New Applications of Stem Cell Research
Vision Repair, Muscle Regeneration and Organ Repair
Aug 15, 2009
Cellular reprogramming technology has turned stem cell research into the holy grail of the 21st century. By reprogramming adult cells into cells that have the ability to morph into any cell found in the human body, scientists are on the edge of developing new applications of stem cell research. Fundamental cell therapy technology has already moved into the brave new world of regenerating body parts. Evidence shows that this technology has great potential for vision repair, muscle regeneration and organ reconstruction.
Vision Repair
Macular degeneration of the eyes is the bane of aging. It is the leading cause of vision loss in people 60 or over. Located in the center of the retina, the macula breaks down with age. Currently there is no cure for this disease and treatment options are only able to slow down the rate of vision loss.
However, recent success by a group of researchers able to reprogram bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice is pointing the direction at new potentials for vision repair.
Researchers at the University of Florida have succeeded in removing blood stem cells from the bone marrow of mice, reprogramming them and then injecting these modified cells into the animals’ circulating systems. The modified cells, taking environmental cues from the damaged retinas, replaced the damaged cells. Within 28 days, the retinal function of these mice returned to normal.
Muscle Regeneration
Similar to macular degeneration, Duchene Muscular Degeneration (DMD) is characterized by a chronic degeneration of skeletal muscle cells; this degeneration begins by age 3 and leads to progressive muscle weakness; by age 12, children with DMD are usually confined to wheelchairs. Currently, there is no cure for this disease.
Recently, however, researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute were successful in transplanting reprogrammed stem cells from normal adult tissue into the diseased muscle of mice that carried a mutated gene similar to human DMD.
These reprogrammed cells significantly jump-started the regeneration process, fueling greater strength and movement in the diseased muscles. Moreover, the transplanted cells have created a pool of reserve stem cells than can be tapped for future muscle regeneration of weakened muscles.
Organ Reconstruction
The plasticity of stem cells has created a host of research opportunities aimed at the bioengineering of human body parts. Medical technology is already in place for the regeneration of cartilage, bones and the internal walls of blood vessels. Scientists in Germany have found that the body’s own heart muscle stem cells can recreate new heart tissue.
As Robert Lanza, Chief Scientific Officer at Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company that is a leader in the development of cell based therapies, recently said,”In the future, if you get in an accident and you lose a kidney, we’ll take a skin cell and we’ll grow you a new one. This is not science fiction....What seems like science fiction and space age is going to become reality really quickly.”
There is no doubt that the 21st century is fast approaching the brave new world of self-regeneration. Perhaps a word of caution from writer R.L.Weber is in place here: "Science is an edged tool, with which men play like children, and cut their own fingers."
Source:
- Weintraub, Pamela. “The Radical Cell.” The New Science of Health. Summer, 2009. 86-88.
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