Source: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Date: 1 April 2011
Summary:
Research being presented at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual science conference provides another piece in the puzzle of why it can be so hard to produce large numbers of the same type of cell in the lab -- a process that is vital for scaling up stem cell production for therapeutic use. This knowledge will help researchers to develop strategies for obtaining the desired cell type for use in either research or medicine.
The work will be presented by Dr Robert Kelsh from the University of Bath and was funded in part by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). It shows for the first time that a gene called Sox10 coordinates a vital part of healthy development: once a stem cell has committed to becoming a neuron it sends out a signal telling surrounding cells to become something else -- a characteristic that certainly hinders making pure samples of these cells for therapies.
