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【科技新闻】胚胎干细胞首次临床试验即将展开
First embryonic stem cell trial on the cards
胚胎干细胞首次临床试验即将展开
THE first treatment derived from embryonic stem cells might soon undergo clinical trials. The cells would be used to help repair damaged spinal tissue.
胚胎干细胞诱导分化来的细胞可能很快就会进入临床试验。首次使用的细胞将帮助患者修复受损的脊索组织。
One of the main concerns with embryonic stem cell (ESC) treatments has been the possibility that the recipient's immune system will see the transplanted cells as foreign and attack them
胚胎干细胞用于临床治疗面临的主要问题之一是受者的免疫系统将视移植细胞为异源性，进而对之发生排斥。
Now Geron in Menlo Park, California, claims to have shown that this might not be a problem, at least for spinal repair treatment
最近位于美国加州门罗帕克的Geron公司声称：至少对于脊索组织的修复治疗，免疫排斥可能并不是胚胎干细胞用于临床治疗面临的问题。
"I'm confident that we will be in the clinic next year with the first human ESC-derived product," said Tom Okarma, chief executive of Geron, at a conference in London last week. The company will soon be seeking permission from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin the trial.
“对人类胚胎干细胞来源的产品明年首次临床试验，我非常自信”，上周Geron公司的首席行政官Tom Okarma在伦敦的新闻发布会上如是说。此家公司正在申请获得美国FAD对进行这项试验的许可。
Treatments with cells derived from human ESCs have been keenly awaited since 1998 when the cells were first cultured in the lab, providing a potentially inexhaustible supply. They have great clinical potential because they can grow into all types of body tissues, and so could in theory be used to generate new tissue or even entire new organs
人类胚胎干细胞在1998年首次建系以来，大家就一直翘首以待其提供不竭的细胞产品用于临床治疗。因为这种细胞具有能分化为人体所有类型的细胞，理论上可以培养出新的组织甚至全新器官的潜能，使其具有巨大临床应用的价值。
Geron's plan is to treat people that have acute spinal injuries with oligodendrocyte progenitor cells grown from human ESCs. Oligodendrocyte cells support neurons in the brain and spine by sheathing them in myelin, a fat that helps neurons to transmit signals
Geron公司计划使用人类胚胎干细胞分化而来的少突胶质前体细胞治疗急性脊髓损伤的病人。少突胶质细胞通过髓磷脂（有助于神经元传递信号的一种脂肪）包被位于脑部和脊髓中的神经元方式，对其起到支持作用。
Spinal "crush" injuries often cause a loss of myelin, and so destroy the capacity of nerves to transmit signals. Previous experiments carried out by Geron in rats with damaged motor nerves suggested that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells injected into the spine can redress this, helping to restore movement.
脊髓挤压损伤经常导致鞘磷脂的丢失，破坏了神经元传递信号的能力。Geron公司以前的试验表明，少突胶质前体细胞能纠正小鼠受损的运动神经元，有利于其功能的恢复。
The company now says it has evidence from cell-culture experiments that the treatment will not cause harmful immune reactions, though it has yet to release details of the research. "The oligodendrocyte progenitor cells don't elicit major immune responses, at least in vitro," says Okarma, adding that the full results will be presented later this month in Toronto, Canada, at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
这家公司目前声称，已有培养细胞治疗的试验证据表明这种治疗方法并没有引起有害的免疫反应，但现仍没有透露试验的具体细节。“少突胶质前体细胞至少在体外并没有诱发免疫反应,” Okarma说，并补充说这一试验的所有结果将在这月加拿大多伦多举办的国际干细胞研究协会的年会上公开。
The finding will not make other stem cells treatments more likely, though, as immune responses from brain and spinal cord tissue are often mild or non-existent. Compared with other tissues, these organs have a relatively inactive immune system
但是这一研究并不能推广到其它干细胞的治疗，因为脑部和脊髓组织的免疫反应通常是微弱的甚至是不存在的。与其它组织相比，这些组织/器官的免疫体统处于未激活状态。
Some researchers have doubts about the claims. "We still don't know how immunogenic these cells are, either when undifferentiated as human ESCS, or differentiated, like the oligodendrocytes," says Stephen Minger of King's College London. "The evidence is all over the place."
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-01-03 17:53
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