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Stem cell 'success' for sickle cell treatment
Skin cells may help to alleviate symptoms of sickle cell anaemia, according to research published in the online edition of Science.
By reprogramming skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells, researchers were able to 'dramatically improve' the symptoms of the blood disease in mice.
Such reprogramming of cells is exciting, scientists say, because it may offer a way to obtain custom-made stem cells without the ethical hurdles of using embryos.
The scientists behind the research say that mice were an especially good candidate for their tests because they display many of the same symptoms as humans with sickle cell anaemia. They report that, within a few weeks of introducing the cells into the mice, the new cells were producing mature blood cells.
Although the technique is not yet sufficiently advanced for human trials, the researchers say that the results are 'proof of principle' that the cells could treat human sickle cell disease in the future.
Jose Cibelli of Michigan State University said that the paper is an important step forward, but that a key next step for researchers would be to find reliable ways to differentiate cells into various useful types.
Category: Health
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