Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: September 7, 2009
Summary:
Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford’s School of Medicine. The fact that the cells can also be converted without the need for mouse-derived “feeder cells” may make them an ideal starting material for human therapies. Feeder cells are often used when growing human skin cells outside the body, but physicians worry that cross-species contamination could make them unsuitable for human use. The findings will be published online Sept. 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
