Potential seen in adult stem cells
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australian scientists have found that stem cells taken from adults could have the same life-saving potential as those taken from embryos, a discovery that could potentially end the contentious debate over embryonic research.
The results from the four-year project, at Australia's Griffith University in Queensland, show that adult stem cells harvested from the nose can be grown into virtually any kind of cell in the human body.
Until now it has been thought that adult stem cells could only develop into different cell types of their own tissue, unlike embryonic stem cells which can turn into any body cell type.
Griffith University researcher Professor Alan Mackay-Sim said the study showed that olfactory stem cells could develop into heart cells, liver cells, kidney cells, muscle cells, brain cells and nerve cells. In addition the olfactory stem cells did not have the problems of rejection or forming tumors as is common with embryonic stem cells.
"Our experiments have shown adult stem cells isolated from the olfactory mucosa have the ability to develop into many different cell types if they are given the right chemical or cellular environment, Professor Mackay-Sim said, in research published on the Internet.
"These adult olfactory stem cells appear to have the same ability as embryonic stem cells in giving rise to many different cell types but have the advantage that they can be obtained from all individuals, even older people who might be most in need of stem cell therapies. Stem cells obtained and transplanted into the same person would not be rejected by the immune system," he said.
Professor Mackay-Sim said olfactory stem cells can be taken from small pieces of tissue taken from the nose under local anaesthetic, and are relatively easy to grow and multiply in the lab.
"We can multiply them from small samples into millions of cells and these cells can then be directed to turn into different types of cells. These attributes make them good candidates for cell transplantation therapies and tissue reconstruction," Professor Mackay-Sim said.
"Their other big advantage over embryonic stem cells is their potential for autologous therapies in which a patient's own cells are removed from the nose, grown and multiplied in a dish and transplanted back into the same patient which overcomes the issue of immune rejection or related immune-suppressing drug therapies," he said.
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, told The Australian newspaper that the research could provide a possible solution to the moral debate over embryonic research and said he would refer it to the Vatican.
The Catholic Church provided Aust. $50,000 ($39,000) in funding for the Griffith University project.
