Cord Blood Produces Embryonic-Like Stem Cells
Liz Townsend

Using umbilical cord blood, researchers in Texas and Britain have produced embryonic-like cells that can transform into cells from different parts of the body. Derived without harming a human being, these versatile cells could potentially be used to treat conditions that some had insisted could only be helped by killing embryos for their stem cells.

The scientists, working together in a trans-Atlantic study, published their findings in the August issue of Cell Proliferation. They developed techniques to remove mature cells from umbilical cord blood, isolating a few cells called cord blood-derived embryonic-like cells (CBEs), according to the Houston Chronicle.

They then used a bioreactor, a device originally developed for NASA to simulate weightlessness, to multiply the CBEs 168-fold, the Chronicle reported. The cells then began to differentiate. The researchers have been able to grow liver, brain, and pancreatic cells so far.

“We’re not sure why these stem cells exist in umbilical cord blood, or whether they circulate in everyone,” Dr. Randall Urban, research team member and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston endocrinologist, told the Chronicle. “We just know this is the first time they’ve been shown to possess characteristics identical to embryonic stem cells.”

Proponents of embryonic stem cell research have long contended that those cells are necessary because they can mutate into many different types of tissue. Opponents, however, object to such research on several grounds, insisting that killing embryos for their cells is immoral, that there have been no successful treatments developed for any disease, that there are alternatives, and that the cells themselves are difficult to control, often causing tumor growth and other complications.

“Acquiring stem cells from embryos also has major limitations because it is difficult to obtain enough cells to transplant as well as getting the right tissue type for the patient,” team member Dr. Colin McGuckin of Kingston University in Britain said in a University of Texas press release. “Using cord blood gets over that obstacle because we can produce more stem cells and, with a global birth rate of 100 million babies a year, there is a better chance of getting the right tissue type for the many patients out there waiting for stem cell therapy. There is also far less likelihood of such cells being rejected when they are transplanted into people with liver disease, for example.”

Research will continue into CBEs to learn more about issues such as the cells’ life span and how they function, the Washington Times reported.