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Stem-cell biology

A move in the right direction

Nature volume 444, pages 552–553 (2006)Cite this article

Stem-cell therapy is valued for its potential to restore damaged or degenerating tissues. Stem cells are now regularly used to renew blood, and it looks as if the next success could be in treating dystrophic muscle.

The potential of stem-cell technologies to revolutionize medical care is causing great excitement among biologists and the general public. Recent studies on embryonic and adult stem cells, coupled with advances in our understanding of how they can be coaxed into forming particular cell types and tissues, have improved the prospects for addressing a host of untreatable diseases. Bone-marrow transplants to renew blood stem cells are now routine, but significant technological hurdles must still be overcome before the power of stem cells can be harnessed to regenerate solid organs such as muscle. On page 574 of this issue, Giulio Cossu and colleagues (Sampaolesi et al.)1 describe evidence from an animal model that a fairly straightforward infusion of stem cells into the bloodstream might one day be able to treat muscular dystrophyFootnote 1.

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Figure 1: Stem-cell treatment of dystrophic muscle in dogs1.

Notes

  1. This article and the paper concerned1 were published online on 15 November 2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195-7720, Washington, USA

    Jeffrey S. Chamberlain

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  1. Jeffrey S. Chamberlain
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Chamberlain, J. A move in the right direction. Nature 444, 552–553 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05406

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