Region-selective pluripotent stem cells
Bioengineers have discovered a new type of stem cells
Anna Govorova, Infox.ru
Bioengineers from the Salk Institute for Biological Research (USA) seem to have discovered another type of stem cells, Infox reports. Scientists called them region-selective pluripotent stem cells (region-selective pluripotent stem cells) or abbreviated rsPSCs.
The peculiarity of these cells is that they are associated not only with the period of development of the organism, but their development is also determined by the place they occupy in the embryo.
According to the authors, these "local stem cells" hold a huge potential for regenerative medicine, since all manipulations with them, including genetic ones, are much easier compared to other stem cells.
"These cells have a huge potential for studying human evolution, embryogenesis, as well as the nature of the development of various diseases. It is quite possible that new therapies will be created on the basis of these cells," says the head of the study, Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte.
The scientists report their discovery in an article published in a new issue of the journal Nature (Wu et al., An alternative pluripotent state conferences interspecies chimaeric competence).
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have not lost their potential for reproduction. Depending on the period of development of the organism, they can turn into cells of any tissue (totipotent cells), into cells of any tissue with some exceptions (pluripotent cells) or into cells of a certain tissue. The first two properties are possessed by embryonic stem cells. But also in the tissues of the adult body there is a certain number of stem cells that divide and replace the cells of these tissues. Thus, the fabrics are constantly updated.
Currently, scientists can not only find stem cells in the body, but also get them from ordinary ones. In 2006, Shinya Yamanake, a professor from Kyoto University, and his colleagues managed to turn somatic cells of an adult organism into stem cells for the first time. This is how induced pluripotent stem cells were obtained, which can be made to turn into cells of a certain tissue or organ. Professor Yamanaka received the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his discovery.
It is possible that scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Research have managed to make another important discovery in this area.
Bioengineers managed not only to discover a new type of stem cells, but also to investigate their properties.
A new type of stem cells (green)
"We found these cells in mouse embryos at an early stage of development. We were also able to obtain these cells in the laboratory from human and monkey embryonic stem cells. And we have learned to create these cells from ordinary somatic cells of an adult organism – from fibroblasts using direct reprogramming," he told the correspondent Infox.ru (in the press release of the Salk Institute New stem cell may overcome hurdles for regenerative medicine – VM) Dr. Jun Wu
In the second part of the experiment, scientists implanted a new type of stem cells into certain areas of a non-viable mouse embryo. Surprisingly, they took root and began to go through the stages of differentiation, as it usually happens during the development of the embryo. And then scientists began to observe their further transformations. Thus, their differentiation into cells of the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm layers occurred. From these layers, different tissues and organs develop in the embryo. At this stage, the bioengineers have completed the experiment, although, according to them, the process could have gone further.
"These cells (rsPSCs) represent a new type of stem cells that were found in a mouse embryo and also grown in the laboratory. As it turned out, when classifying stem cells, the time factor or the period of development of the organism is not the only one. It also plays a role where exactly these stem cells are located in the embryo. Understanding these two aspects is very important for creating functional mature cells of certain tissues in regenerative medicine," says Jun Wu.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru07.05.2015