Researchers who were among the first to isolate human pluripotent stem cells two years ago have developed a new type of cell that they believe could play a role in future transplantation therapies.
John D. Gearhart, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and colleagues published their latest findings online on December 26 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. In November 1998, Dr. Gearhart's group and James A. Thomson and coworkers at the University of Wisconsin separately reported that they had isolated human embryonic stem cells-a finding that was heralded for wide-ranging therapeutic potential because the cells can develop into any type of cell. Dr. Gearhart's colleagues have now "coaxed" human pluripotent stem cells to form embryoid body-derived cells, which also hold the potential to develop into different tissues but overcome limitations on the use of human pluripotent stem cells for disease therapy, according to a statement from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. The embryoid body-derived cells "will be the workhorses that carry out the new tissue-transplant therapies," Dr. Gearhart said. "The first applications of these cells will likely be in Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), type I diabetes, stroke, and Parkinson's disease."
The new cells are easily maintained and reproduce readily, thus eliminating the need to use fetal tissue as a source every time researchers want to use the cells. Controversy swirled around the 1998 isolation of stem cells because they are derived from human embryos, which led the National Institutes of Health to develop guidelines for their use.
For Your Information:
The abstract of Dr. Gearhart's new study is at :
www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/021537998v1Johns Hopkins' statement is at:
http://hopkins.med.jhu.edu/press/2000/DECEMBER/001225.HTMThe NIH posts a variety of information on stem cells at:
www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/index.htm
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