A negative particular feature of embryonic stem cells is there potential to turn into rare tumors known as teratomas. The teratomas are composed of various cells coming from diverse tissues and organs of the body. However, these tumors represent a hurdle for the progress in human embryonic stem cell therapies. Embryonic stem cell therapy is a technology related to cell geared towards treating diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s and genetic blood disorders.
Finally, a team of expert scientists, funded by the California Institute for Regenerative medicine (state stem-cell funding agency), at UC San Diego has found a way to reduce the development of teratomas.
It was recently reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, that some biologists had spotted a particular signalling pathway necessary to help embryonic stem cell to spread freely. A specific molecule compound could be used to stop this pathway. This helped the scientists to decrease the ability of embryonic stem cell in developing teratomas.
Yang Xu who is a professor of biology and leader of the research says that human stem cell therapy is a way of differentiating human embryonic stem cells into different types of cells required for a particular treatment. However, he claimed that “…this differentiation is never complete, meaning that the final product is a mixture of cells inevitably containing undifferentiated embryonic stem cells”. There is thus a high risk that transplanting these cells into any patient, could definitely lead to the formation of teratomas.
If ever scientists would be able to stop the proliferation of human embryonic stem just before they transplanted the stem cells would be feasible to limit the formation of teratomas.
According to Xu, this study represents an evident that it is possible to prevent the formation of teratomas during a human embryonic stem cell therapy. Currently, the result is only partial as only a single pathway has been found. However, when more pathways leading to the formation of teratoma are identified then it might be possible to completely inhibit the production of teratomas.
Source : University of California – San Diego and Biology News
Thu, Jul 15, 2010
Stem cells