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【medical-news】科学家发现新的干细胞插入安全方
Scientists Find Safer Way To Convert Mature Cells
Scientists have found a way to convert mature cells into an embryonic-like state that could eliminate an earlier method's risk of triggering cancer, potentially overcoming a big hurdle in the quest to develop new transplant therapies.
Though demonstrated only in mice so far, the result marks another key achievement in the fledgling science of cellular reprogramming. The hope is to create human, embryonic-like stem cells -- which can be turned into all the other tissue types of the body -- without using eggs or destroying embryos. That freshly derived tissue could then be transplanted into patients to treat various diseases.
Progress has been brisk. In 2006, Japanese researchers first showed that four genes inserted into the mature skin cell of a mouse were enough to return the cell to a primordial, embryonic-like state. Several groups of scientists have since achieved the same result with human cells.
More recent experiments have shown that fresh tissue derived in this manner can alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and sickle-cell anemia in mouse models. Earlier this month, scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed that mature human skin cells could be reprogrammed into cells that produce insulin, the hormone used to treat diabetes.
However, those earlier experiments share a key limitation: The reprogramming genes have to be transported into the cell with the help of retroviruses. While such viruses are good at penetrating cells, they also integrate into the cellular DNA and can cause cancer or other unwanted genetic changes.
Now, there may be a way around that problem. In the latest mouse study, published in the journal Science, researchers show that by using a different kind of transport vehicle -- an adenovirus -- it is possible to avoid the permanent genetic damage seen in previous experiments.
"The adenovirus doesn't integrate permanently, so the cells aren't altered genetically," said Konrad Hochedlinger, geneticist at Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Mass., and lead author of the paper.
There is still a lot of work to be done. The same experiment has to be shown to work with human cells, and its efficiency has to be improved. Previous tests using retroviruses showed that only one in 1,000 adult cells got reprogrammed and turned into an embryonic-like cell. The latest experiment using adenovirus showed an even lower efficiency rate: Only one in 10,000 to one in 100,000 adult cells got reprogrammed.
While the latest advances have spurred a rush to improve the reprogramming technique, they have also given fresh ammunition to those who oppose research on human embryos, an alternative technique.
Earlier this week, the International Society for Stem Cell Research issued an "open letter" calling for the U.S. government to fund all avenues of research. The letter noted that while reprogramming had "captured the imagination" of scientists everywhere, research on human embryonic cells shouldn't be abandoned. 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领。 Scientists Find Safer Way To Convert Mature Cells
科学家发现安全转化成熟细胞的方法
Scientists have found a way to convert mature cells into an embryonic-like state that could eliminate an earlier method's risk of triggering cancer, potentially overcoming a big hurdle in the quest to develop new transplant therapies.
科学家发现一种方法使成熟细胞转化为一种胚胎状态，这种方法消除了以前方法中诱发癌症的风险，潜在解决了发明新的移植方法的一个巨大障碍。
Though demonstrated only in mice so far, the result marks another key achievement in the fledgling science of cellular reprogramming. The hope is to create human, embryonic-like stem cells -- which can be turned into all the other tissue types of the body -- without using eggs or destroying embryos. That freshly derived tissue could then be transplanted into patients to treat various diseases.
尽管只是在小鼠上得到证实，但这项结果却是刚刚起步的细胞重组技术的一个重大成果。目的是为了制造人类胚胎样干细胞—--这种细胞可以转化成身体的任何组织----而不需要使用鸡蛋或损害胚胎。这种新衍生的组织继而可以移植到患者体内而治疗各种各样的疾病。
Progress has been brisk. In 2006, Japanese researchers first showed that four genes inserted into the mature skin cell of a mouse were enough to return the cell to a primordial, embryonic-like state. Several groups of scientists have since achieved the same result with human cells.
进步越来越快。2006年，来自日本的研究者第一次展示了在小鼠成熟的皮肤细胞内插入四个基因，可以将其转化为原始的胚胎样状态。继而几组团队在人体细胞获得同样的结果。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-03-06 05:11
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