Source: The Scripps Research Institute
Date: January 30, 2011
Summary:
Scripps Research Institute scientists have converted adult skin cells directly into beating heart cells efficiently without having to first go through the laborious process of generating embryonic-like stem cells. The powerful general technology platform could lead to new treatments for a range of diseases and injuries involving cell loss or damage, such as heart disease, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease. The work was published January 30, 2011, in an advance, online issue of Nature Cell Biology..
The scientists decided to try to tweak the process by completely bypassing the reprogramming stage and going directly from one type of mature cell (a skin cell) to another (a heart cell). The team introduced the same four genes initially used to make iPS cells into adult skin fibroblast cells, but instead of letting the genes be continuously active in cells for several weeks, they switched off their activities just after a few days, long before the cells had turned into iPS cells. Once the four genes were switched off, the scientists gave a signal to the cells to make them turn into heart cells.
