New discovery of stem cells may lead to a simplified procedure for tissue regeneration -
A new discovery of stem cells could one day lead to a simplified process for obtaining stem cells, which in turn could be used in the development of replacement tissues for not body parts, scientists UC San Francisco who reported the results in the current issue of cell.
work is based on a strategy that involves the reprogramming of adult cells back to an embryonic state in which they once again the potential to become any type of cell.
the efficiency of this process may soon rise through the identification of the biochemical pathways that scientists can inhibit the necessary reprogramming gene activity in adult human cells. Removing these barriers has increased the efficiency of the production of stem cells, the researchers found.
"Our new work has important implications for both regenerative medicine and cancer research," said Miguel Ramalho-Santos, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and member the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of regeneration medicine and stem cell research at UCSF, who led the research, funded in part by New Innovator Award prestigious NIH Director.
as soon as it was discovered possible to make specialized cells for adults and reverse the development clock to strip the mature cells of their distinct identities and characteristics - and make them immortal, reprogrammable cells that can theoretically be used to replace any tissue - led to a share of the Nobel in physiology or medicine prize being awarded to UCSF Gladstone Institutes and researcher at Kyoto University Shinya Yamanaka, MD, in 2012.
These induced pluripotent stem (iPS) are considered approach experimental alternative continuous efforts to develop tissue from stem cells derived from early human embryos. However, despite the promise of iPS cells and excitement surrounding research on iPS, the percentage of adult cells successfully converted to iPS cells is generally low, and the resulting cells often retain traces of their lives earlier than specialized cells.
Researchers generate stem cells by forcing the activation in cells pluripotency genes inducing adults - starting with the so-called "Yamanaka factors." - a process that goes back in time on cell maturation
Yet as Ramalho-Santos notes, "from the moment of the discovery of iPS cells, it was appreciated that the specialized cells from which they are derivatives are not a blank slate. they express their own genes that can resist against or reprogramming. "
But the nature of what exactly is getting in the way of reprogramming remained misunderstood. "Now, removing genetically multiple barriers to reprogramming, we found that the production efficiency of iPS cells can be significantly increased," he said. The discovery will help accelerate the safe and effective use of iPS cells and other cells reprogrammed, according to Ramalho-Santos.
The researchers found not just single genes acting as obstacles, but rather sets of genes acting together through different mechanisms to build dams for reprogramming. "At virtually every level of the functions of a cell, there are genes that act in a coordinated way to antagonize closely reprogramming," says Ramalho-Santos. These mechanisms may help adult cells retain their functional roles and identities.
"Like the Red Queen constantly running to stay in the same place in Lewis Carroll's" Through the Looking-Glass, "adult cells seem to put a lot of effort to stay in the same state," at -he said.
to discover this vibrant biochemical matrix not previously identified the activity of inhibitory genes, the scientists had to simultaneously manage several different technical prowess in the laboratory. They combined genetic technologies, cellular and advanced bioinformatics to globally identify genes that act as barriers to the generation of human iPS cells, and probed how these new barriers work.
in addition to maintaining the integrity of our adult tissues barrier genes probably serve important roles in other diseases -. including in the prevention of certain cancers, according to Ramalho-Santos
EmoticonEmoticon