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| February
28, 2001 |
| Tissue
Transplant Advance |
BBC
News
 | | Stem
cells have the ability to develop into any type of cell in the body |
The
scientists who helped clone Dolly the Sheep say they have managed to turn cow
skin into heart muscle in a move that could one day be used to create replacement
tissues for transplant.
The US subsidiary of PPL Therapeutics announced
on Friday that it had re-wound the genetic clock of skin cells, to create "master"
stem cells.
The reverted cells were then programmed to develop into functioning
beating heart cells, in the laboratory.
The research has major implications
for the controversy over using cloned human embryos to conduct research into new
medical treatments.
It increases the chances of using adult stem cells,
rather than those taken from embryos, to develop nerve tissue, heart muscle or
even brain cells for transplant.
Stem cells are unprogrammed "master"
cells with the ability to develop into any of the different kinds of tissue that
make up the human body.
Commercial secret
PPL Therapeutics
is keeping full details of the technique used a secret for commercial reasons.
But Dr Ron James, managing director of the Edinburgh-based biotech company, revealed
the early findings of the work at a meeting of the British Fertility Society in
London.
"The results of this experiment give us confidence that the method
we are developing as a source of stem cells is working and I believe it will be
equally applicable to humans," said Dr James.
The Church of Scotland welcomed
the announcement saying it was encouraging that direct reprogramming of human
cells might now be possible.
The church's Society, Religion and Technology
Project director Dr Donald Bruce said: "This is an encouraging breakthrough in
the search for replacement cells to treat serious diseases without the need to
use human embryos.
"It's obviously still too early to say that this is
the solution we've been looking for, but it is certainly a step in the right direction."
Embryo research
In the past, scientists have focused on
embryonic stem cells in their search for new treatments because these are more
flexible than adult stem cells.
But religious and pro-life groups have
condemned the use of embryos for such research.
In January, Britain became
the first country to allow the use of human embryos in stem cell research.
UK
politicians voted in favour of extending the research done on human embryos to
allow stem cells to be taken from embryos at a very early stage of development. |
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