Freinds, I tried to forward a Science Week article on the state of embryonic stem cell research, but I ran afoul of the list's 500 line limit. The article is of possible interest to this list due to the tie-in to embryonic nerve cell transplants. With a line of stem cells of the proper type, one could conceivably have an unlimited amount of transplant material. All still very researchy, of course. To get around the limit of the list I'm going to try forwarding it in two segments. I can't edit it down, since the redistribution permission forbids changes. Bill /==============================================================\ | Bill Innanen's Forwarding Service (BIFS) | |--------------------------------------------------------------| | I've forwarded this message to you because I thought | | that you might be interested in the subject matter. If I'm | | wrong in this assumption, please let me know and I'll not | | send material on this subject again. Please note that I'm | | not the author of this material (I try to preserve the | | author's headers) and that the material may have copyright | | restrictions. -- Bill Innanen <[log in to unmask]> | \==============================================================/ From: "Science-Week" <[log in to unmask]> Organization: Science-Week To: [log in to unmask] Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 08:11:43 -0600 Subject: Science Week BULLETIN December 20, 1999 ScienceWeek BULLETIN - December 20, 1999 **************************************************************** This is SW BULLETIN, a free publication published each Monday by the Editors of SCIENCE-WEEK, the weekly Email research digest. Subscribe to ScienceWeek: If you want to understand new basic research, read the online Email publication that selectively reports and explains new research without ballyhoo or compromise. 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Four weeks after posting they will be in the SW archive, where they can be retrieved via the ScienceWeek search engine: -------------------------------------- Science & Society: Ammonia and the Population Explosion Earth Science: On the Natural Occurrences of Diamond Materials Science: On Rotating Superfluid Helium-3 Astrobiology: Polarized Starlight and Amino Acid Homochirality Cell Biology: Protein Sorting and Golgi Components -------------------------------------- SW main page URL: http://www.scienceweek.com **************************************************************** SW BULLETIN - December 20, 1999 --------------------------------------------- This Week's Report: Science Policy: Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research --------------------------------------------- [The following report first appeared in ScienceWeek 20 Aug 99] ON HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH In a multicellular living organism such as a human or a mouse, what differentiates one cell type from another is apparently not the genome, since the genome is the same in every cell, but which parts of the genome are operational. In other words, each cell type, skin cell, muscle cell, etc., has a particular gene profile characteristic of that cell type. Cells of a particular cell type are said to be "differentiated". Stem cells, present in all early embryos and in some tissues, are undifferentiated cells that in response to appropriate signals differentiate and give rise to a variety of cell types. Embryonic stem cells are "totipotent", i.e., they have the potential to differentiate into any type of tissue cell. These cells form at a very early stage in human development and remain in an undifferentiated state for only a short period of time. They are first clearly recognizable approximately 5 to 7 days after fertilization, when a human embryo forms a structure called a "blastocyst", a hollow fluid- filled sphere consisting of only 140 cells. There are two types of cells in the blastocyst at this stage: a) "trophoblast cells", which form the wall of the sphere, and which will become supporting tissues of the fetus (e.g., the placenta); b) "inner- cell-mass cells", a clump of cells located at one end within the blastocyst interior, and which are the undifferentiated cells (stem cells) that will divide and develop into the individual. The expected future medical applications of stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, are extremely promising, but because of the involvement of embryos and certain other considerations, basic stem cell research has provoked intense controversy. ... ... Shirley J. Wright (University of Dayton, US) presents a review of those aspects of human embryonic stem cell research that have been the focus of science policy controversy, the author making the following points: 1) Human blastocysts -- each capable of developing into a complete human being -- are a potential source of embryonic stem cells, undifferentiated cells with the potential to develop into any cell type in the body. These cells have enormous therapeutic potential for the replacement of damaged or diseased tissues, but current legal and ethical concerns limit the nature of the research that can be performed with these cells because of their source. 