Researchers Create Stem Cells In Living Organism for First Time

 
Regenerative Medicine  

Researchers have successfully reprogrammed adult cells in a living animal for the first time, creating stem cells that have the ability to grow into any tissue found in the body. The research has great potential for understanding cellular control and regenerative medicine.

The living tissue inside an animal has been regressed back into an embryonic state for the first time, Spanish researchers say. They believe the work could lead to new ways of repairing the body from the inside out, such as regrowing and repairing organs or regenerating lost tissue.

For now though, the study published in the journal Nature, showed the technique led to tumors forming in mice.

The cellular transformation was done in a laboratory, by treating skin samples with a mix of chemicals or genetic modification. Scientists at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid have achieved the results inside an animal.

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"It is a surprising result, this was not expected, most of us thought that it would be impossible," lead researcher Prof Manuel Serrano told the BBC.

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The research group used mice genetically modified to switch on, when they were given a specific drug, production of four chemicals shown to reverse a tissue's destiny in the laboratory.

Tissues were successfully transformed back into an embryonic state, but without further direction, turning them into organs like hearts or lungs, they rapidly developed into tumors.

Speaking on Science In Action on the BBC World Service, Prof Serrano said: "Of course this is not what we want for regenerative medicine. "We want to turn back the clock in a controlled manner and this is something we have to work out in the future.

The technique was able to turn the clock back further than any other stem cell technology, including stem cells taken from an embryo. Previous techniques produce stem cells that make the tissues found in the body. This study could also make those needed to support an embryo in the womb, such as the placenta.

Serrano says that he and his team are looking for an intermediate stage in which the cells could be coaxed to take on new identities without producing tumours.

Researchers also need to show that the reprogrammed cells are capable of regenerating specific cell types in a controlled way. Serrano’s team is working to find out which cells may be most amenable to the technique, and he has hopes of regenerating heart and insulin-producing pancreatic cells using the method. “We have demonstrated reprogramming,” says Serrano. “Now we have to show regeneration.”




SOURCE  The Telegraph

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