Access to stem cells with diseases
2005/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Korean scientists have developed stem cells from patients with genetic diseases. They have cloned human cells, which are the skin cells of patients, and have created a line of cells with the same genetic information, including defects that cause the disease. The ultimate goal is for these cells to grow in the laboratory and follow the development of the disease. In this way, the causative factors of the disease are expected to be identified and understanding how the process occurs.
Last year, veterinarian Woo Suk Hwang and the team led by gynecologist Shin Yong Moon first achieved stem cell growth from cloned cells. This year the same team has managed to improve this technique. Each line of stem cells, in addition to being a mutation that produces a certain genetic disease, has significantly improved the effectiveness of cloning.
In principle, it is about replacing the nucleus of an egg, but this substitution is complex: it is about removing the egg to a woman, removing the nucleus to the egg and incorporating it into the cell that wants to be cloned, the patient's cell. In addition, the new bone obtained must grow in the laboratory, which makes the whole process very difficult. Therefore, not all eggs advance.
At last year's cloning, 242 eggs were needed to grow a single cell line, which means 242 sessions, which this year only needed 17. From the point of view of the cloning technique, it is a very important advance since the process of obtaining eggs is a very aggressive treatment for women.
