Source: Boston University
Date: October 28, 2010
Summary:
(Boston) A team of researchers from Boston University’s Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Pulmonary Center have generated 100 new lines of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from individuals with lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis and emphysema. The new stem cell lines could possibly lead to new treatments for these debilitating diseases. The findings, which appear in the current issue of Stem Cells, demonstrate the first time lung disease-specific iPSC have been created in a lab.
iPSCs are derived by reprogramming adult cells into a primitive stem cell state. This process results in the creation of cells that are similar to embryonic stem cells in terms of their capability to differentiate into different types of cells, including endoderm cells that can give rise to liver and lung tissue.
The study involved patients with different forms of lung disease – cystic fibrosis, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency-related emphysema, scleroderma (SSc) and sickle cell disease. The patients underwent skin biopsies and donated tissue samples, which the research team used to cultivate adult stem cells. Using a Boston University-patented vector in the form of a virus, named the Stem Cell Cassette (STEMCCA), the researchers were able to reprogram the skin cells into the primitive pluripotent stem cells known as iPSCs.
