Dear Docs and friends of medical science,



Adult stem cells 'fusion hope' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4528954.stm

Scientists believe adult stem cells may be more flexible than first thought.

Embryonic stem cells can become any tissue, but adult ones are limited to the
part of the body they are in. US researchers said evidence had shown adult cells
could be effectively fused with other cells to work elsewhere, New Scientist
magazine reported. The Oregon Health and Science University team said it meant
adult stem cells may be useful in fighting disease, but UK experts were less
sure. Critics of embryonic stem cell research have argued it is not ethical to
create human embryos for stem cells only to destroy them. As a result scientists
- particularly in the US where state funds cannot be used to fund embryonic stem
cell research - have been exploring ways of treating disease with stem cells via
adult cells.

Previous research has shown that adult cells can be fused with cells from other
parts of the body. But because the fused cells contain twice the number of
chromosomes they have trouble dividing, and struggle to replenish damaged
tissue. Markus Grompe, who led the Oregon team, told the American Society for
Cell Biology this week that he had evidence that fused cells could reduce the
number of chromosomes to the normal number. He said the process was called
"reduction divisions" and occurred routinely. The theory is that cells are
pre-programmed to know how many chromosomes they have, and can reduce their
number if they have too many. The researchers have shown that mice with a
disease called tyrosinemia type 1, which causes jaundice and cirrhosis of the
liver, can be cured by infusing their livers with bone marrow stem cells.

Analysis suggested the cells had reverted to the right number of chromosomes -
the first time this had been seen outside of insects. However, why this happened
was not clear. Dr Grompe is now investigating whether it is possible to use a
signalling molecule called insulin-like growth factor 1 to speed up the process,
as it is too slow to be effective on many human conditions.

Disease

Arnold Kriegstein, who heads the Institute for Stem Cell and Tissue Biology at
the University of California, said: "In much of the stem cell field, the promise
is way down the line. "But this is something that has already shown potential."
But Stephen Minger, director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at King's
College London, said fusion had limited potential. "There are few stem cells
that can fuse like this, bone marrow stem cells are one. "But I am not sure how
useful it is to spend time on this, when other sources such as embryonic stem
cells have the potential for much more. "It has to be remembered this is coming
out of the US, there is a political agenda."

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