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US scientists have found a safer method of turning mice skin cells into (1) "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS), in a potential breakthrough in the quest for regenerative therapy, researchers have revealed.
The method reprograms skin cells into iPS cells that are similar to embryonic stem cells without using potentially harmful viruses that often cause tumors in laboratory animals, the scientists said in the September 26 issue of Science magazine.
Stem cell research is seen as having the potential to save lives by helping to find cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes or to replace damaged cells, tissues and organs.
But religious conservatives argue that research on embryos destroys human life, albeit at its earliest stage of development. Scientists are trying to come up with a non-embryonic stem cell to sidestep these moral qualms.
The research by chief study author Matthias Stadtfeld, of Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, used a common cold virus to transfer DNA-binding proteins to mouse skin cells to turn them into iPS cells, the study said.
Retroviruses commonly used in the process often alter the skin cells' genomes and caused tumors in laboratory animals. The cold virus does not alter the cells' genome, avoiding potentially harmful genetic damage to the resulting iPS cells.
If the new technique can be applied to human cells, it could lead to advances in cell therapy and treatments of presently incurable human diseases, Stadtfeld said.
In the past, the researchers said, similar reprogrammed cells have been shown to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and sickle cell anemia in mouse models, so this new discovery could lead to advances in cell therapy and treatments of human disease as well.
However, they cautioned, it will be important to determine if human iPS cells generated in the future by this method are as potent as human embryonic stem cells for potential clinical applications. AFP
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