Source: San Jose Mercury News
Posted on Thu, Jun. 22, 2006
Summary:
STANFORD
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have coaxed embryonic stem cells in mice into becoming baby muscle cells called myocytes.
The researchers intend to use the cells to make blood vessels to potentially replace arteries damaged by cardiovascular disease. They placed the stem cells in a lifelike growth environment that caused them to turn into myocytes.
The stem cells, found in days-old human embryos are special because they are not yet committed to any specific function. With the right conditions, they can be induced to mature into a variety of cells.
Commentary: By creating a tissue-engineered blood vessel grown from a patient's own stem cells, scientists hope to reduce risk of rejection. Hopefully this experiment will eventually yield treatements for blood and heart disease in human, but also have implications for the overall field of stem cell research if the stem cells can be matched to patients' genetic make-up in order to avoid immune system rejection.
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