Recent advancements in stem cell research using adult skin cells have demonstrated that destruction of human embryos is not necessary to advance disease-curing science. However, this week, scientists at the University of Cambridge claimed that their new method of obtaining naïve pluripotent stem cells from human embryos — destroying life at its earliest stages — is the best hope to cure disease.
For background, read Stem Cell Science Advances WithOUT Killing Embryos
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Human Embryos Cloned, Killed to Harvest Stem Cells
Unborn Must Die so Others Can Live, Scientists Say
Hollywood Actor Recants Embryonic Stem Cells for Parkinson's Cure
-- From "Scientists develop early stage embryonic stem cells" by Stephen Feller, UPI 3/4/16
The technique, described in a study published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, is significant because current methods of obtaining stem cells can be difficult, and those cells often still contain instructions to become a specific cell type.
Naive pluripotent stem cells are the earliest incarnation of the cells before they have differentiated into the types of cells found in different organs and parts of the body.
While researchers have two resources for pluripotent stem cells -- embryonic stem cells derived from fertilized eggs discarded from IVF procedures and skin cells that have been induced into becoming stem cells -- both have been "primed" to differentiate into other cell types.
In addition to opening up new methods of research -- such as how Down syndrome occurs during cell development -- scientists said earlier stem cells could make it easier to develop cells needed for regeneration of damaged organs and tissues, including those that do not regenerate very well, such as the heart, brain and pancreas.
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From "Cambridge Researchers Develop New Technique of Deriving Embryonic Stem Cells" by Barbara Mast, Lighthouse News Daily 3/5/16
The researchers from the Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute managed to take cells from the blastocyst and grow them individually.
According to lead author Tony Parenti, other researchers may have spotted these cells before, but they probably thought they were defective or cancer-like formations. The Cambridge scientists, on the other hand, chose not to ignore those cells, that others overlooked, and decide to study their characteristics.
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From "Scientists develop very early stage human embryonic stem cell lines for first time" posted at EurekAlert (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 3/4/16
When an egg cell is fertilised by a sperm, it begins to divide and replicate before the embryo takes shape. Around day five, the embryonic cells cluster together and form a structure called the 'blastocyst'. This occurs before implantation into the uterus. The blastocyst comprises three cell types: cells that will develop into the placenta and allow the embryo to attach to the womb; and cells that form the 'yolk sac', which provides nutrients to the developing foetus; and the 'epiblast' comprising the naïve cells that will develop into the future body.
In research published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports, scientists from the Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute managed to remove cells from the blastocyst at around day six and grow them individually in culture. By separating the cells, the researchers in effect stopped them 'talking' to each other, preventing them from being steered down a particular path of development.
Naïve pluripotent stem cells in principle have no restrictions on the types of adult tissue into which they can develop, which means they may have promising therapeutic uses in regenerative medicine to treat devastating conditions that affect various organs and tissues, particularly those that have poor regenerative capacity, such as the heart, brain and pancreas.
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Also read Type 1 Diabetics' Hope Rests in Dead Human Embryos
And read Harvesting Blood of Children for Fountain of Youth
