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FROM: ALBANY TIMES UNION Center of the storm Albany Med's Sally Temple is a pioneer in the contentious field of stem cell research By LYRYSA SMITH, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 Neuroscientist Sally Temple admires her microscopic subjects with the keen eye of an artist. "So many beautiful brain cells," says Temple, looking at the images on her computer monitor. "These generated neurons look like gorgeous bare trees, their limbs outstretching." Tucked away through a maze of M.C. Escher-like hallways and stairwells at Albany Medical College, Temple analyzes embryonic stem cells in her office and works through experiments in several laboratories with a dozen researchers. She's been a pioneer in stem cell research for 15 years, driven by curiosity and veneration, and a desire for something more important. "I simply love the promise of stem cells, to be able to repair and regenerate tissues, to help treat all sorts of conditions and to ease the suffering of millions of people with devastating illnesses," says the associate professor of neuroscience. "We don't have to have all the answers, but we can make progress and discover more about how incredible and truly remarkable these cells are." This is not an easy time to be in her line of work. While she studies embryonic stem cells and feels a sense of awe, others see the research she does as something sinister. Critics of embryonic stem cell research say it's unethical because human embryos are destroyed to get the cells, and liken it to abortion. The stem cell debate has grown even louder during this election season, as President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry have come down on opposite sides of the issue. But Temple quietly accepts the turmoil surrounding her life's work. At Albany Med since 1990, she uses only stem cells from mice in her research. But she and other scientists know they can use the same technology with human stem cells. That's one reason for the tempest, she says. Accepting the challenge A native of England, Temple started college thinking she'd become an artist, but went into science at her father's suggestion. "He was concerned that I have a career that would make some money," Temple says, laughing. She found she liked the challenge of science, and it appealed to her strong sense of curiosity. While doing post-graduate work in 1989 at the University of Miami in Florida, she became interested in trying to unravel how the brain and nervous system develop. She took individual cells out of an embryonic rat's brain and put them into a culture. Some reproduced slowly, but a few divided over and over again quickly, generating different cell types and hundreds of progeny. They were stem cells, and Temple was the first to discover them in the embryonic brain. She also became the first to show that stem cells could be cultured and grown outside the body, easing the way for additional research. She published her landmark findings in the journal Nature in 1989. Her discoveries continue to be significant. It wasn't so many years ago that scientists weren't sure there could ever be a way to replace cells in the body. But now the possibilities are too important to be ignored, she says. Last year Temple received a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that will fund her research for seven years. It's because the grant comes from federal funds that Temple uses only stem cells from mice in her work. "Mouse stem cells are not in the news," she says. "Embryonic stem cells are in the news. That's where the storm is." Bush's 2001 policy only allows for limited government funding for research with animal stem cells or with a certain group of existing human stem cells. The President has stated that he does not believe taxpayers' money should be used to encourage the destruction of human embryos. Scientists with private funding are allowed to work with new human stem cell lines created from their own sources, usually surplus embryos donated by couples who used a fertility clinic. Destiny of cells Temple says working with animal stem cells hasn't slowed her quest for groundbreaking discoveries. "I'd still like to understand what makes stem cells reproduce and multiply in the first place, why they differentiate into the different types of cells they do, and which genes affect the future destiny of these cells," she says. Temple is passionate about the medical possibilities of stem cells, and realizes others may feel just as strongly about their opinions. These days it's hard to separate her work from the debate. "The Catholic Church strongly supports adult stem cell research as does the federal government through agencies like the NIH," says Kathleen Gallagher, a spokeswoman with the New York State Catholic Conference in Albany. "But we are opposed to the destruction of human embryos for any research purpose, including embryos that come from fertility clinics." Temple counters that it's already happening every day. Couples at fertility clinics create 10 to 12 embryos. They have a few implanted, and freeze and store the rest for a time, and then they're thrown out, she says. "More embryos are created than ever will be used. And after a time, they can't be implanted anymore. The stem cell process doesn't involve abortion. It involves taking embryos which are surplus and would be discarded anyway," says Temple. "Could we not do something better than that? Couldn't we use them for a higher purpose? It seems more respectful to me to use them to create something so magnificent as better health and healing." Gallagher argues, however, that destroying embryos is destroying human life. "Just because the embryos are going to be thrown out anyway, and will die, doesn't give society the right to destroy them for research purposes," she says. "It would be like researchers harvesting the organs of death row prisoners, simply because they know the prisoners are going to die anyway." Temple is thrilled that at places like Harvard University, scientists are using private funding to make important advances in human embryonic stem cell research. She hopes federal dollars will someday follow. Groups such as the New York Catholic Conference, the Right to Life Committee and the Conservative Party are fighting potential legislation that would permit researchers in New York state to clone embryos for the purpose of producing stem cells. California and New Jersey already allow such research. "Ever since Ron Reagan Jr. spoke at the Democratic convention, it seems proponents of embryonic stem cell research are looking to use the process of human cloning to gather the quantity of embryos they need," says Gallagher, adding that she doesn't