Washington, DC — Researchers announced May 29 that they had discovered the “master gene” in embryonic stem cells that is responsible for those cells' pluripotency — the unique ability to become any type of cell — a breakthrough that could eliminate the desire by some scientists for human embryos in stem cell research. This according to research published in a recent issue of the journal Cell.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan worked independently on mouse and human embryonic stem cells to determine which gene allows stem cells to remain “suspended in timeless youthfulness,” multiplying for years in laboratory dishes and having the potential to become any type of cell, according to the Post. Researchers have been trying to determine what makes embryonic stem cells unique because they believe that the cells' ability to transform into any type of cell could lead to treatments or cures for many degenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and paralysis.
The researchers studied a gene — that they later named “nanog” in reference to the mythological Celtic land of Tir Nan Og, whose residents remain youthful forever — that is active only in embryonic stem cells. To determine if nanog was the gene that controls embryonic stem cells' ability to become any type of cell, the scientists inserted copies of the human nanog gene into mouse embryonic stem cells and subjected the cells to conditions that normally force cells to become one type of tissue, according to the Post. However, nanog prevented the process that would have converted the cells into specialized tissue, suggesting that if the nanog gene in adult stem cells were “reawaken[ed],” the gene might reprogram the cells to allow them to function as embryonic stem cells.
James Thomson, the University of Wisconsin scientist who first isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998, said that the researchers' findings were “an important step” toward the possibility of reprogramming adult stem cells to allow regenerative properties similar to those in embryonic stem cells. But Thomson and other researchers said that such a possibility would “not be easy.”
Shinya Yamanaka, who led the Nara Institute team, said that the findings put scientists “close to the summit” of understanding how embryonic stem cells work but added that the researchers still do not completely understand how nanog is regulated. Yamanaka said that when scientists identify the signal that activates nanog, they will be “on the top of the ladder” in terms of understanding how to reprogram stem cells.
This reprogramming could allow scientists to avoid using human embryos in research. However, the researchers cautioned that the findings will not end the controversy immediately because research on human embryos will be “more important than ever for at least a little while” so that scientists can further study and understand nanog and its function.
Opponents of embryonic stem cell research said that further research on embryos is “unacceptable” no matter what the purpose, according to the Post.
Richard Doerflinger of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, “If the reason you want to transcend embryo research is that it's wrong, then it's wrong to work on them in order to get past them as well.” Opponents of embryonic stem cell research advocate research using adult stem cells.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email [email protected].)
