Stem Cells & Reprogramming of Cells

Scientists are being successful in the use of stem cells (including the use of adult cells that are reprogrammed to act like stem cells) to repair damage to the human body. In fact, scientists are beginning to have success in the reprogramming of adult cells to act like cells in other parts of the body, thus bypassing the stem-cell phase. Here is a brief look at what scientists are doing.

Spanish scientists, from the Tissue Engineering Research Group, from the Dept. of Histology at the University of Granada, have managed, for the first time, to grow artificial skin from stem cells derived from the umbilical cord. Their study, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, shows the ability of Wharton jelly mesenschymal stem cells to turn to oral-mucosa or skin-regeneration epithelia.

Many people who survive a heart attack find themselves back in the hospital with a failing heart just years later. And the outcome often is unfavorable, owing to limited treatment options. But scientists at Temple University School of Medicine's Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) recently found hope in an unlikely source -- stem cells in cortical, or compact, bone. In a new study, they show that when it comes to the regeneration of heart tissue, these novel bone-derived cells do a better job than the heart's own stem cells.

Stem cells found in mouth tissue can not only become other types of cells but can also relieve inflammatory disease, according to a new Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study in the Journal of Dental Research.

Could harvesting stem cells for therapy one day be as simple as asking patients for a urine sample? Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine and colleagues have identified stem cells in urine that can be directed to become multiple cell types.

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to become embryonic stem cells capable of transforming into any other cell type in the body. It is believed that stem cell therapies hold the promise of replacing cells damaged through injury or illness. Diseases or conditions that might be treated through stem cell therapy include Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cardiac disease and spinal cord injuries.

"Previous research indicated that this gene was the "master regulator" for development of the heart, and that its activity prevented the differentiation of other cell types," said Michael Kyba, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Pediatrics and a Lillehei endowed scholar. "Our work reveals that this gene acts differently, and that it plays a role in the development of blood and skeletal muscle as well. The outcome depends on the chemical signals that cells expressing this factor sense in their environment."

Stem cells and tissue-specific cells can be grown in abundance from mature mammalian cells simply by blocking a certain membrane protein, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Their experiments, reported today in Scientific Reports, also show that the process doesn't require other kinds of cells or agents to artificially support cell growth and doesn't activate cancer genes.

Scientists have discovered a patient-friendly and efficient way to make stem cells out of blood, increasing the hope that scientists could one day use stem cells made from patients' own cells to treat cardiovascular disease. Their research was published November 30 in the journal Stem Cells: Translational Medicine.