Stem Cell Research

Uterine Stem Cells Treat Diabetes In Mice

Researchers have converted stem cells from the human endometrium into insulin-producing cells and transplanted them into mice to control the animals’ diabetes.

Endometrial stem cells were bathed in cultures containing special nutrients and growth factors. Responding to these substances, the endometrial stem cells adopted the characteristics of beta cells, cells of the pancreas that produce insulin.

The incubation process took about three weeks. During this time, the endometrial stem cells took on the shape of beta cells and began making proteins typically made by beta cells. The researchers found that some of these cells also produced insulin.

Stem Cell Versatility Controlled By Protein Alliances And Competition

Like people with a big choice to make, stem cells have a process to "decide" whether to transform into a specific cell type or to stay flexible, a state that biologists call "pluripotency.

New research has shown that different proteins called transcription factors compete and cooperate in stem cells to produce complex bindings along crucial sequences of DNA. This game of molecular "capture the flag," played in teams and amid shifting alliances, appears to be a necessary part of what determines whether stem cells retain their pluripotency and whether specialized, or differentiated, cells can regain it.

Promise of Stem Cells Derived From Fat

Fat stem cells, known as adipose stromal cells, are easily separated from fat tissue after liposuction according to University of Virginia researchers. They add that an advantage of liposuction is that it is less invasive than the process used for harvesting stem cells from bone marrow, the most prized source of adult stem cells. Adipose stromal cells are also more plentiful than bone marrow stem cells, and they are better able to tolerate harsh environments.

This last quality is particularly important. From a medical point of view, it means that adipose stromal cells can be applied under conditions that would destroy other cells. In preclinical studies, Shayn Peirce-Cottler, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and Dr. Adam Katz,  associate professor of plastic surgery,  have used them successfully to treat chronic diabetic ulcers, open sores characterized by low levels of oxygen and high levels of bacteria.

Computational Biology Shows Greater RNA Interference (RNAi) Role In Stem Cell Differentiation

In hopes of shedding light on the process of cancer initiation, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes and other diseases, scientists have combined forces to learn how stem cell differentiation is controlled by microRNAs.

If you haven't read our previous posts, you're already asking yourself what RNA Interference (RNAi) is.  It's a term worth getting familiar with if you're interested in the developing arena of stem cell research and its potential for regenerative medicine.

On The Horizon: The Holy Grail Of Stem Cell Research?

We are in the early and rapidly changing stage in Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cell development.  Until now, most research effort has been directed toward finding a way to introduce genes into an adult cell in order to return it to an embryonic stem cell state.

The step that isn't talked about much is the next one: after the cell is returned to an embryonic state it must then be coaxed or directed to become the type of cell needed in the therapeutic process or application.  The holy grail of Induced pluripotent stem cell development would be to change an abundant adult cell into the type of cell needed in the patient's body.  And the holiest of all grails would be to do it without removing the cell from the patient. 

Diabetes: Embryonic Stem Cells Implanted Into Mice Indicate Possibilities for People With Type I Diabetes

 Novocell Inc., a San Diego, California, stem cell engineering company, "today announced data demonstrating for the first time that human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be turned into pancreatic cells capable of producing insulin in mice."  The announcement coincides with the publication in the journal Nature Biotechnology.  The company has apparently demonstrated the conversion of human embryonic stem cells into pancreatic cells that produced insulin and other pancreatic hormones in mice.