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.