Kansas Liberty: 29 May 2009

Therapeutic stem cells could be derived from a 'swab of the mouth or a 
scraping of the skin'

Breakthrough could inspire shift away from embryonic stem cell research

A research scientist at Kansas State University says a breakthrough in stem 
cell research announced Thursday could hasten a movement away from 
controversial embryonic stem cell research.

Dr. Masaaki Tamura, associate professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas 
State University and a stem cell researcher, said the announcement, by Dr. 
Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology, was a 
"big breakthrough."

Dr. Tamura added that the development could lead to a day - perhaps sooner 
rather than later - when stem cells derived from the skin and suitable for 
treating all kinds of human diseases and conditions could be reaped from "a 
swab of the mouth or a scraping of the skin," rather than through the 
destruction of a human embryo.

Lanza, working with researchers at Harvard University and in South Korea, 
said his research team was able to transform skin cells from adult humans 
into cells that mimic the "pluripotent" characteristics of embryonic stem 
cells. Pluripotent refers to the ability to morph into any type of cell and 
develop into any kind of tissue.

Some scientists have said embryonic stem cells show promise as a potential 
treatment for various human conditions and diseases, including Parkinson's 
disease. However, many in the pro-life community question whether the 
potential of embryonic stem cells justifies the sacrifice of a human embryo.

Besides those ethical and moral complications, scientists also have 
encountered physical complications with embryonic stem cells, which have 
shown a tendency to create tumors in test subjects.

Adult stem cells, which can be culled from umbilical cords, amniotic fluids 
or other sources, have shown more than simple potential, and have been used 
to treat many different conditions in thousands of patients.

And then there are the cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS, 
which are at the heart of Lanza's research. In effect, iPS cells are adult 
cells that are "induced" or manipulated in a lab to mimic the pluripotent 
characteristics of embryonic stem cells.

iPS cells were pioneered in 2006 by Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka, who 
introduced genes carried by viruses into adult skin cells to effect the 
transformation. The problem, however, was that the genes were considered 
cancer-causing agents, thus rendering them useless for human treatments.

Until now.

Lanza's research team, rather than using genes carried by viruses, used 
proteins to transform adult skin cells, thus circumventing the gene-related 
problem.

Dr. Tamura said, in effect, the process reverted specialized adult cells 
into more "primitive" and pluripotent embryonic-stem-cell types.
"It was like evolution in reverse," he told Kansas Liberty.

In a Reuters article, Lanza described the iPS cells his team developed as 
"the ultimate stem cell solution."
"You just add some proteins to a few skin cells, and voilà. Patient-specific 
stem cells."

Lanza indicated in a public statement that he hoped to seek permission from 
the Food and Drug Administration, now headed by HHS Secretary and former 
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, next year to test the refined iPS cells in 
human subjects. If all goes well in clinical trials, he said commercial 
applications wouldn't be far behind.

Dr. Tamura agreed that the breakthrough could lead to commercial 
applications in human patients in the relatively near future.
"It is true that this method potentially accelerates clinical applications 
of iPS cells significantly," he said.

Phil LaCerte

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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