Wednesday, January 28, 2009

UConn develops stem cell lines

By Marc Songini

Scientists at the University of Connecticut are making two new lines of human embryonic stem cells available for research.

This week, UConn announced that its stem cell core laboratory staff had created these lines, called CT1 and CT2, which it claimed are younger than other lines currently available for research. The UConn researchers explained that new stem cell lines are necessary because genetic mutations and chromosomal abnormalities often occur and accumulate in cell lines cultured in Petri dishes over time. This can pose difficulties for researchers. 

The process of creating these lines involved obtaining human embryonic stem cells from blastocysts. These are embryos under a week old, and made up of clusters of 180 to 200 cells that are capable of forming into all of the body’s 220 cell types, including blood, bone and nerve tissue. Placed in a special mixture of nutrients, hormones and growth factors in lab Petri dishes, the cell clusters in the blastocysts were coaxed into growing into cell lines.

The new Connecticut cell lines were derived from unused fertility clinic embryos that had been donated for research with written consent from the patients. Once the proper approvals were in place, the UConn scientists were able to grow the cell colonies from the embryos in two weeks.

Scientists have long known that embryonic stem cells can become any type of cell in the body. Hypothetically, they could be used to replace cells damaged by injury or disease. However, under former President George W. Bush, federal money for research on human embryonic stem cells was limited to those lines created before August 9, 2001.