( Researchers at Children's Hospital Bost...)Researchers create genetically matched embryonic stem cells for transplantation

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report a new and efficient strategy, using eggs alone, for creating mouse embryonic stem cells that can be transplanted without the risk of rejection because the cells are compatible with the recipient's immune system. The findings will be published online in the journal Science on December 14.

Though done in mice, the work establishes the principle of using unfertilized eggs as a source of customized embryonic stem cells that are genetically matched to the egg donor at the genes that control recognition of cells by the immune system, making them potentially useful for transplantation therapies. There are several caveats, including the fact that only females could benefit from this technique, donating their own eggs to generate the stem cells, and concerns that the tissues derived from this special type of embryonic stem cells might not function normally.

"This technique, if proven effective in humans, offers an efficient way of generating customized stem cell lines from women," says George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, senior author on the paper, who is the Associate Director of the Children's Hospital Boston Stem Cell Program and a member of the Executive Committee of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. "It would eliminate tissue matching and tissue rejection problems, a major obstacle to successful tissue transplantation."

Embryonic stem cells are "master cells" that can generate all tissue types in the body. In 2002, Daley's laboratory collaborated with the laboratory of Rudolf Jaenisch, PhD, of the Whitehead Institute, MIT to demonstrate the first use of another method, somatic cell nuclear transfer, to create customized embryonic stem cells to repair genetic defects in mice. But somatic cell nuclear transfer (sometimes called therapeutic cloning) is a technically demanding and inefficient process that involves transferring the nucleus of a donor cell into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed.

'"/>

Source:Children's Hospital Boston


Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Researchers discover way to make cells in the eye sensitive to light
2. Researchers find how protein allows insects to detect and respond to pheromones
3. Researchers Uncover Key Step In Manufacture of Memory Protein
4. Researchers reveal the infectious impact of salmon farms on wild salmon
5. Researchers identify target for cancer drugs
6. Researchers discover molecule that causes secondary stroke
7. Researchers find missing genes of ancient organism
8. Researchers trace evolution to relatively simple genetic changes
9. Researchers add new tool to tumor-treatment arsenal
10. UF Researchers Map Bacterial Proteins That Cause Tooth Loss
11. VCU Researchers Identify Networks Of Genes Responding To Alcohol In The Brain