Stem Cell Research Must Be Part of the Research Portfolio
Stem cells are currently the 800-pound gorilla in the corner of biomedical science. Considered by some as a threat to the sanctity of human life, hailed by others as its savior, and misunderstood by most, how can they help medicine in ways that do not offend the sensibilities of the people who could benefit from them?
Opening Up Possibilities
The recent relaxing of restrictions on embryonic stem cell research was due in large part to the 125 million Americans suffering from chronic and life-threatening diseases who might ultimately benefit from stem cell therapy.
Here at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, we see the devastating effects of spinal cord injuries and birth defects, leukemia, diabetes, heart disease and more in children. Embryonic stem (ES) cells have been used to cure many of these diseases in animal models, an important first step. The first clinical trial using ES cells in humans has recently been approved for treating spinal cord injury.
Why has using stem cells become such a hotly debated issue? Primarily, it is the way in which ES cells are derived. One egg fertilized in a test tube (it is about 4/1000 of an inch at this time) can be coaxed into becoming an embryonic stem cell line that grows indefinitely into trillions of cells in a Petri dish. ES cells are the biological equivalent of a blank sheet of paper and can become any cell type in the body; theoretically, they can be used to replace any cell, tissue, or organ that is damaged or destroyed by disease.
The current ES cell lines were obtained from a limited number of fertilized eggs donated with consent from in vitro fertilization clinics. If not used for research to improve human health, it is estimated that many of the more than 400,000 unused fertilized eggs stored in fertility clinics around the country would end up being discarded and destroyed as medical waste.
Exploring Alternatives
Adult stem (AS) cells are less controversial, but control of their “de-differentiation” and conversion into other cell types is still relatively poorly understood compared to ES cells, which have been studied in mice for more than thirty years. Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear that all organs even have AS cells. Adult stem cells from blood and skin have been well-studied, but their therapeutic use is generally restricted to blood and skin diseases. So from a practical point of view, we don’t know if AS cells will be able to cure the many diseases that afflict people.
One potential method around these issues currently being explored harvests and cultures cells from the patient, then introduces a cocktail of “pluripotency genes” into them, causing them to convert to an embryonic stem-cell-like state. These cells could be used to generate differentiated tissues that will not be rejected, since they are genetically identical. Before such methods become routine, we need to establish reproducible, safe methods to generate tissues that will grow and differentiate safely, without forming tumors, from both adult and embryonic stem cells.
The Work Must Continue
In this issue of Research Horizons, you will learn about the range of scientific and clinical exploration going on at Cincinnati Children’s with various types of stem cells, and what this exploration could mean for children and adults in the not too distant future.
This work, and work with stem cells being conducted in laboratories around the world, highlights the importance of supporting outstanding research rather than prohibiting it because of politics or lack of information.
Scientific research is a non-partisan endeavor. The scientific community in Cincinnati and elsewhere does not favor one type of stem
cell research over another. Like any wise investor, scientists believe that the best approach to improving human health is to have a diverse portfolio in all areas of stem cell research. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center support outstanding research guided by ethics. We know from history that this is the best way to improve human health.
