Navigation Links
Only A Few Differentiating Factors Between Adult And Stem Cells

Researchers have successfully directed cells taken from mouse embryos or adult mice to behave like stem cells by using just four differentiating factors. The details appear// in an immediate early publication of the journal Cell. Researchers said the newly formed cells called "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS) behaved physically and genetically as stem cells.

"Human embryonic stem cells might be used to treat a host of diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, and diabetes," said Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan. "However, there are ethical difficulties regarding the use of human embryos, as well as the problem of tissue rejection following transplantation into patients."

Those problems could be circumvented if pluripotent cells could be obtained directly from the patients' own cells.

"We have demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells can be directly generated from fibroblast cultures by the addition of only a few defined factors," Yamanaka said. Fibroblasts make up structural fibers found in connective tissue.

Embryonic stem cells are derived from inner cells of the mammalian blastocyst, a ball of cells that develops after fertilization and goes on to form a developing embryo. Cells from other parts of the body can also be "reprogrammed" by transferring their nuclear contents into egg cell precursors called oocytes or by fusion with embryonic stem cells, earlier studies showed.

Those findings provided evidence that unfertilized eggs and embryonic stem cells contain factors that can confer pluripotency to differentiated cells, Yamanaka said.

"We hypothesized that the factors that play important roles in the maintenance of embryonic stem cell identity also play pivotal roles in the induction of pluripotency" in other body cells, he explained.

The researchers selected 24 genes--all previously found to play a role in early embryos and embryonic stem cell
'"/>




Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. Risk Factors for vision problems in Diabetes
2. Age-Related Macular Degeneration - Risk Factors
3. Factors That Might Increase The Risk Of Schizophrenia
4. Evaluating The Risk Factors Of Osteoporosis
5. Risk Factors For Stroke Studied
6. Analyzing The Risk Factors For Diabetic Neuropathy
7. Heart Disease Risk Factors Found To Increase Risk of Dementia In Old Age
8. Environmental Factors Found To Have An Impact On The Sex of A Child
9. Environmental Factors Found To Have An Impact On The Sex of A Child
10. Prostate Cancer Test Is Influenced By Age and Nutrition Factors
11. Youth Smoking Sparked By Multiple Factors: Study
Post Your Comments:
Breaking Medicine Technology:VidaySalud.com(TM) Reaches 1,000,000 Page Views In its First Six Months of Operation 2Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 2Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 3Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 4Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 5Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 6Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Reports Updated Phase 1/2 Data, Including New Survival Data, on KRX-0401 (Perifosine) in the Treatment of Advanced Multiple Myeloma at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 7Elusys Presents Data From Anthim(R) Anthrax Anti-Toxin Studies at the HHS Stakeholders Workshop 2009 & BARDA Industry Day 2Elusys Presents Data From Anthim(R) Anthrax Anti-Toxin Studies at the HHS Stakeholders Workshop 2009 & BARDA Industry Day 3New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 1New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 2New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 3Biosimilars of Rituxan MabThera Herceptin and Erbitux will Erode 248 2 Billion in U S and European Sales in 2018 57220 1Biosimilars of Rituxan MabThera Herceptin and Erbitux will Erode 248 2 Billion in U S and European Sales in 2018 57220 2Biosimilars of Rituxan MabThera Herceptin and Erbitux will Erode 248 2 Billion in U S and European Sales in 2018 57220 3People With Swine Flu May Be Contagious Longer Than Thought 57217 1People With Swine Flu May Be Contagious Longer Than Thought 57217 2People With Swine Flu May Be Contagious Longer Than Thought 57217 3