Cell by date research

Editorial

November 19, 2005

The latest breakthrough in stem cell research by scientists at the Imperial College in London spells good news for organ transplantation. The scientists have reportedly grown cartilage cells (dense tissue that allows the smooth movement of joints) from embryonic stem cells -- master cells that have the ability to grow into any of the body's tissue types like blood, liver, muscle and other cells. This means doctors will now be able to extract stem cells from a patient, grow them in a laboratory, and then surgically transplant them in his body.

Existing methods involve taking grafts from the body to replace cartilage or tissue that's been removed from it. There's a lot of uncertainty over procedures currently used to treat cartilage damage by harvesting healthy cartilage cells from the patient, because of a limited supply of cartilage cells and the possible damage to the site they are taken from. The new technique promises to overcome such limitations and could find application in treating anything from sports injuries to hip replacements. With this, researchers are closer to using adult stem cells, which offers an alternative to embryonic ones that come with too many ethical bells and whistles attached. Researchers trying to glean adult stem cells from bone marrow, skin or fat, however, have to work around a major hurdle: the limited ability of such cells to grow into other cells.

But scientists in the US proved a couple of years ago that adult stem cells could be used in the lab to grow replacement tissue for reconstructive surgery. So the answer may not be too far off. And if the pace of research is any indication, medical science will get there sooner rather than later.

Copyright © 2005 HT Media Ltd.

This article posted December 13, 2005.