2) At the 5 day stage, the human blastocyst is approximately 200 microns in diameter. Cells of the inner cell mass can give rise to all 3 germ layers -- the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm -- which in turn give rise to all the tissues in the body. The ectoderm cells develop into skin, nerves and eyes; the mesoderm cells develop into bone, blood, and muscles; the endoderm cells develop into the lungs, liver, and the lining of the intestines. At the 5 to 7 day stage, the inner cell mass can be removed from the blastocyst and cultured in a dish as embryonic stem cells. 3) Early human embryos can also provide undifferentiated pluripotent cells (i.e., cells capable of differentiating into certain cell types but not all cell types) in the form of primordial germ cells, the precursors of eggs and sperm cells. The primordial germ cells do not differentiate early, remaining in the yolk sac until approximately the 6th to 8th week of development, when they migrate to the developing gonads in the embryo. These primordial germ cells may be extracted as pluripotent embryonic germ cells beginning approximately 24 days after fertilization. 4) Embryonic stem cells obtained from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst can be grown in a culture dish on a layer of "feeder" cells derived from irradiated mouse *fibroblasts. The layer of feeder cells arrests the differentiation of the stem cells by releasing various inhibitory factors. Cell lines derived in this manner are immortal -- they can divide indefinitely to form more undifferentiated cells, thus providing a ready source for future research. 5) Fusing a human somatic cell (i.e., any human non-germ cell) with an enucleated egg cell allows the creation of person- specific embryonic stem cells, thus avoiding the complications of tissue incompatibility. In this technique, a patient's somatic cell is placed next to an enucleated egg cell, and the two cells are fused by application of an electric current, the somatic cell nucleus entering the egg cytoplasm. The egg is then activated and develops into a blastocyst embryo, and the blastocyst can now provide embryonic stem cells compatible with the patient. This is the technique that was used Ian Wilmut and his group to produce the cloned sheep Dolly. 6) Transfer of a human somatic-cell nucleus (such as a cheek *epithelial-cell nucleus) to an enucleated bovine egg cell produces a "*chimera" that could be the source of embryonic stem cells. Such an experiment was successfully performed by Robl and Cibelli in 1996. The embryo developed to the 32-cell stage, but was not allowed to develop further. 7) Production of human replacement tissue (e.g., neural cells, pancreatic cells, or heart-muscle cells) in a culture dish is one of the important potential clinical applications of embryonic stem-cell technology. Once cultured, the differentiated cells would be injected into the damaged organ, where they would replace the damaged tissue. But this has not yet been achieved, and the clinical technology will require years of development. 8) The author concludes: "As a society we must identify the ethical, social, legal, medical, theological, and moral issues that surround this research. People from all walks of life -- scientists, lawyers, ethicists, clergy, and the general public -- should be involved in making the decision. We are also at the crossroads where further scientific evidence is needed to explore the full potential of these cells, and yet many of the necessary experiments raise further ethical issues. The question of how we should use these powerful cells remains a challenging problem for the next century." ----------- Shirley J. Wright: Human embryonic stem-cell research: Science and ethics. (Amer. Scientist Jul/Aug 99 87:352) QY: Shirley J. Wright [[log in to unmask]] ----------- Text Notes: ... ... *fibroblasts: A type of connective tissue cell, secreting structural proteins (e.g., collagen) that form certain tissue components, including the extracellular matrix. ... ... *epithelial-cell: In animals, epithelial cells (epithelium) compose the cell layers that form the interface between a tissue and the external environment, for example, the cells of the skin, the lining of the intestinal tract, and the lung airway passages. ... ... *chimera: In general, a "chimera" is any cell or organism with genetic material from two or more genotypes (e.g., two or more species). ------------------- Summary & Notes by SCIENCE-WEEK [http://scienceweek.com] 20Aug99 ------------------- Related Background: PATENT ON UMBILICAL-CORD STEM CELLS REJECTED IN EUROPE Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that give rise to all the varieties of cells. Bone marrow stem cells are undifferentiated cells in bone marrow that give rise to all the varieties of blood cells, including