Researchers from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have produced a robust new collection of disease-specific stem cell lines, all of which were developed using the new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technique. The new iPS lines, developed from skin and bone marrow cells of patients ranging in age from one month to 57-years old will be deposited in a new HSCI iPS Core laboratory being established at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and will be made available to researchers worldwide. The cell lines the researchers produced carry the genes or genetic components for 10 different diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease, Type I diabetes, Huntington’s Disease, Gaucher’s Disease, and two forms of Muscular Dystrophy. The researchers hope to add other disease-specific lines to the depository. This marks an important achievement and a very significant advance for patients suffering from degenerative diseases. The most immediate application of the disease-specific stem cells will be to reproduce human diseases in culture to explore their development in different tissues. The technique will even enable researchers to compare how the same disease varies among people, by generating disease-specific stem cell cultures from many individuals. These disease-specific iPS cells are invaluable tools that will allow to explore gene therapies for some conditions, and will aid in the development of drugs to slow or even stop the course of a number of diseases.



Références : Cell. 2008 Aug 6. [Epub ahead of print]