Scientists in the United States may have just found a way to bring stem cell-based therapies a step closer to reality. They have recently created a contaminant-free special surface on which adult-derived stem cells can multiply, and differentiate into multiple other cell types.
The main implication this study has is that doctors may soon gain access to a method of growing stem cells that would actually make these therapies a practical possibility. The team behind the work is based at the University of Michigan.
Using stem cells collected from mice, the team grew bone stem cells, and then implanted them in tiny holes they had drilled in the skull of the rodents (the mice were fine). The implants revealed bone growth at four times the rate researchers saw without the added stem cells.
“We turn back the clock, in a way. We're taking a specialized adult cell and genetically reprogramming it, so it behaves like a more primitive cell,” U-M School of Dentistry professor and chair of biological and materials sciences, Paul Krebsbach, explains.