Pioneering work with human embryonic stem (hES) cells could speed up the development of new treatments for a range of degenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes according to Dr Stephen Minger of King’s College London, speaking today at the BA Festival of Science.
And with the world’s first centralised stem cell bank the UK is well placed to be a leading player in the field of human regenerative medicine.
Stem cells are cells awaiting instructions to develop into a specific type of cell, such as a heart or liver cell. The cell takes on one of these functions in a process called differentiation. If hES cells could be differentiated into suitable cell types, stem cells might be used in cell replacement therapies for degenerative diseases, or, for instance, to repopulate the heart following damage by a heart attack.
Said Dr Minger: “There is a significant shortage of high quality human ES cell lines and few research groups have experience in the growth and manipulation of these cells. So, it is essential for the development of human stem cell technology, and the larger goal of cellular replacement therapy for human disease, that additional human cell lines are generated.”
The team at King’s College London is one of only a handful of laboratories worldwide with the expertise to create high quality hES cell lines and since generating the UK’s first hES cell line last year they have produced another two new lines.
Working with the Assisted Conception Unit at King’s College London and with local ethical approval and under licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the group has been establishing high quality human ES cell lines from human embryos created during IVF treatment.