New stem cell tech may revolutionize treatments

NEW YORK: A simple lab treatment can turn ordinary cells from mice into stem cells, according to a surprising study that hints at a possible new way to grow tissue for treating illnesses like diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The feat is being hailed as a "game-changer" in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab.

Researchers in Boston and Japan exposed cells from spleens of newborn mice to a more acidic environment that they're used to. In lab tests, that turned them into stem cells, showing enough versatility to produce the tissues of a mouse embryo, for example.

Cells from skin, muscle, fat and other tissue of newborn mice appeared to go through the same change, which could be triggered by exposing cells to any of a variety of stressful situations, researchers said. Scientists hope to harness stem cells to replace defective tissue in a wide variety of diseases . By making stem cells from the patient, they can get around the problem of transplant rejection.

The new approach - provided it overcomes safety hurdles - could smash cost and technical barriers in stem-cell research, said independent commentators. "If it works in man, this could be the gamechanger that makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patient's own cells as starting material," said Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London.

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New stem cell tech may revolutionize treatments