Stem cells, cloning, and Regenerative Medicine: An evening with Dr Ian Wilmut

On the 350^th anniversary, of the foundation of the Royal Society of Science, I eagerly awaited to hear from the innovator of nuclear transfer and cloning, Dr. Ian Wilmut-only perhaps surpassed in fame by his creation, Dolly the sheep. I could not have anticipated what the evening would uncover; the ground-breaking era in stem cell research that we now enter, with the advent of Induced Pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs possess the potential to affect an array of fields ranging from drug testing and safety to regenerative medicine. So, what are these novel cells and how do they link to Dolly’s creation in 1996?

iPSCs are differentiated adult cells that have been reprogrammed to become stem cells once more. Consequently they can be used in research without the ethical issues associated with their embryonic counterpart. No longer science fiction, but very much a real possibility these cells are able to self-renew, as well as give rise to every single cell type and tissue. For years stem cells have captured medical interest in order to understand development, mechanism of inherited diseases, drug action, as well as potentially create entire organs/therapeutic cells, for degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Prior to iPSCs, this was achieved by harvesting stem cells from embryos created by nuclear transfer, where a nucleus from patients skin cell would have been inserted in to an egg cell devoid of own nucleus. The very same method that allowed Dolly to enter existence. Dr Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University’s, pioneering work with iPSCs hence comes very much as an aftermath of Dolly and the insight gained. Dr.Wilmut speaking at the Royal Society stated “what we have found is that basic research….can lead to unexpected results and surprising benefits over a period of time”. There is undoubtedly a sense within the scientific community of two periods; “Before Dolly” and “After Dolly”, with the latter continuing to be productive.

However iPSCs do have limitations-using viruses to reprogram cells poses risk of tumour development. Although safer methods of reprogramming have been discovered, efficiency tends to be much lower. It is important to note embryonic stem cells are the only cells capable of forming an entire organism, and much remains still unknown about both forms of stem cell, with the former continuing to prompt thought. Thus it would be both unwise and untimely to dismiss embryonic stem cells/ nuclear transfer as out-dated.

Many uses for iPSCs have been proposed and are already under away. One venture involves testing drug action on iPSCs derived cells (cardiac, liver, nerves) to better screen for unexpected side effects. Others projects include: introducing iPSCs with defective genes in to mouse embryos in order study mechanism of degenerative disease, bio-artificial liver construction ,and treatment of blood disorders such as Thalassemia via converting skin cells to iPSCs ,before  correcting DNA and reprogramming them to blood cells that can later be then transfused to extend life. Whilst medical advancement in treating infectious diseases such polio and whooping cough have significantly improved over the last 200 years, what we “can now look forward to is a period when we will be learning more about degenerative diseases , and bringing forward the first effective treatments”.

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