Hematopoietic cells from iPSC
Two new discoveries will make it possible to abandon the use of donor stem cells
Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+
Bioengineers and physicians from Australia have made two independent discoveries in the field of regenerative medicine on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells for the treatment of diseases. Both achievements will make it possible in the future to abandon the use of human embryos in favor of cells derived from the tissues of the patients themselves.
Induced pluripotent stem cells have been known since 2006, but scientists still have a lot to learn about how to simulate their differentiation in the human body in the laboratory in order to develop a safe targeted therapy. Specialists from the University of New South Wales have published two studies showing how imitation of the embryo's heartbeat using a microhydrodynamic device leads to the development of precursors of human blood stem cells, according to a press release from The blood stem cell research that could change medicine of the future.
In the first article published in the journal Cell Reports (Li et al., Mimicry of embryonic circulation enhances the hoxa hemogenic niche and human blood development), the authors describe how a 3 by 3 cm microhydrodynamic system pumped blood stem cells produced by the germ cell line to mimic the heartbeat of the embryo and circulation conditions blood.
The result surprised scientists: the device allowed not only to create precursors of blood stem cells that produced differentiated blood cells, but also created vital tissue cells surrounding the embryo's heart. In particular, they formed aortic cells.
"We have shown that we can generate a cell that can form all kinds of blood cell types," said Robert Nordon, one of the project participants.
At the same time, Professor John Pimanda's team studied the natural mechanism of blood stem cell production from cells that line blood vessels to understand which cells regulate this process. In an article in the journal Nature Cell Biology (Chandrakanthan et al., Mesoderm-derived PDGFRA+ cells regulate the emergence of hematopoietic stem cells in the dorsal aorta), scientists described how they solved this mystery by identifying cells in the embryo that can convert embryonic and adult endothelial cells into blood cells. They are located under the aorta and surround it for a very short period during the development of the embryo.
According to the authors, knowing what these cells are, researchers will now be able to understand how to influence adult mammalian endothelial cells to create blood stem cells.
One of the scientific groups working on the technology of obtaining embryos artificially from stem cells — without the use of an egg and sperm — recently announced success in their research. Scientists have brought the development of a mouse embryo to the stage when it already has a beating heart, there are rudiments of the brain, as well as other organs and tissues.
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