New stem cell re-programming technique could allow us to grow new organs and replace damaged cells!

Scientists in Japan have figured out a method to change mature animal cells back into an embryonic-like state that will allow them to generate different kinds of tissues.

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: January 31, 2014 11:20 am

Scientists in Japan have figured out a method to change mature animal cells back into an embryonic-like state that will allow them to generate different kinds of tissues. The research findings have been hailed by experts to be completely ground-breaking and there’s some hope that in the future, even human cells could be reprogrammed with the same technique. This would mean that it would be feasible to replace damaged cells or grow new organs for sick and injured people. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

Chris Mason, chair of regenerative medicine bioprocessing at University College London, who was not involved in the work, said its approach in mice was ‘the most simple, lowest-cost and quickest method’ to generate so-called pluripotent cells – able to develop into many different cell types – from mature cells. ‘If it works in man, this could be the game changer that ultimately makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patient’s own cells as starting material – the age of personalised medicine would have finally arrived,’ he said. (Read: Stem cells therapy for various diseases) Also Read - 7 reasons why the #BeefBan is good

The experiments were reported in two different papers in the journal Nature and involved scientist from RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the US. The researchers took skin and blood cells, let them multiply, then subjected them to stress ‘almost to the point of death’, they explained, by exposing them to various events including trauma, low oxygen levels and acidic environments. Also Read - Novel hope for stem cell approach to treat diabetes, say researchers

One of these stressful situations was simply to bathe cells in a weak acid solution for 30 minutes and within days the cells not only survived but reverted to a state similar to that of an embryonic stem cell. These stem cells – dubbed Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency, or STAP, cells by the researchers – were then able to differentiate and mature into different types of cells and tissue, depending on the environments they were put in. ‘If we can work out the mechanisms by which differentiation states are maintained and lost, it could open up a wide range of possibilities for new research and applications using living cells,’ said Haruko Obokata, who lead the work at RIKEN. Dusko Ilic, a reader in stem cell science at Kings College London, said the Nature studies described ‘a major scientific discovery’ and predicted their findings would open ‘a new era in stem cell biology’.

‘Whether human cells would respond in a similar way to comparable environmental cues … remains to be shown,’ he said. ‘I am sure that the group is working on this and I would not be surprised if they succeed even within this calendar year.’ Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell expert at Britain’s National Institute for Medical Research, said it would be some time before the exact nature and capabilities of the STAP cells would be fully understood by scientists – and only then would their full potential in medicine become clearer. ‘But the really intriguing thing to discover will be the mechanism underlying how a low pH shock triggers reprogramming,’ he said. ‘And why does it not happen when we eat lemon or vinegar, or drink cola?’

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are cells which are capable of giving rise to more cells of the same type. They are of particular interest because they are capable of replenishing dying cells and can regenerate damaged tissues. Experts believe that stem cell treatments will play an important role in alleviating human diseases. Right now the only cost beneficial stem cell therapy is bone marrow transplantation but experts believe that it can be soon used to treat cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, cardiac failures and can facilitate organ transplantation with minimal risk of rejection and side-effects.

Published : January 31, 2014 11:18 am | Updated:January 31, 2014 11:20 am

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