Scientist Says Stem Cell Study in Mice Was Flawed

Five years ago, a groundbreaking University of Minnesota study found that a type of adult stem cell in mice could have as much potential to treat disease as those taken from embryos. The research made headlines around the world.

But now both the university and the lead scientist, Dr. Catherine Verfaillie, acknowledge that part of the study was flawed.

The university took the unusual step of conducting an inquiry into the 2002 study last summer after questions were raised by a British magazine, New Scientist, about some of the published data. The magazine disclosed the incident in an article published last week.

An expert panel convened by the university concluded that a process used to identify the cells was “significantly flawed, and that the interpretations based on these data, expressed in the manuscript, are potentially incorrect.”

Verfaillie, who has an international reputation in stem cell research, called the problem “an honest mistake” and said it did not affect the study’s conclusions about the potential of adult stem cells.

But the disclosure comes at a time of growing skepticism in the scientific community about the power of this kind of adult stem cell, in part because others have had only limited success replicating her study.

Verfaillie’s research was heralded by social conservatives who have pinned their hopes on adult stem cells as an alternative to using embryonic cells, which they oppose on moral grounds.

At the same time, Verfaillie’s work had cemented the reputation of the University of Minnesota as a major force in the world of stem cell research.

Verfaillie, 49, ran the university’s stem cell institute from 1999-2006 and now heads stem cell research at Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium, while remaining on the University of Minnesota faculty. “We believe we did everything appropriately,” said Tim Mulcahy, vice president of research at the university, who oversaw the inquiry. “From our perspective, this is now an issue for the scientific community.”

(c) 2007 Cincinnati Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.