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Friday February 23, 01:07 PM Dolly the sheep firm "reprogrammes" animal cell By Janet McBride LONDON (Reuters) - PPL Therapeutics, the firm that cloned Dolly the sheep, has revealed it has succeeded in turning a cow's skin cell into a heart cell, in a breakthrough that could curtail controversial research on human embryos. News of the findings, which may help scientists develop treatments for diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, sent shares in the small, Scottish firm over six percent higher in London to 169-3/4 pence. "This is a big step forward," said Erling Refsum, a biotechnology analyst at Nomura Securities. "These were the first people to clone an animal, the first to change the genetic structure of a cloned animal. Now they are the first to change one cell into another and get around the real problem, which is the difficulty of sourcing stem cells." In the past, scientists have relied on embryonic stem cells -- "master cells" that can turn into any other type of cell -- in their hunt for a treatment to degenerative diseases. Adult stem cells have less flexibility. Researchers' aim has been to use the stem cells to develop nerve tissue, blood, heart muscle or even brain cells, thereby creating a ready supply of perfect-match replacement tissue, including transplant organs. But the research and the "harvesting" of stem cells from embryos has been condemned by religious and pro-life groups. The Pope has spoken out about the dangers of pushing the boundaries of medical research too far and called human embryo cloning "morally unacceptable". PPL said what was different and more ethically acceptable about its method, pioneered by scientists at its U.S. unit PPL Therapeutics Inc, was the fact it avoided the need to introduce stem cells. PPL had managed to turn a cow's skin cells into basic stem cells, then grow them into heart cells. "The results of this experiment gives us confidence that the method we are developing as a source of stem cells is working and I believe it will be equally applicable to humans," PPL Managing Director Dr Ron James said. He was due to announce the trial results formally at a meeting of the British Fertility Society later on Friday, but will not reveal full details for commercial reasons. Analysts said that with a market cap of around 85 million pounds ($123 million), PPL was undervalued and could become a takeover target. Several U.S. firms, among them Genzyme General Corp, were possible predators, they added. "The market has not appreciated what the company is doing, but the opposition does," one analyst said. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/010223/80/b661r.html ***********