Positivity: Stunning! Stem cells from adult cells
9 Mar 2009, 0542 hrs IST
It was ‘Eureka, we did it too’ for a core team of scientists at the well-equipped stem cell research centre, located in Bagayam in suburban Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. For the first time in India, the scientific team, which began work on generating iPS (induced Pluripotent Stem) cells from mice in October 2008, scored a success in February 2009.
Working in labs in the hexagonal building in the quiet mofussil town, scientists experimented with infection-free mice recently acquired from certified labs in the US. Cells extracted from mouse tail tips were grown in a tissue culture plate to obtain adult fibroblasts (cells of tissues that play a vital role in wound healing). The iPS cells appeared 12 to 14 days later and were tested for their embryonic stem cell-like characteristics. The results were more than satisfactory.
“The discovery that embryonic stem cells can be generated from adult cells, in other words, adult cells can be reprogrammed as embryonic stem cells, is considered to be the holy grail in stem cell biology,” pointed out Dr R V Shaji, heading the team researching iPS cells.
The iPS cells have two major applications. First, they can used to study mechanisms of disease or test drugs and secondly, they can be used to treat diseases without immunological rejection, which is a major problem with embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells taken from other human beings. …..
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