With this development, scientists will be able to substitute retroviruses and genes used in laboratory experiments to stimulate pluripotency in adult cells. This procedure will eliminate the risks posed to humans by the DNA-based methods and would make the prospective stem cell-based therapies safer.
The findings of the study were reported in the on-line edition of the journal "Nature Biotechnology" on Sunday. The print edition of the same shall be available in the May 9 issue.
“Using small molecules such as microRNAs to manipulate cells will play a major role in the future of stem cell biology," says senior author Robert Blelloch, of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF.
The aim of Blelloch and his contemporaries is to replace all transcription factors with microRNAs. To be successful in their endeavor, they are conducting trials that will divulge the means by which these petite molecules are able to stimulate pluripotency.
Scientists are showing major interest in reprogramming as it would provide a genetic match for individual patients by creating cells. Such cells would then not be rejected by the human body and hence would make transplants successful.
Blelloch said of the MicroRNAs, “These are transient, non-coding molecules that do not incorporate into the genome, but promote self-replication and have the potential to induce pluripotency. They do their thing: turn a somatic cell into an embryonic stem cell-like one and then they're gone. MicroRNAs give us a new tool to manipulate the fate of cells.”
The next step forward is to make sure that the induced pluripotent stem cells are safe. Only then can they be used to fix the damaged tissue and take care of diseases.
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