A new method could yield effective treatments for a host of diseases
Posted 11.08.2010 at 12:22 pm
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Blood Cells
From right to left, a red blood cell, a platelet and a white blood cell.
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Canadian researchers have turned skin cells into blood cells, a breakthrough that could lead to new cancer therapies while avoiding the controversial use of stem cells.
With the new technique, people who need blood for surgery, cancer treatment or other conditions could have a ready supply of their own blood, made from a patch of skin. Clinical trials could begin as soon as 2012, according to McMaster University in Ontario.
During a two-year study, researchers took skin cells from adults and newborns to prove that it works with skin cells of any age. They added a gene called OCT4 and a group of proteins known as blood transcription factors. Depending on the protein mix, the skin cells became various blood cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Scientists have already shown that skin cells can be converted into pluripotent stem cells, which can then become any type of cell in the body. But this research is the first to show that skin cells can be directly converted into blood cells without becoming stem cells first. It is faster, safer and easier to do, and avoids the problems associated with stem cell research. It is also the first study to produce adult blood cells, unlike other research that works with embryonic stem cells.
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Science, Rebecca Boyle, blood, blood platelets, blood transfusions, cancer, red blood cells, stem cellsOther researchers hailed the study, published in the journal Nature, as a breakthrough for patients with cancer, anemia and other blood disorders, and for anyone interested in hematology. Producing blood from a patient’s own skin cells could make bone marrow transplants — and the difficulty of finding matching donors — a thing of the past, according to Alain Beaudet, president of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, which funded the study.
The team is working on methods to produce large quantities of blood by growing skin cells in a lab before converting them into blood cells, according to the Guardian. Eventually, the scientists will freeze and thaw the blood to see how it holds up in cold storage.
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This is interesting. I just have one question: they're obviously using the transcription factors to transcribe the gene they added, but how exactly are they suppressing the already-present genes that dictate skin cell development?
I just get the feeling that, like many articles on PopSci, this one reports the interesting part of the research without mentioning the less-interesting-but-still-very-important parts.
-IMP ;) :)
When I read this for some reason I thought of a sci-fi, horror movie scenario with this. Imagine a militarized version that's sprayed across a battlefield, enemy soldiers' skin just starts melting off as it turns to blood. Or it's used against a large city by a terrorist group.
Pretty gruesome and not usually my first train of thought but it just crossed my mind.
I'm always amazed at the new discoveries that are reported on this site....its just that I hardly ever hear anything about them later on...
The goal for a lot of research done in universities is to publish a paper. Once the paper is published then that's it, the end of the road. That's why you don't hear a lot of these great things discovered put into practice.
true but sometimes when things add up like if this turned into a simple enough process the government or an external entrepreneur would start up a business with the idea. That would require all of the parts of the process to be stable enough and cheap enough to make money off it
it was in the news yesturday, they said they could already convert skin cell to blood cell, but that it took a few months to do, and what they did was to cut down on the time needed to a few weeks instead of a few months. Its not a completly new discovery like this article pretends it is, just a new way that makes it faster and cheaper...
I was wondering how much blood does a skin cell net? Doesn't sound like they can produce great amounts of blood from this yet. I don't think I would bank on this in an emergency situation.
awesome! this is going to be a game changer for medicine
Just one more thing to add to Canada's list of medical accomplishments
GO CANADA GO
This is so awesome! Think of the possiblities! :D
@IceMetalPunk I'm studying the expression of genes and how that has to do with aging. I think they're methylating the genes that dictate skin cell development. Maybe using a repressor that attaches to the promoter sequences of the genes.
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