UW researcher unveils stem cell breakthrough

by Pedro Oliveira Jr.

Monday, November 26, 2007 00:00

A group of University of Wisconsin researchers announced last week they have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells into cells indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells.

The breakthrough represents what is being called a "scientific milestone" by some scientists and may put an end to the heated ethical debate on the use of embryonic stem cells in research.

The research put UW in the international spotlight last week when several media outlets reported the group's findings, which were concurrently obtained by a group of researchers in Kyoto, Japan.

UW biologist and anatomy professor James Thomson is the same researcher who coaxed the original five cell lines for embryonic stem cell research back in 1998, sparking a national controversy over whether scientists should be allowed to use embryos to study stem cells.

Now, Thomson returns as one of the pioneer researchers who might put an end to the debate.

"This does not mean this is the end of human stem cell research, and if for no other reason, we need a gold standard to which to compare these new cell lines," Thomson said in a press briefing Wednesday. "But I do believe that over time, these new cells will be used by more and more labs and embryonic stem cells will gradually be used by fewer and fewer labs."

Stem cells are capable of becoming any of the 220 types of cells in the human body and could be used to treat diseases like Parkinson's, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

Terry Devitt, UW director of research communication, said the recent developments certainly have a large political and ethical significance, but that shouldn't take anything away from the scientific achievement.

"[The research] has tremendous implications for medicine, for drug discovery [and] for transplantation therapies," Devitt said. "It eliminates the problem of immune rejection."

The cells were obtained by introducing a set of four genes into human skin cells, which are easy to obtain and grow in culture. Through this method, researchers are able to manipulate the outcome, and cells can be custom-generated for therapeutic purposes.

"When you have a heart transplant, you're getting tissues from another person and your immune system recognizes those as foreign cells, and it attacks them," Devitt said. "When you receive a heart transplant, you're normally given drugs [and] often you need to be on those drugs for life."

In 2001 President Bush formulated a policy limiting the number or stem cell lines available for research and funding for labs, and the procedures to obtain stem cells were rather expensive.

"Now this brings it into a situation where these new cells can be used in just about any moderately sophisticated molecular biology laboratory," Devitt said.

The research, however, is in its beginnings, and the cell lines obtained are strictly experimental. The current technique may create the potential for developing cancer, the Associated Press reported.

"None of them are even close to what might be considered for therapy," Devitt said. "This is an important step, but there's still a lot to be done."

Devitt and Thomson are optimistic and said showing these cells could be reprogrammed is already an accomplishment.

"I do, nonetheless, think the world has changed because of these results," Thomson said.