the various leukocytes (white blood cells) of the immune system: B-cells, T-cells, and macrophages. Umbilical cord stem cells can produce red and white blood cells and platelets, and their transplantation is more effective and cheaper than conventional methods involving stem cells from bone marrow donors. Umbilical cord stem cells, for example, have lower immunogenicity, which reduces the risk of rejection by the patient. A group of international researchers and international biotechnology companies have won a legal challenge against a European patent on the use of stored umbilical cord stem cells. The patent was granted 3 years ago to the US company Biocyte, but it has now been rejected in Europe, with the primary reason for the rejection apparently the existence of previous use of such cells by others. Researchers in the field say the winning of this legal battle lifts the threat of expensive patent infringement litigation, a threat that has intimidated the exploration of new uses for umbilical cord blood cells. (Nature 99/399:626) (SW Bulletin 25 Jun 99) ------------------- Related Background: CONVERSION OF NEURAL STEM CELLS INTO BLOOD CELLS ... Stem cells are common in embryos, but they have also been identified in adult tissues that undergo extensive cell replacement due to physiological turnover or injury, e.g., the *hematopoietic, intestinal, and *epidermal systems. Stem cells have also been found in the central nervous system, a tissue believed to be capable of only extremely limited self-repair. Central nervous system stem cells can generate the 3 major cell types found in the adult brain: *astrocytes, *oligodendrocytes, and neurons. This is consistent with the view that the developmental potential of stem cells is restricted to the differentiated elements of the tissue in which they reside. But some developmental peculiarities suggest certain cells may be able to differentiate into cell types that are not of the same origin. ... ... C.R.R. Bjornson et al (5 authors at 4 installations, CA IT) now report an investigation to determine whether stem cells are restricted to produce specific cell types, namely, those from the tissue in which they reside. The authors report that after transplantation into *irradiated host mice, genetically labelled mouse neural stem cells were found to produce a variety of blood cell types, including *myeloid and *lymphoid cells, as well as early hematopoietic cells. The authors suggest that neural stem cells appear to have a wider differentiation potential than previously thought, and that if they behave similarly to their mouse counterparts, human neuronal stem cells may provide a renewable and characterized source of cells that could be used in approaches aimed at hematopoietic reconstitution in various blood diseases and disorders. ----------- C.R.R. Bjornson et al: Turning brain into blood: A hematopoietic fate adopted by adult neural stem cells in vivo. (Science 22 Jan 99 283:534) QY: Christopher R.R. Bjornson [[log in to unmask]] ----------- Text Notes: ... ... *hematopoietic: From hematopoiesis (hemopoiesis, hematogenesis) Refers to the formation and development of the various types of blood cells. ... ... *epidermal: The term "epidermal" refers to the superficial epithelial portion of the skin. In animals, epithelial cells compose the cell layers that form the interface between a tissue and the external environment, for example, the cells of the skin, the lining of the intestinal tract, and the lung airway passages. ... ... *astrocytes: (astroglia, macroglia) Glial cells are more numerous than neurons in the brain, but their function has been generally characterized as "metabolic" or "supportive", without much discussion of details. Astrocytes are the largest glial cells, with many extensions radiating outward like a starburst, and at least one of their functions is apparently to maintain the so-called "blood-brain barrier" effectively separating neural tissue from blood. ... ... *oligodendrocytes: (oligodendroglia) Glial cells characterized by sheet-like processes that are wrapped around individual neuron axons to form the myelin sheath of nerve fibers in the central nervous system. (The myelin sheath of a nerve fiber is effectively a periodically interrupted insulation which increases the propagation velocity of nerve impulses.) ... ... *irradiated host mice: In this investigation, host animals were radiated before transplantation in order to reduce the population of immune system blood cells, this reduction apparently intensifying the signals resulting in donor stem cell differentiation. ... ... *myeloid: Refers to bone marrow cells or cells derived from bone marrow cells. ... ... *lymphoid cells: Refers to cells of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a complex network for the distribution of lymph fluid (which is similar to blood plasma -- blood without red cells). ------------------- Summary & Notes by SCIENCE-WEEK [http://scienceweek.com] 2Apr99 ------------------- [continued in part 2...]