New progress by Kyoto Univ. iPS cell team
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A Kyoto University research group led by Prof. Shinya Yamanaka has
successfully produced induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells,
from the stomach and liver cells of mice, The Yomiuri Shimbun has
learned.
The research team previously succeeded in creating iPS cells--which
have the potential to develop into almost any kind of cell, including
organ and tissue cells--from human skin cells, a world first.
As iPS cells created from stomach or liver cells are less likely to
develop cancer than those created from skin cells, the recent finding
is expected to pave the way for the creation of safer iPS cells,
using cells from various body parts.
The breakthrough is also likely to advance the clinical use of those
iPS cells. The finding will be published in the online edition of
Science magazine Friday.
The research team created the iPS cells by using a virus to embed
four genes, including a cancer-causing oncogene, in the skin cells of
people and mice.
In initial attempts, 30 percent of the iPS cells created from the
skin cells of mice later developed cancer. However, the research team
later succeeded in creating safer iPS cells from rodent skin cells,
through a method not requiring oncogenes.
Following that breakthrough, the team continued to research the
development of even safer iPS cells.
The group focused on using liver and stomach cells as substitutes for
skin cells, because in the case of the research advancing to the
stage of human trials, they can be taken relatively easily.
The iPS cells were successfully created from the liver and stomach
cells using both the three-gene and four-gene methods. Even using the
four-gene method, cancer did not develop.
The process can lead to cancer if the virus used to embed the genes
damages chromosomes in the cells' nuclei. However, liver and stomach
cells are vulnerable to invasion by one-fifth to one-tenth as many
viruses as skin cells, meaning cancer is far less likely to develop.
Yamanaka said: "As [human] cells can be [easily] taken from the liver
or the stomach using an endoscope, they can be made available for
clinical use. We hope to seek a better way."
Shinichi Nishikawa, vice president of the Center for Developmental
Biology at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN),
said it had been proven that iPS cells can be created from any type
of tissue, adding that iPS cells can be produced more safely and
effectively if various types of source cells are investigated.
(Feb. 15, 2008)
http://www.yomiuri.
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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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