Below is a summary of news coverage of the recent announcement by researchers at Stanford University Medical Center that adult stem cells from fat were converted to pluripotent stem cells:
Medical News Today, 09 September 2009 - 2:00 PDT: "Making Stem Cells From Liposuction Leftovers Is Easier Say Researchers":
Writing in a new study, US researchers said it was easier and just as safe to make stem cells from fat cells freshly isolated from patients, for instance from cells present in liposuction "leftovers", than it was to make them from skin cells as other studies have done recently. The study was the work of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California and was published online ahead of print on 8 September in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.
Scientific American, September 8, 2009: "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Created from Fat Cells":
The standard way to make induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for medical research is to scrape skin cells and mix up their internal clocks, coaxing them back into pluripotency over a matter of weeks. But now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have turned their attention to another cell type in abundant supply: fat cells. The team of cardiologists and plastic surgeons found adipose fat cells to be much more efficient than skin cells at turning back into stem cells.
Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2009: "Stem cell researchers uncover promise in fat":
That fat you've been carrying on your hips, thighs and belly can be transformed with relative ease into cells that eventually may be capable of repairing a wide range of your damaged or diseased tissues, according to a new report by Stanford University researchers. Stem cells found in fat deposits, it turns out, are more primitive than are many adult stem cells harvested from tissues such as skin and blood. With comparatively less effort than is required to make, for instance, a stem cell derived from skin return to an undifferentiated cell form, fat cells can be reprogrammed to become muscle, neuron and stomach lining cells, finds a new study slated for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Reuters, September 8, 2009, 6:48pm EDT: "Liposuction leftovers make easy stem cells: study":
Fat sucked out of chunky thighs or flabby bellies might provide an easy source of stem cells made using new and promising technology, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They found immature fat cells in the material removed during liposuction were easy to transform into cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. They were easier to work with than the skin cells usually used to make iPS cells, the team at Stanford University's School of Medicine in California reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. IPS cells are made using genes that take them back in time to a more immature and pliable state. They can then be re-directed to form heart cells, bone cells, brain cells or any other type of desired cell.
Nature, 7 September 2009: "Flab and freckles could advance stem cell research":
"Fat cells and pigment-producing skin cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells much faster and more efficiently than the skin cells that are usually used — suggesting large bellies and little black moles could provide much-needed material for deriving patient-specific stem cells."
San Jose Mercury News, September 7, 2009: "Stanford scientists turn liposuction leftovers into embryonic-like stem cells":
In medicine's version of winning the daily double, Stanford University researchers took ordinary fat cells and transformed them into what are effectively embryonic stem cells — those versatile cellular building blocks that can morph into a variety of tissues. Scientists warn it's too soon to use excess fat to cure disease. But in theory, it would allow people to grow personalized replacement parts for ailing organs. And it avoids the use of embryos, which has embroiled the field in political and ethical debates.
Bloomberg News, September 7, 2009: "Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin in Study":
Human fat, widely available and easily harvested with liposuction, morphed into stem cells more efficiently than skin cells in a study, giving scientists an alternative to the use of embryonic cells. Three years ago, Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University in Japan, showed that skin cells could be genetically manipulated to become any other cell type, much like embryonic stem cells. This process was hailed as avoiding the destruction of embryos and letting scientists create new therapies by making stem cells from patients who are ill.
Since then, researchers have sought to overcome two drawbacks to Yamanaka’s method. One is that the viruses and genes used to reprogram skin cells can trigger tumor growth. The second is that the process is inefficient, with less than 1 percent of skin cells becoming all-purpose cells. The new research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may solve the second problem.
