Researchers engineer adult stem cells that do not age

[n2doc]

Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. UB scientists created the new cell lines – named "MSC Universal" – by genetically altering mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow and can differentiate into cell types including bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, and beta-pancreatic islet cells.

The researchers say the breakthrough overcomes a frustrating barrier to progress in the field of regenerative medicine: The difficulty of growing adult stem cells for clinical applications.

Because mesenchymal stem cells have a limited life span in laboratory cultures, scientists and doctors who use the cells in research and treatments must continuously obtain fresh samples from bone marrow donors, a process both expensive and time-consuming. In addition, mesenchymal stem cells from different donors can vary in performance.

The cells that UB researchers modified show no signs of aging in culture, but otherwise appear to function as regular mesenchymal stem cells do – including by conferring therapeutic benefits in an animal study of heart disease. Despite their propensity to proliferate in the laboratory, MSC-Universal cells did not form tumors in animal testing.

more

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/10/01/researchers.engineer.adult.stem.cells.do.not.age

[momto3]

1. Interesting, but I would like to see the science.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a very interesting population of adult stem cells. They are easy to isolate from either bone marrow, fat or the umbilical cord and can be passaged to obtain a very high number of cells that can be "banked" for a long period of time. These cells are immuno-modulatory and can be used in allograft transplantations without inducing a rejection response from the host. They also automatically home to sites of injury when injected systemically into an experimental animal or patient.

The effect of these cells on regenerating tissues is not fully understood and is a matter of controversy among the scientists involved in the field. In truth, the definition of an "MSC" can be quite vague and is often defined differently by each lab using these cells. The characterization is far from universal and there is data suggesting that MSCs from bone marrow versus MSCs harvested from fat may behave very different manners.

I would like to know what genetic modulation was made in the MSCs they used. MSCs are not "immortal" cells, but they do live longer in culture than many other stem cells. The easy ability to culture large numbers of cells from a single donor negates the need for these cells to be passaged for long periods of time in vitro. In vivo, the cells already show a tremendous therapeutic response. Plus, I am a bit leary of messing with MSC genetics before we truly understand the mechanisms of endogenous MSC cell behavior. It appears that they have decided to patent their discovery before publishing the work. I could not find the publication of this study in peer reviewed journal. I can understand this to a certain extent, but it also always makes me suspicious of the intent.


Tracy