Published on September 15, 2012 at 5:26 AM
This week in the journal Scientific
Reports (Nature Publishing Group), scientists from Allele
Biotechnology describe an important advance in the generation of stem
cells capable of producing all the different tissues of the human body.
In an article entitled "Feeder-Free Derivation of Human Induced
Pluripotent Stem Cells with Messenger RNA," Allele's scientists present
the fastest and safest method yet for converting ordinary human skin
cells into "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPSCs).
The scientific efforts were led by Dr. Luigi Warren, whose pioneering
work on "footprint-free" reprogramming using messenger RNA was the
foundation for Allele's breakthrough. Through the united efforts of Dr.
Warren and the scientists at Allele Biotechnology, his technique was
re-engineered to increase cell conversion efficiency and eliminate any
use of potentially unsafe reagents, while substantially reducing the
time and effort needed to make stem cells. Dr. Warren believes that
because of its advantages this technology "should become the method of
choice for iPSC cell banking."
According to Dr. Jiwu Wang, corresponding author on the paper and CEO of
Allele Biotechnology, "This advance in stem cell derivation will enable
both fundamental scientific research and clinical applications which has
been the mission of Allele Biotechnology from its inception."
Source: Allele Biotechnology