believe the public really supports the idea. "I appreciate other people's viewpoints," Temple says. "We need to face off and try to understand each other. I hope to help people see the totally positive outcomes of embryonic stem cell work." An opportunity Temple believes stem cell therapy could be a great opportunity for the Capital Region's budding biotechnology industry. "The work could produce breakthroughs and be a real boon to our economy. Private funding from the biotech sector could be very beneficial, too," she says. Lately, celebrities have been helping raise awareness about stem cell research. Christopher Reeve with spinal cord injuries, Michael J. Fox with Parkinson's disease, and recently Reagan Jr. and his mother, Nancy, speaking about Alzheimer's disease, bring recognizable faces to the issue. With the wide variety of conditions that may benefit one day from stem cell work, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, burns and rheumatoid arthritis, Temple says many more people are being or will be affected on a personal level. She knows. Temple has worked for years under a grant to study the potential benefit of stem cells for healing macular degeneration. Last year, her mother was diagnosed with the eye disease. "It changed the feeling of my work. I'm more aware than ever -- one in five people over 70 are affected and may lose their sight," says Temple, who has three children. In some ways all the recent attention -- positive and negative -- has been useful, Temple says. "I think President Bush's restriction was valuable in that it gave us pause. We needed time to focus on the implications of this work. Time to explore all the extremes and think of ways to balance them. But now it's time to move on," she says. "We're on the doorstep of enormous change, and the science here is clear. The best way to repair and replace damaged or lost cells is through embryonic stem cell therapy," Temple says. "And the hope and promise to help people is so very important." Lyrysa Smith can be reached at 454-5448 or at [log in to unmask] STEM CELL BASICS What are stem cells? Unspecialized, or "blank," cells created in the very first days of a pregnancy that can divide for indefinite periods in culture to renew themselves and be induced to become "differentiated" cells -- that is, cells with special functions such as the beating cells of the heart or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cells from both animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. What are human embryonic stem cells? These "undifferentiated" cells are isolated from a 5-day-old human embryo, called a blastocyst. The cells have the potential to evolve into any type of cell in the body and carry on its specialized function, such as a muscle cell, red blood cell or brain cell. In theory, they can divide without limit to replenish other cells and serve as a repair system for the body. What are adult stem cells? These are stem cells that exist in the body and are found in bone marrow, blood and the brain. At present, they can only be grown into limited types of cells, based on their tissue of origin, and retain their original function. They do not transform into different types of cells for use in other kinds of tissue. But new research is under way to further determine the "plasticity" of adult stem cells. Currently, these cells are used in bone marrow transplants to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several blood disorders. Why do scientists care about stem cells? Embryonic stem cells offer the possibility of providing a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat myriad diseases, conditions and disabilities, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injuries, strokes, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Scientists study stem cells, too, so they can learn about their essential properties and what makes them different from specialized cell types. It also may be possible to use stem cells in the lab to test new drugs and toxins, and to better understand birth defects and cancer so new therapies may be developed. What is a stem cell line? It is a stem cell colony that can be grown for years in the laboratory without differentiation -- that is, without any specialized function. A line can be propagated into a larger, ongoing supply of cells. How do scientists use stem cell lines? Stem cell lines provide scientists with the opportunity to "engineer" cells, or grow them into specific cell types, for use in treatment of diseases. Also, a researcher using a line does not have to go through the rigorous procedure necessary to isolate stem cells anew, and a line's cells can be frozen for storage or distribution to other researchers. What's so controversial about embryonic stem cells? The debate centers on the fact that human embryos are destroyed to get stem cells. Opponents say that no matter how young the embryo is, it's human life and should not be destroyed. Supporters say the embryo is not a person -- that it has no nervous system, organs or other human features, but instead is a barely visible clump of cells that cannot grow into a human because it is not in the womb. They also point out that fertility clinics discard many embryos every day and say it would be better to use them in research that might someday save lives. Isn't stem cell research banned by the government? No. The Bush administration has agreed to fund research with human stem cells, but only for work with 22 stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001, the date of the President's directive. Scientists are free to work with other human stem cell lines if the scientists are privately funded only, and they may use embryos donated by a couple who have undergone in vitro fertilization. Researchers say many of the existing lines are contaminated and are not viable sources for their work. They would like the government to fund work on more lines. President Bush has said he doesn't believe that tax money should pay for the destruction of additional human embryos. Have human embryonic stem cells been used successfully to treat any human diseases yet? No. Although these cells are thought to potentially offer cures and therapies for many devastating diseases, research is still in its early stages. Adult stem cells, such as blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow, are currently the only type of stem cell used to treat human diseases. However, researchers believe adult stem cells do not hold the potential that embryonic stem cells. -- Lyrysa Smith Sources: The National Institutes of Health; Dr. Sally Temple, Albany Medical College; Dr. Patricia A. Labosky, University of Pennsylvania. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn