Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Date: July 28, 2009
Summary:
CHAMPAIGN, lll. – Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a way to directly convert spermatogonial stem cells, the precursors of sperm cells, into tissues of the prostate, skin and uterus. Their approach, described this month in the journal Stem Cells, may prove to be an effective alternative to the medical use of embryonic stem cells. The new method, co-developed by postdoctoral researcher Liz Simon takes advantage of the unusual interaction of two tissue types: the epithelium and the mesenchyme.
The hunt for alternatives to embryonic stem cells has led to some promising yet problematic approaches, some of which involve spermatagonial stem cells (SSCs). Researchers recently observed, for example, that SSCs grown in the laboratory will eventually give rise to a few cells that look and act like embryonic stem cells. This process can take months, however, and only a small percentage of the SSCs are converted into “embryonic stem-like” cells.
