Researchers from Children's and the University of Pittsburgh in Dr. Huard's laboratory were able to expand post-natal stem cells to a population level comparable to that reached by researchers using embryonic stem cells. Previous research has found that embryonic stem cells could undergo more than 200 population doublings before the cells began to die. A population doubling is a method of measuring the age of a population of cells.
Bridget Deasy, PhD, a scientist in Dr. Huard's laboratory, was first author of the study. Dr. Deasy, a research assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discovered that a unique population of muscle-derived stem cells was able to undergo more than 200 population doublings, as well. These post-natal cells were able to undergo population doublings while maintaining their ability to regenerate muscle in an animal model, a key finding indicating that they could maintain their treatment potential.
This ability to self-replenish is significant because in order for stem cells to be used for treatment, a large quantity of the cells would be required.
[. . .]
There also may be important advantages to post-natal stem cells when it comes to autoimmunity, according to Dr. Huard, deputy director of the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine and associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The use of embryonic stem cells could be complicated by issues of rejection, with the recipient's immune system rejecting the foreign embryonic stem cells. With post-natal stem cells taken from the recipient and then reintroduced in an autologous manner, rejection would not be an issue.