rejuvenate cells
The IPSC are not embryonic stem nor adult stem cells, but are accessible through the reprogramming of mature cells, which under suitable manipulations regress back undifferentiated. Currently a dozen cell types (including the skin ) were reprogrammed to turn them into stem . To get the
IPSC scientists first identified those genes that are active in pluripotent cells and not that different. Of these genes (approximately twenty) have been then selected four that were the fundamental ones for reprogramming.
The development of this technology has primarily had implications at the conceptual level: it was actually disproved the belief that, once differentiated, a cell can no longer go back to the stage of immature stem. In addition to this the induced stem have also opened new possibilities of treatment and have resolved, at least in theory, many of the issues related to the application of therapeutic stem "classic."
What are the advantages of stem cells induced cells compared to typical embryonic or adult stem cells? First of all the ethical problems that often limit scientists working with cells embryonic stem cells are no longer with IPSC, and this is no small thing. The stem induced may in fact be phenotypically similar to pluripotent stem cells from embryos, but in fact they are not embryonic, that were not generated by an event of fertilization. This feature makes them virtually immune from ethical or religious discussions, which in our country have a particularly high weight. The IPSC cells are "whatever", which were differentiated, and that simply have been rescheduled to return stem. In short, try to recognize the dignity of "individual" to stem induced (as is done with the embryos) would be strong enough.
addition to the ethical problems with the IPSC were also resolved some technical difficulties. Getting IPSC is a simpler process at the technical level of what passes through cloning to obtain stem embryos.
However, the use of stem induced is still immature and needs improvements before it can be exploited through practical applications. The difficulties, in fact, have not yet been completely overcome. Although IPSC displayed very similar to pluripotent stem normal and express different markers of pluripotency, they can not always behave truly pluripotent cells. Research is therefore currently focused on developing effective methods to identify and select stem cells induced able to work well from the others. Change of identity
While there trying to solve problems related to the use of the IPSC , there are other parallel developments that are in the field of control of cell differentiation. Scientists announce that they have already gone beyond the technology. Recently, in fact, the journal Nature published an article in which some researchers describe how they managed to overcome the concept of stem cell induced blood obtaining cells from dermal fibroblasts without going through the stage of stem cell. With IPSC had already understood that a differentiated cell can retrace your steps and give up the identity that had acquired, making stem and then eventually differentiate into other tissue types. Thanks to this new study we now know that the stage of stem cell can be bypassed, and a fabric can be induced to be converted to another directly.
Researchers at McMaster University who led this study are therefore able to change the identity of the cells of the skin in the blood cells. This was achieved by inducing the expression of transcription factors that are usually active during hematopoiesis, and thanks to the stimulation with some cytokines. This has led to the first generation of cells expressing the leukocyte marker CD45, and then to the various cells of the leukocyte and erythrocyte. The important thing is that all this was obtained by activation of the mechanisms of adult hematopoiesis, and not those of undifferentiated embryonic cells.
will have to pass some time before we can have therapeutic and practical application of these new advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of cell differentiation. Both IPSC that technologies that allow the direct exchange of cell identity are yet to refine and optimize. These results, however, abound more and more convinced that the development of biotechnology will be similar to the base of the medicine of tomorrow. The ethical issues arising from the use of stem cells embryonic definitely will one day be bypassed, and treatment of many diseases can be easier, more effective and perhaps cheaper.
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