 |
 |
Wednesday August 1, 12:01 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: American Technion Society Israeli Team Grows Heart Cells and Insulin-Producing Cells From Human Embryonic Stem Cells Studies offer new hope for curing diabetes and heart disease HAIFA, Israel and NEW YORK, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the isolation of human embryonic stem cells three years ago, scientists have been excited about the prospect of using these cells to produce all the different types of tissues in our body, such as heart tissue to repair damaged hearts. Now researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have for the first time succeeded in growing the precursors of heart cells from human embryonic stems cells. This puts the researchers, led by Drs. Lior Gepstein and Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor of the Faculty of Medicine, considerably closer to clinical application in humans. The research is published in the August Journal of' Clinical Investigation. While other researchers recently reported on the use of stem cells from bone marrow to repair mouse hearts, the Israel Institute of Technology research is a step forward in two important ways. It is the first time that human, as opposed to mouse stem cells have been induced to form proto-heart cells. In addition, it is the first time that human embryonic stem cells have been made to differentiate into heart cell tissue. ``Embryonic stem cells have advantages over stem cells derived from adult tissues,'' Dr. Gepstein points out. ``They can proliferate far more than can stem cells from adults, producing the many millions of cells needed to repair organs. In addition, we know that embryonic stem cells can differentiate into all the tissues of the body, while a given type of adult stem cell seems to differentiate into only a small set of tissue types.'' As a result, the techniques developed could produce other types of human tissue. Based on extensive tests, Dr. Gepstein says the cells are clearly those that differentiate into heart cells. It seems likely that if placed in an adult human heart, these cells would produce heart muscle cells, he says. The next step in moving towards clinical applications, such as injecting these cells into damaged human hearts, is to significantly increase the number of cells produced. To do this, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology team is experimenting with different combinations of growth factors. In a related study, another team of researchers at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology demonstrated that human embryonic stem cells can produce insulin, a result that could signal an important step toward a cure for type 1 diabetes. Their research, led by Dr. Karl Skorecki of the Faculty of Medicine, is published in the August Diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a disease that generally results from the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic islet cells, which produce the insulin that ``unlocks'' the cells of the body allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. The only way to cure the disease is by pancreas transplantation. The study ``offers the promise that stem cells might provide a rich source of insulin-producing cells and put us closer to a cure for this serious disease,'' said Dr. Christopher D. Saudek, president of the American Diabetes Association. The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading scientific and technological center for applied research and education. It commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are Technion graduates. The Technion's 19 faculties and 30 research centers and institutes in Haifa are home to 13,000 students and 700 faculty members. Based in New York City, the American Technion Society is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel, with more than 20,000 supporters and 17 offices around the country. Technion societies are located in 24 countries around the world. SOURCE: American Technion Society http://www.ats.org/v2/ SOURCE: Yahoo Daily News / PRNEWSwire http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010801/nytu045a.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn