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Therapeutic Cloning No Longer A Dream, Says Scientist Who Produced First Cloned Embryonic Stem Cell
June 30, 2004A member of the team who were the first in the world to produce stem cells from a cloned human embryo told the 20th annual conference of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology on Wednesday 30 June that the work could generate potentially unlimited undifferentiated stem cells. These could eventually be used for tissue repair and transplantation medicine, said Professor Shin-Yong Moon at a media briefing.
Professor Moon and his colleagues at Seoul National University, South Korea, took 242 eggs from 16 healthy donors. Using the cloning technique somatic cell nuclear transfer (SNCT), the researchers removed the nucleus of each unfertilised egg and replacing it with the nucleus taken from a cell from the cumulus - the clump of cells that surrounds the egg - of the donor. The eggs were then stimulated to begin dividing and after a few days 30 blastocysts were produced. From these the researchers were able to extract one colony of stem cells.
Although the procedure is highly experimental and still needs refinement, its publication was greeted with great enthusiasm because of its potential to produce stem cells which are genetically identical to the donor. In principle stem cells can be directed to develop into any tissue.
"This means that patients who received them as part of a treatment would not reject the cells as foreign", said Professor Moon. "We call this therapeutic cloning to differentiate it from reproductive cloning, where the aim would be to implant the cloned embryo into a woman in order to produce a baby. In therapeutic cloning, the embryo is destroyed after the stem cells have been harvested."
Scientists believe that therapeutic cloning holds great promise for the treatment of a large number of currently untreatable conditions, including many inherited diseases.
"Our first attempt was clearly not very efficient", said Professor Moon. "We only managed to harvest one stem cell line. We do not know whether this was due to something going wrong in the development of the cloned embryo, or whether we need to make small variations in our experimental procedures. But this will become clearer as we proceed.
"In the meantime, we believe that we have opened the door to an extraordinary revolution in medicine, where one day transplanting organs from other donors will become a thing of the past, and where millions of people with have access to life-saving therapies developed from their own DNA," he said.
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"This means that patients who received them as part of a treatment would not reject the cells as foreign", said Professor Moon. "We call this therapeutic cloning to differentiate it from reproductive cloning, where the aim would be to implant the cloned embryo into a woman in order to produce a baby. In therapeutic cloning, the embryo is destroyed after the stem cells have been harvested."
Scientists believe that therapeutic cloning holds great promise for the treatment of a large number of currently untreatable conditions, including many inherited diseases.
"Our first attempt was clearly not very efficient", said Professor Moon. "We only managed to harvest one stem cell line. We do not know whether this was due to something going wrong in the development of the cloned embryo, or whether we need to make small variations in our experimental procedures. But this will become clearer as we proceed.
"In the meantime, we believe that we have opened the door to an extraordinary revolution in medicine, where one day transplanting organs from other donors will become a thing of the past, and where millions of people with have access to life-saving therapies developed from their own DNA," he said.
WordMason
Stem Cells Current Events and Stem Cells News RSSFirst reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
Bone Implant Offers Hope for Skull Deformities
A synthetic bone matrix offers hope for babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the plates in the skull to fuse too soon.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
Is hepatic differentiation of embryonic stem cells induced by valproic acid and cytokines?
Embryonic stem (ES) cells, known for their capacity to proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into almost all types of cells including hepatocytes, have raised the hope of cellular replacement therapy for liver failure.
Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer
One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling colon cancer. The study is presented in the prestigious journal Cell.
U of M researchers find 2 units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning.
The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine may also be detrimental for health
The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine is not always beneficial for human health, it may even be harmful according to a work done by the University of Granada and University of León. Scientists have demonstrated that transplantation of human mononuclear cells isolated from umbilical cord blood exerted a deleterious effect in rats with liver cirrhosis.
Penn Study Provides First Clear Idea of How Rare Bone Disease Progresses
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is taking the first step in developing a treatment for a rare genetic disorder called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which the body's skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue turns to bone, immobilizing patients over a lifetime with a second skeleton.
Iowa State University researcher discovers key to vital DNA, protein interaction
A researcher at Iowa State University has discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances."
Scientists successfully reprogram blood cells
Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome.
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