There are a lot of things going on in stem cell research in Peoria,
IL. I just returned from a second tour of the lab of of Dr. Craig Cady,
a researcher and a professor of Biology at Bradley University and he was
quite proud to announce the formation of a very supportive group of
researchers working together to form a stem cell research lab. The
research team will consist of Dr. Craig Cady who will be working on the
neural part of the team along with Dr. Zun Dinh, Dr. Ken Franco-a heart
researcher looking to rebuild hearts from stem cells and noted cancer
doctor, Jasti Rao who is interested in using stem cells to treat cancer.
One of the primary goals of the team will be to develop a core
lab in which to store, nurture and grow stem cell cultures. They are
writing a large grant for state funding and plan to submit to NIH next
year.
Dr. Cady says that Illinois needs to catch up with other states
such as California, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. We are probably the
next state to pass into law a stem cell initiative. This is possible
because the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria is one
of the storage places for cord blood storage, largely due to the efforts
of State Representative David Leitch (R-93rd district), who worked on
the stem cell cord blood law that has been passed in Illinois. We are
the only state that mandates that a pregnant woman be asked during her
second trimester, if she wants the umbilical cord to be donated for stem
cell research and at no cost to the donor.
Cord blood cultures grow very slowly and look very different from
bone marrow stem cells ( bone marrow stem cells are long and cord blood
stem cells are stout). Cord blood cells are much more primitive than
bone marrow stem cells and are much more pliable and easy to convert
into what ever kind of cell is needed as less genes have been turned on.
Within the time span of just 24 hours, Dr. Cady's lab has been
able to convert these primitive cells to look and behave more like
neurons (neurons reach out and send chemical signals to other cells).
The cells are then stained to see if they contain the same antibodies in
protons shown only in neurons and glial protein cells... and lo and
behold they do contain the same anti-bodies. Dr. Cady sees this as a
major breakthrough.
The team will start animal studies using rats in March.
This is all accomplished with the use of bone marrow and cord blood stem
cells, not requiring the use of the controversial embryonic stem cells.
Dr. Cady is quite certain that he can coax the primitive cord blood
cells into dopamine-producing neurons-
given the time and the money he needs to continue his research.
This has been such a hope-filled day with lots to think about. I believe
that this will help us to find a cure for PD without compromising my
pro-life values.
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