Scientists at a Taiwanese university have achieved a breakthrough in cell rejuvenation by injecting four genes into a mature cell, which resets the cell’s bio-clock to a state similar to fertilization, the team leader reported on Thursday.
The research team from National Central University and Cathay General Hospital has managed to induce fibroblast cells to split into pluripotent stem cells, which are similar to embryonic cells, Akon Higuchi of Central University’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering said.
The technique involves opening up the membrane of a mature cell so that it accepts four genes — Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc — which work like “a key to the source of life,” said Ling Qing-dong (凌慶東), director of the Cathay Medical Research Institute.
RESETTING THE CLOCK
Once the mature cell’s bio-clock has been reset by the genes, the cell becomes rejuvenated, reverting to the state of newly fertilized cell, Ling said.
The beauty of the technique is that there is an infinite supply of cells and the four genes do not have to be carried by viruses in order to alter the mature cells, he said.
“We are calling it a breakthrough because there is no danger of contamination by viruses,” Ling said. “Furthermore, we don’t have to use embryonic cells and therefore it will not invite ethics debates.”
However, Higuchi said his team has been able to achieve only a 0.3 percent to 1 percent success rate. This means that only three to 10 of every 1,000 mature cells were successfully converted into multi-purpose stem cells, he said, adding that improvement would be needed.
In spite of the low success rate, Chemical Review published the research report in its current online issue, saying the technique had good prospects.
The research team also reported that it has designed a method to quickly collect stem cells, a technique that it said may some day be used to help treat leukemia.
TEN TIMES FASTER
The method uses a cubic-structured, nanometer cell membrane that can filter and collect stem cells in a 10th of the usual time, Higuchi said.
The technique also helps speed the growth of cultured stem cells by at least six times the normal rate, he said.
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood are not in high supply and the faster they are collected, the more slowly they age, Cathay General Hospital vice president Hung Kun-lung (洪焜隆) said.
Therefore, Higuchi’s quick collection technique means the cells can multiply faster in culture and may one day help develop a cure for people suffering from leukemia and other diseases, he said.
Higuchi said he was working on another project to extract stem cells from fat tissues, a technique that he said would mature in about five years time.
By that time, “we might be able to induce stem cells to grow as myocardium or heart muscle cells, which would be beneficial to people with ischemic heart disease,” he said.
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