In an effort to further address the complex issues surrounding stem-cell research, UW-Madison’s Science and Technology Studies Program held the first of three seminars Monday night.
Two key speakers addressed the basics of stem-cell science, providing a background for the audience to learn about research done at UW. The speakers, including UW neurobiology professor and Weisman center researcher Clive Svendsen and UW professor Robert Allenbach, focused on non-ethical cell biology.
“There is confusion about the current state of the technology and about its actual therapeutic possibilities,” STS member Joan Fujimura said.
The speakers laid out the fundamentals of stem-cell development and use.
Stem cells can be found anywhere in the body, although each type of cell has different abilities. A stem cell always has the ability to create another line of stem cells.
Currently, there are three sources for stem cells used in medical research: embryos, fetuses and adults. Modern debate centers in the use of adult stem cells versus embryonic stem cells.
An embryonic stem cell is used after a fertilized egg divides and becomes a cluster of cells known as a blastocyst.
Stem cells at the blastocyst stage are unclassified; they have no specific function and can be used to produce any type of cell. Cells in a blastocyst divide and migrate to different areas of the body, such as the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys. As the fetus continues to develop, the dividing cells take on more specific functions, such as becoming blood vessels, neurons, tissue or muscle.
“When we talk about stem cells, we have to realize we have to define what kind of stem cells we are talking about,” Allenbach said.
Many researchers say embryonic stem cells have an advantage over fetal or adult stem cells because they are unclassified and can be manipulated to achieve the desired type of cell.
“We can control what particular kind of cell will be made by the ES cell, ” Allenbach said.
Because they are young, ES cells live longer and are sturdier. However, the growth capacity of ES cells is too powerful for a human body; they multiply rapidly, creating tumors.
“So far the problem is not whether we can grow or differentiate [ES cells] but whether they make tumors,” Allenbach said.
Both Svendsen and Allenbach said much work is necessary before ES cells are even considered for clinical trials. Adult stem cells are used primarily in neural studies to heal Parkinson’s disease but can be problematic.
“They’re old, burnt-out stem cells; they’ve been around for 40 years, and they’ve done a lot of work,” Svedsen said. “So do we stop all the embryonic work to see if the brain cells can do what everybody says they can do?”