Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 20 November 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/450462a
News
Race to mimic human embryonic stem cells
'Personalized' tissues come a step closer.
Two much-anticipated scientific firsts announced this week bring the dream of regenerative medicine a step closer. The production of cloned primate embryonic stem cells and the reprogramming of adult human cells both represent important milestones in the quest to produce 'pluripotent' cells, which can develop into almost any of the body's roughly 200 cell types.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
Essentials For Functional ESC The outer cell membrane, OCM, is a multifunctional organ of the resident genome, which is THE ORGANISM. Plain and simple. Cells are NOT organisms. Normal propagation and consequent normal functioning of ESC require normal ES genome with its own generated normal OCM. Repetitive routine generation of HESC requires (1) a realization that it is an operation of breeding of the genome and (2) a thorough inventory of the materials and environment essential for this specific organism's propagation. I think, Dov Henis
“Personalized tissues†from human cloning: Wait a moment! More than 15, 000 eggs over a decade of research have yielded only two lines of “all-purpose†stem cells for monkeys. Now a hype on this “success†has crated “hope†of creating “personalized tissues†from human “therapeutic†cloning? Can someone calculate the real success rate of this “therapeutic cloning†and bring some over-optimized cloners back to reality? As to the so-called “egg-free†iPS strategy for “switching normal adult skill cells to embryonic stem cells†by the so-called “ethical†cloning, it is a hoax because the so-called “induction†may not exist, the cloned stem cells are distinct from fertilized stem cells, and more importantly, egg or embryo has to be used for the production of the stem cells. Shi V. Liu (SVL@logibio.com) See more detailed scientific arguments in many publications in new-generation scientific journals collectively presented at http://im1.biz
Essentials For Functional ESC II In an attempt to elaborate-expand my above former post I tried several e-searches for info on "uniqueness of the outer cell membrane of each of the 200 human cell types" or on "uniqueness of shape and topography of outer cell membranes of various types of human cells" - but ended up with zero info. We are all familiar with several shape and function variations of several types of human OCM. I have been long wondering: A multicelled organism is an elaborate space-station consisting of space-ships of specialized position-related tasks-functions. If "stemships" are not-yet-position-differentiated-activated ships, are they identical in every respect in whatever position they are, or have they been, even partly, differentiated when originally positioned? Wondering, Dov Henis
Nuclear transfer cloning is like doing a surgery without knowing of or paying attention to the anatomy. The only few "success" were at the unpredictable mercy of Nature rather than any reproducible achievement of hard science. Thus, I believe that cloners should not rash to pass the milestones aligned with the "evolutionary lineage" of biological species. Rather, they should find ways to overcome the real "sound barrier" in their "cyto-surgery". If cloners dare to use this low-efficient "technology' to play their luck with human eggs or embryos, then they may be charged with ethical condemnation even if their goal is some grand "therapeutic cloning". In this regard I believe a scientifically "C" President has been compitent and done human society a good thing by restricting the federal fund to human cloning when not only the ethical issue but also the scientific issues of cloning have not been resolved at its basic technological levels. Shi V. Liu (SVL@logibio.com; http://im1.biz)
Any way to avoid political obstacles and bring hope to patients is a very good thing, but we should not forget that pluripotent cells derived without eggs or embryos can pose ethical issues. For example, we should object to production of an animal whose brain is derived largely from transplanted human cells, even if the cells were produced without egg or embryo and were capable of differentiating only into ectodermal tissues. Out of compassion for patients, researchers should not be too proud to pursue methods the general public is willing to accept - but bioethics must not be reduced to finding loopholes in policies.
i love nature
As I wrote formerly, for instance at URL http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/comments/ display?contentID=AR2007041101736&start=41)in my opinion, a great lot of money on studying staminal cells accounts for the reason there is an overlooked bias in such as research!In fact, in performing staminal cell research all around the world scientists overlook both an inherited mithocondrial cytopathy, I termed Congenital Acidosic Enzyme-Metabolic Histangiopathy and Biophysical-Semeiotic Constitutions See website www.semeioticabifosica.it For instance: ther's a general agreement that type 2 diabetes is a major problem worldwide, a real epidaemic. Independent of different countries, in recent decades diabetes prevalence has increased rapidly over time among both developed and developing populations. Surely, genetic factors alone cannot explain these patterns. However, as allows me to state my 51-year-long clinical experience, an individual, without diabetic "AND" dyslipidemic biophysical-semeiotic constitutions, cannot be involved by type 2 diabets, at all. Certainly, rapid changes in lifestyle and risk factors such as obesity, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco smoking, a.s.o., acting on people with diabetic and dyslipidemic constitution may cause, AT FIRST, Pre-Metabolic Syndrome, then, over years or decades, metabolic syndrome, IGT, and finally type 2 diabetes. In a few words, all around the world, e.g., the war against diabetes mellitus and its well-known and harmful complications, as well as the war against all other serious and common human diseases, is nowadays possible, also utilizing possibly staminal cells of “whatever†origin, exclusively by means of a primary prevention, which must be perform at the bed-side, i.e., clinically, on a very large scale, using the simple stethoscope. In addition, we must in the future utilize staminal cell, even of amnyotic fluid, of individuals not involved by above-cited biophysical semeiotic constitutions! In other words, in both primary prevention and screening programme for whatever disease, including DM and its complications, and cancer, we need efficacious clinical tools to obtain the best results, avoiding, e.g., to use staminal cell with mitochondria impairment. Really, early diagnosis must certainly be established in asymptomatic patients, who, for example, are evolving slowly towards diabetes mellitus, i.e. long time before disease onset, in order to avoid the well known, severe complications. In fact, to prevent these diabetic complications, including diabetic retinopathy, on very large scale it is extremely necessary that doctors use a clinical tool reliable in diagnosing early diabetes mellitus stages, from initial stages, i.e., biophysical-semeiotic constitutions, and then the Pre-Metabolic Syndrome See URL: syndrome engl.oc 1-6, usefull particularly in selecting appropriate stem cells to be utilized. As I wrote formerly (ibidem Bibliography), today's physicians can fortunately utilize bedside clinical methods reliable in ascertain the truth of articles published in famous peer reviews.
