Europe's stem cell scientists report on progress
[Date: 2007-12-19]
'Stem cells are remarkable cells. They open up some very important
possibilities in biomedical research,' said Professor Austin Smith of
the University of Cambridge at a conference on stem cell research in
Europe, organised by the EU-funded EuroStemCell project.
These possibilities include the chance to understand cell development
and disease processes, screen for drug targets, test drugs and much
more. 'The major application for the foreseeable future is going to
be in drug screening and drug discovery,' commented Professor Smith.
Another exciting possibility offered by stem cells lies in
transplanting stem cells into patients. However, scientists who
develop such therapies often face considerable difficulties in
gaining approval for clinical trials.
Work done by the EuroStemCell consortium on muscular dystrophy offers
a good example of this problem. Duchenne Muscular dystrophy (DMD) is
a genetic disease which affects muscle formation. Those affected
become progressively weaker over time as their muscles break down and
few patients survive beyond their twenties.
Mesangioblasts are cells found in our blood vessels and are
responsible for muscle repair. Margaret Buckingham of the Pasteur
Institute in France explained how EuroStemCell scientists had
succeeded in extracting these cells from golden retrievers suffering
from a disease similar to human muscular dystrophy. They then grew
the cells in culture and genetically modified them to correct the
mutation which causes DMD. They injected the modified cells into the
bloodstream where they went to the damaged muscles and repaired them.
Because the genetically modified cells did not contain the full
dystrophin gene, the best results came from dogs who had received
stem cells from healthy donors. The researchers have also been able
to isolate mesangioblasts from humans and grow them in the lab. When
injected into mice with muscular dystrophy, these healthy human cells
repaired the mice's damaged muscles and made them stronger.
The next logical step is to test this therapy in humans. However, as
Giulio Cosso of the Stem Cell Research Institute in Milan, Italy,
pointed out, the project partners have faced a number of barriers to
carrying out these trials.
Research funding organisations are cautious of giving money to the
first trial of an innovative therapy which, if it went wrong, would
be disastrous for the field. The researchers also encountered
opposition from clinicians, who are used to the concept of testing
drugs but are unused to the concept of testing cells.
Professor Cosso recommended getting clinicians involved in the
research early on, so that they can see for themselves the effect of
the therapy in animal models.
Meanwhile patient groups are often too willing to take risks with new
therapies. As one conference participant pointed out, having muscular
dystrophy is already a disaster for those affected as it is always
fatal and there is currently no cure. From their point of view, they
have little to lose and a lot to gain. This underlines the need to
educate patient groups who are often frustrated by the complex
regulations surrounding clinical trials.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has set up a
Task Force on Clinical Translation of Stem Cells to address these
issues, and many EuroStemCell partners are involved in its work.
The EuroStemCell project is now drawing to a close, and Octavi
Quintana Trias of the European Commission congratulated it for its
efforts over the past four years. 'This is a successful project,' he
said, noting that it had produced around 60 publications in leading
journals, filed 20 patents, covered a wide range of disciplines and
involved small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as
academic researchers. 'This is what we would like to have for most
projects,' added Mr Quintana Trias.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.eurostem
http://www.estools.
http://www.betacell
Category: Projects
Data Source Provider: CORDIS News attendance at EuroStemCell
conference
Document Reference: Based on CORDIS News attendance at EuroStemCell
conference, Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2007.
Subject Index: Coordination, Cooperation; Research ethics; Life
Sciences; Medical biotechnology; Medicine, Health; Scientific
Research
RCN: 28878
http://cordis.
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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