• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

University Stem Cell Teams Face Controversy

Posted on: Monday, 29 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 29--Scientists at the University of Minnesota are ready to take the next step in the controversial field of embryonic stem cell research, studying new cell lines through the destruction of human embryos.

Until now, research at the U has used existing cell lines, which came from embryos that were destroyed before August 2001. That is when President Bush tried to protect embryos by limiting federal funding to research using existing cell lines.

The university researchers believe such research provides limited returns, though, and they are planning to use private funding to derive new stem cell lines from embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization.

They hope to answer questions about human development and to create new treatments for diabetes, blood disorders and maybe even cancer. The research still presents ethical problems, because some religious groups and politicians oppose any research that destroys a human embryo.

Stem cells are often referred to as the body's master cells, producing countless other cells and tissues. Stem cells removed from embryos seem to have the greatest potential to develop into any type of cell found in the body.

Stem cells also are obtained for research from umbilical cord blood and adult bone marrow. While these sources are thought to be more limited, university researchers identified a more potent type of adult stem cell.

The discovery transformed the university into a world leader in adult stem cell research. Dr. Catherine Verfaillie, director of its Stem Cell Institute, recently reported that certain adult stem cells could re-create the entire blood system. And Dr. John Wagner, who is in charge of translating stem cell research into patient care, said clinical trials are less than a year away.

Opponents have hoped that such progress with adult stem cells would eventually discourage the demand for embryonic cells. But university researchers believe that both types of cells are needed and have been preparing for more than two years to break from Bush's limitations.

A new research facility opened this summer with separate labs to isolate privately funded research from federally funded projects. Accounting rules were established as well so researchers with federal and private funding could separate the costs of any of their projects involving new embryonic cell lines.

Some of the nation's brightest minds have been recruited for the embryonic stem cell research team. Dr. Dan Kaufman arrived three years ago from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where embryonic stem cells were first derived.

Meri Firpo came from California, where a supportive public recently voted to commit state tax money to embryonic stem cell research. Firpo moved into the new University of Minnesota facility last week, a final logistical hurdle before her new cell line research could commence.

In California, Firpo was the guardian of two of the federally approved cell lines, which have been in considerable demand ever since Bush's federal funding limits took effect. Firpo said those stem cell lines were created for the purpose of discovery and developed without some of the protections that would make them safe for medical treatment.

She said new cell lines can be made with more care and will be more likely to meet federal approval for clinical use in humans.

Firpo will soon start research with non-approved stem cell lines that she developed in California. She also plans to create new stem cell lines, though that will require approval from a research oversight board at the university.

Embryos are created in vitro for women struggling to get pregnant. Doctors select the best embryos for the process of in-vitro fertilization. The remainder are discarded, frozen for future attempts or donated to other infertile women or to research.

The university hasn't established an agreement with any infertility clinic that would provide embryos, but Firpo said there are opportunities. There are four in-vitro clinics in the Twin Cities and a business, Reprotech, that stores frozen embryos from clinics throughout the country.

Both Firpo and Kaufman intend to study stem cells from embryos with genetic abnormalities, with the hope of learning the biological origins of diseases. Kaufman said that is the "least ethically problematic" research, because the abnormal embryos they destroy would never be used in fertilization attempts.

Both researchers have ongoing projects involving federally approved stem cell lines, though they may eventually use new embryonic cell lines to study the same questions.

Firpo is trying to coax embryonic stem cells to produce a sustainable supply of beta cells, the insulin-regulating cells that are missing in diabetic patients. The discovery, at the least, would boost the limited amount of islet cells that are currently available through organ donation for transplant.

"We could potentially make unlimited numbers," she said.

Kaufman, likewise, is trying to use stem cells to mass-produce red blood cells and platelets. That would help alleviate the shortage of donated blood for surgeries and transfusions.

He also has coaxed stem cells to create "natural killer cells" that are normally found in the blood stream and are part of the human immune system. Lab tests have shown that they kill cancer cells, he said.

Politicians locally and nationally are divided on embryonic stem cell research. While Republicans are generally united against abortion, some key party members such as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., support using embryos to create new cell lines. Frist, who is a heart surgeon, announced earlier this summer that he will support legislation to overturn Bush's federal funding restrictions.

The Minnesota Legislature has debated embryonic stem cell research, but bills to support it or ban it have never reached the governor's desk.

Despite her breakthroughs with adult stem cells, Verfaillie said both adult and embryonic cell research should be done at the university. Often, she said, discoveries with embryonic cells provide answers for adult stem cell researchers, and vice versa.

-----

To see more of the Pioneer Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.twincities.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)

More News in this Category