Researchers in the U.S. and Japan announced advances in creating embryonic stem cells from adult stem cells using two different approaches. The findings were published in the journals Nature and Cell Stem Cell.
In the first approach, in Japan the work focused on persuading the skin cells of a mouse to reverse their development and return to an embryonic stage. Once there, these cells produced stem cells. Two other research groups did similar, independent work based at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. In the second approach, researchers at HSCI successfully cloned mice from fertilized embryos instead of unfertilized eggs—the latter thought by cloning researchers to be the only component capable of reprogramming adult DNA. With both approaches, the goal was to learn how cell reprogramming works.
Currently, these research studies are with mice only and much must be done before moving to human clinical studies. If these findings can be applied to humans, the procedures could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the controversial ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos. In the interim, however, the scientists feel these new methods in mice offer additional options for research, not replacement options. Sean Morrison of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology wrote of the genetic reprogramming work: “This is a remarkable achievement that contributes important new insights to our understanding of pluripotency. Nonetheless, it would be premature to conclude that this represents a replacement for traditional embryonic stem cell research.”
Illustration: Wikipedia.
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Cell Stem Cell Abstract (Hochedlinger)
Nature Abstract (Eggan)
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