robert Lanza, a stem cell researcher at Advanced Cell Technology, said, "This is a huge step forward -- it could be the breakthrough we have been looking for" (Washington Post, 9/26).

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