Stem cells are created that develop into any tissue or organ
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A new revolutionary method allowed scientists to create stem cells from adult cells, which can develop into any tissue or organ.
Scientists took a step closer to the time when different tissues and human organs can be grown. Biologists from Japan and the United States have managed to develop a unique way through which it is possible to obtain stem cells by "reprogramming" ordinary adult cells without changing their arrangement. Specialists managed to find out that adult blood cells are amenable to reprogramming with the help of acid. Such an unusual method allows for half an hour to return the adult cells to an embryonic state, after which any organ or tissue can be grown from such cells. Previously, the cultivation of an organ from stem cells was carried out by prolonged genetic manipulation, which were also quite expensive. Over time, scientists managed to take as a basis only one gene, rather than several, besides using only chemical signals instead of genetic constructs.
Specialists note that the cells obtained by the new method are full-fledged in all senses. They have the ability to develop into any tissue of the body, besides they can "get used" to the embryo, which is a unique property of such reprogrammed stem cells.
All the work of scientists was carried out on lymphocytes, which they isolated from the spleen of laboratory rodents. The researchers incubated the cells in a weakly acidic medium, after which they sowed on the usual medium. As a result of the analyzes, the scientists found out that the lymphocytes seized from the mice had become similar to the stem cells. The disadvantage of such cells is the experts consider the low ability to share for a long time. But if such cells are placed in a special nutrient medium, they begin to expand and become a kind of cells of the embryonic type.
Professor Austin Smith, an associate at Cambridge University, noted that the new cells are a "clean sheet," from which, depending on the environment, a new tissue can develop.
Specialists consider it interesting that, instead of the expected death of cells or the possible development of a tumor, the cells took on a completely new condition. Such a discovery in the academic world is estimated as "incredible", besides, it allowed to make medicine a big step forward.
Stem cells allow scientists to have a source of spare body cells and to treat a number of serious diseases, in particular spinal cord injuries, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and the like. Such cells specialists can use to repair damaged organs, stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, skin transplantation with severe burns, etc.
The new method is the simplest and fastest for creating "clean" cells from adults. If such a method works on human cells, then this will allow the medicine to get a wider range of cell therapy, the source of which will be the patient's own cells. This approach to creating stem cells is truly revolutionary, no one previously could have imagined that a small amount of acid would be required to return cells to the pluripotent state. Now scientists continue to work in this direction and it is quite possible that the results will be obtained this year.
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