Australian scientists from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute have made significant progress in the field of medicine by successfully growing human blood stem cells in the laboratory. This achievement opens up new prospects in the treatment of various forms of cancer, reports “MIR 24” with reference to Nature Biotechnology.
The researchers conducted experiments on mice, demonstrating that the cultured cells were able to function in the bone marrow as efficiently as cells from umbilical cord blood.
This discovery is important because traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, can damage blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. Although stem cell transplantation can help restore healthy cells, existing methods are limited by the availability of donor cells and the risk of graft rejection. The new method permits stem cells to be obtained from the patient himself, which minimizes the risk of rejection and eliminates the need to find a donor.
The process of creating blood stem cells included several stages. First, human blood and skin cells were reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells by activating four specific genes. These cells were then differentiated into blood stem cells over a period of about two weeks, resulting in the formation of millions of blood cells.
When the resulting cells were injected into mice lacking an immune system, half of the cases resulted in the formation of functional bone marrow, capable of producing cells to carry oxygen and fight infections.
Researchers note the potential of the method to create a virtually unlimited supply of stem cells. However, more research and testing needs to be done before introducing this technology into clinical practice.
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