[KVOLUTION]

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

South Korean scientists reported advancement in the techniques to create stem cells without destroying embryos, which may allow them to avoid the ethical and practical problems about their use for treatment.

A team of experts led by Kim Kwang-soo, head of the Cha Medical Center's stem cell institute, said they successfully generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from human fibroblasts, or cells used by the body to synthesize new tissue, by injecting them with a cocktail of ``reprogramming'' proteins.

The therapeutic potential of iPS cells, or adult stem cells that are made to perform like embryonic ones, is considered enormous as they gain the ability to become any cell in the human body, thus opening new opportunities in the treatment of difficult medical conditions.

In 2007, a joint research team of Japanese and American scientists was the first to successfully turn adult skin cells into stem cells by injecting them with gene-carrying viruses.

Since then, scientists around the world have been devoted to finding ways to improve the reprogramming process, winding the clock back on cells taken from adults until they are in an embryonic form.

But most of the previous methods in generating iPS cells had required the use of genetic materials, such as genome-integrating viruses and other potentially harmful chemicals. The use of these substances has been linked to health problems such as genetic disorder and cancer.

Kim said his team eliminated this problem by delivering four reprogramming proteins ― Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc ― directly into somatic cells. The successful production of iPS cells proved that it's possible to create stem cells without using viral or DNA vectors, Kim said.

``This system eliminates the potential risks associated with the use of the viruses, DNA transfection, and potentially harmful chemicals, and in the future could potentially provide a safe source of patient-specific cells for regenerative medicine,'' the researchers said in their study published in peer-review journal Cell Stem Cell.

``These protein-induced human iPS cells exhibited similarly to human embryonic stem cells in morphology, proliferation and expression of characteristic pluripotency markers.''

Stem cells have the ability to be turned into any tissue in the body. Researchers are hoping they could be used to regenerate diseased and damaged organs and treat a wide range of conditions including Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

Creating stem cells from adult cells is considered key to developing clinical applications. Stem cells made from a patient's own cells would reduce the risks of immune system rejection, as they carry the same DNA. This would also eliminate the need for gathering and destroying embryos to create a supply, which has been the biggest ethical barrier in pushing further stem cell therapeutics.

``Our discovery solves a critical problem regarding the safety in generating iPS cells, and may open the way to create an iPS cell bank,'' said Kim.
``We plan to continue our iPS cell research and integrate the technology in producing stem cells that grow out into retinal pigment epithelial cells, blood alternatives and cardiovascular cells.''

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