Michael Smith, North American correspondent for MedPage Today, reports that, “for the first time, researchers have efficiently produced human embryonic stem cells, using a process similar to the one that produced the famous cloned sheep, Dolly.” Researchers created embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines using somatic cell nuclei and unfertilized human oocytes.
Smith writes “This is the first time that researchers have efficiently produced human embryonic stem cells”. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon and his colleagues, report that cells produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer appeared completely normal and have the potential to develop into a variety of other cell types.
Smith explained that in somatic cell nuclear transfer, the nucleus is taken from a donor cell and transferred to an oocyte, whose own nucleus has been removed. Larry Goldstein, Ph.D., director of the stem cell program at the University of California San Diego, called the process reported by Mitalipov and colleagues as being “stunningly efficient, ” requiring only a handful of oocytes. “What these researchers have cracked is a set of manipulations and conditions” that could lead to efficient production of ESCs, both for therapy and research, he added. Writing in the June 6 issue of Cell, Mitalipov stated that stem cell lines could be produced from as few as two human oocytes.
“Our finding offers new ways of generating stem cells for patients with dysfunctional or damaged tissues and organs, ” Mitalipov said in a statement. “Such stem cells can regenerate and replace those damaged cells and tissues and alleviate diseases that affect millions of people.”
