Embryo stem cells have become blood

2001/09/04 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biologia
• Medikuntza

Human beings have in our body 220 types of cells and tissues, all of them stem cells. Stem cells are the original cells of living beings and become blood, muscles, and organs as the embryo develops.

Stem cells can be used for the regeneration of dead or damaged cells in the hope of curing certain diseases. A few months ago, stem cells were converted into heart and liver cells. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published yesterday in the journal Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences the conversion of stem cells into blood cells.

They have come the way from embryo stem cells and, of course, will receive criticism from the rivals of research conducted with embryos. But from a scientific point of view it seems to be an important step.

On the one hand, by mere knowledge, to begin to reflect on how the natural evolution of stem cells can be and on the other, by concrete applications. The head of the research, Dan Kaufman, has assured that these applications will not arrive tomorrow or tomorrow or tomorrow, and that they continue to have a multiannual investigation. However, he believes that they have taken a fundamental step.

This research may in the future be a way to cure blood and bone marrow cancers and, at a shorter distance, can bear fruit in blood transfusions. In fact, the cells obtained in the laboratory are precursors of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets; if they were produced in large quantities, they would be the perfect raw material for blood transfusions.

Research development

Kaufman's team has placed stem cells next to bone marrow and growth factors. In this way the stem cells were intended to become blood cells and they succeeded. In the former, stem cells gave hematopoietic cells, precursors of blood cells and bone marrow. Subsequently, hematopoietic cells gave white, red, and platelet blood cells.