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Researchers are developing human stem cells at an early stage for the first time
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have for the first time succeeded in deriving stem cells from human embryos at a very early stage. The new research could help to better understand some genetic diseases such as Down syndrome in the future.
Scientists derived stem cells from a human embryo at a very early stage. Based on the results of the research, the physicians hope to develop new treatments that promote our healthy cell lines. In addition, the current findings make it possible to better understand genetic diseases. The experts from the University of Cambridge published their study in the journal "Stem Cell Reports".
British scientists have for the first time derived so-called "naive pluripotent stem cells" from human embryos. (Image: Spectral-Design / fotolia.com) Researchers have been trying to isolate naive stem cells for years
The researchers in the UK have derived so-called naive pluripotent stem cells from human embryos. Scientists had been working on this achievement for decades. The new findings may soon make it possible to better understand genetic disorders and to develop new treatments, the doctors say. So far, we have not been able to isolate these naive stem cells, even though the technology was there and we have been able to isolate them in mice for 30 years, explained Ge Guo from the University of Cambridge.
Naive pluripotent stem cells offer many possibilities for medical purposes
The advantage of naive pluripotent stem cells is that they are very flexible compared to other types of stem cells. Theoretically, they can develop into any tissue without restrictions. Unmodified embryonic stem cells (from fertilized oocytes) and induced pluripotent stem cells (reprogrammed skin cells) already contain instructions to develop into specific cell types, say the experts. Naive pluripotent stem cells do not contain such instructions, therefore they offer many potential opportunities for biomedical therapeutic purposes.
Naive stem cells make it possible to model human diseases
Naive stem cells have many uses, for example in regenerative medicine or for modeling human diseases, says Guo. For regenerative medicine, this could mean that effective "healthy" cell treatments could be developed for organs and tissues. Usually, an egg cell that has previously been fertilized by a sperm begins to divide and replicate before the embryo slowly takes shape, the researchers say. As part of this process, the embryonic cells together form a structure called the blastocyst. This includes a number of different cell types that are crucial for the further development of the embryo, explain the physicians. Among them are also naive cells from which later forms the body of the embryo. The scientists have now succeeded in removing these cells of the blastocyst early from the process. The cells were harvested about six days after fertilization, about one day after the blastocyst started to form.
Excessive copies of chromosomes cause abnormalities
Extracting the naive cells at this point ensures that the cells have not received any genetic instructions that will determine their future development. The new technique may be particularly helpful in future research into diseases due to abnormal chromosomal numbers, say the experts. The human body usually contains 23 pairs of identical chromosomes, 22 pairs and a pair of sex chromosomes. But that is not always the case. For example, some children born with Down syndrome have extra copies that can cause abnormalities. Even in many normal embryos in the early phase, we can detect several cells with an abnormal number of chromosomes, says the researcher. Jenny Nichols.
Because we can separate cells and cultivate them one by one, we are able to produce healthy and abnormal cell lines. This allows scientists to directly compare the tissue of two models. One tissue is healthy, while another, genetically identical tissue has only one extra chromosome. These new opportunities could help us better understand diseases such as Down Syndrome, say the medical profession.