Telomerase imparts embryonic gene expression to cancer cells. It makes them grow at the speed of a fetus, using the same tools for growth as a fetus. The similarity between growth rates and fuel sources(glycolysis) shared by a first trimester fetus and a tumor, ,, were first commented on by Otto Warburg , in the 1930's. In september of 2007, Robert A Weinberg received the Otto Warburg Prize, for switching only 3 genes and causing cancer in "many human cell types". One of the genes he switched to the "on" position was the gene for an enzyme called telomerase. Switching that one gene causes 217 genes to switch to cancer mode or fetus mode. (Elizabeth Blackburn)UCSF The skin cell researchers switched 4 genes, betting one was for telomerase. This week in Nov of 2007, researchers at the U of Wisconsin switched only 4 genes in normal skin cells and were able to make them become very similar to embryonic stem cells, and very similar too,,, to cancer cells. One of the genes the switched on was the gene for telomerase. (bets?) The problem with the U of Wisconsin work is that the so called embryonic stem cells they created , are still out of whack in gene expression compared to an embryoni stem cell derived cell. They have over 1000 genes that are in the wrong position, and of course these cells have already been fully differentiated into skin cells once, then reverted. It is unlikely that they will result in treatment for a decade or more, if ever. But the point I'm trying to make here is that the embryonic nature of cancer has been known since the 1930's, and it has been ignored till now. In that time 30 or 40 million Americans have died, and a similar number cut, burned and poisoned while the FDA stood in the way of treatments, as did the pharma industry. They will not spend a dime on any treatment that they can't patent. Till then , they will continue to poison you and me, and yours and mine. Geron is a co with what appears to be an effective telomerase targeting vaccine, Merck is interested, the first trial was impressive at Duke. Geron also has a telomerase inhibitor drug, that is expected to be non toxic. Its in trials now in hospitals in N.Y. for CLL, and at Ohio State. Also for lung cancer at M.D. Anderson in Texas, also an all comers trial at U of Chicago. Briefly back to Otto Warburg, and work on glycolysis since his time. At the U of Albert, Dr. Mikelakis has found that glycolysis can be turned OFF, starving the cancer of glycolysis derived energy for growth. He used a compound called sodium dichloroacetate, with a sodium attached. It turned the mitochondria back ON!!!!! Oncology has taught that this was impossible, that the mitochondria was permanently damaged in cancer cells and could not be turned back on. Mikelakes has started a human trial on brain cancer, but he fought for two years to get pharma involved and they WOULD NOT FUND THE WORK BECAUSE THE PATENT HAD RUN OUT ON THIS CHEMICAL. Another researcher found that 3 dibromo pyruvate, could also stop glycolysis if injected into the blood vessels that feed a tumor. When she wanted to move this unpatentable drug into human trials, SHE WAS FIRED. The universities intent is to find a similar chemical, that IS patentable. Our system is set up to allow millions of us to DIE or be butchered, so that pharma and universites can profit to the tune of billions of dollars. Nothing else matters to them, except money. The church is another monster in this tragedy of a real life play. They have consistently fought against the understanding of embryonic stem cells, which are the key to understanding cancer and how to beat it. Similarly, for their crimes against humanity, I condemn them. That they have opposed the science that saves lives at every turn down through the centuries , makes them mass murderers. Its not because of ignorance, its because they see the need to keep us in fear of an early death, and fiery hell, lest attendance and contributions be adversely affected. Then there are the stone throwing politicians, content to allow excess embryos, no bigger than the head of a pin, to be thrown into the garbage can when they reach the limit of their frozen shelf life. Had we studied these earlier, tens of millions of Americans would be alive today, and millions more would not have had to be butchered in surgery, chemo poisoning, and radiation. As it turns out, radiation, and many chemos, actually cause the growth of the cancer stem cells, the fast growers, the ones that express lots of telomerase, the ones that develop chemo resistance, and they are also the ones that spread through the body and kill the patient. Throw the church and the money and the politics out of science, out of cancer research, and out of regenerative medicine if you want to live.
It seems that medical research findings in general and stem cells discoveries in particular are not proceeding in a gradual timeline anymore. This breakthrough discovery that commenced in mice in 2006 and proved success in humans now in 2007 is expected to 'shoot' forward the strategy of what we used to call "treatment". Congratulation to all of us- Homosapians.
The brand new technique of reprogramming skin cells into "pluripotent" stem cells will have petential to benefit patients in the future. However, the approaches used in these two papers still cause some ethical considerations, as injecting human "embryo-like" cells into mice sounds not comfortable to some people. To prove whether people really cab benefit from this discovery, the route to generate organisms directly from these reprogrammed "pluripotent" cells should be explored.