Adult Stem Cells Completely Cure Sickle Cell Patient

CBSNews.com ^ | 11/28/01 | Carol Marin

[Nebullis]

How are stem cells from cord blood "adult stem cells"?

It means that, unlike embryonic stem cells, they are no longer totipotent. They can no longer differentiate into all the different cell types. Some of these cells are fully differentiated, while some are pluripotent, which means they still have the ability to differentiate into certain types of cells.

If we uncover the genetic "switches" which can turn a pluripotent stem cell into one of it's coded destinies, we may simultaneously uncover the genetics for turning fully differentiated adult cells into different cell lineages.

[aruanan]

If we uncover the genetic "switches" which can turn a pluripotent stem cell into one of it's coded destinies, we may simultaneously uncover the genetics for turning fully differentiated adult cells into different cell lineages.

Well, you can cause certain fully differentiated cells to de-differentiate and become transformed cells by disrupting their contact with the ECM via various CAMs.

[Nebullis]

Epithelial to mesenchymal transformation? Are these lines able to redifferentiate into different lineages?

[Nebullis]

These cadherins are certainly candidate switches. I'm convinced that it won't be long before fully differentiated adult stem cells can be switched to embryonic states, eliminating the "need" for embryonic stem cells.

[Tribune7]

pro-life bump

[twinzmommy]

You're not getting my point. Oftentimes when the cord is allowed to completely finish "pulsing" and all of the blood from the cord/placenta/mom is allowed to drain into the baby, we're talking minutes, not seconds. What nutrients carried in the blood are being missed by the Docs in the hospital cutting the cord so quickly?

I don't presume to know anything about what's in the blood -- but that cord is connecting the baby to the mom and that's where all it's nutrition has come from the previous nine months. I do presume to believe that anything extra the baby can get coming into this world is a good thing. I can see that cord blood banking can benefit the people who are older/already alive/whatever, but is anyone stopping to think of what the BABY is being deprived of.

But then, I would be a breastfeeding advocate as well.

Birthrights. Every baby has them.

twinzmommy

[Nebullis]

Think of the volume of blood contained in the placenta.

[realpatriot71]

Basically, there isn't anything in the blood of the cord that already isn't in the blood of the baby. There could be, perhaps, specials cells in the cord itself, but there is no physiological explanation for the extra blood in the cord being special in anyway, for the baby itself.

Breast feeding is great for a baby, but if the kid actually gets old enough to verbally ask for it, stop.

[realpatriot71]

Well, you weren't all wrong. If the blood types were not compatible he would have probably died. We can only guess that since he's alive the blood types were compatible.

[realpatriot71]

I don't think the problem here is with surface proteins, but rather with gene switches in the DNA. Already differentiated cells type nuclei are unable to bring about the complete formation of an organism after insertion into a zygote, at this point. What I think science needs to find is a way to play with the gene switches.

[VOA]

I saw the segment on Sixty Minutes II on Wednesday about this story.
If replicable, this is BIG news.

[realpatriot71]

Since you see no problem with setting asunder that which God has joined together, nothing I can say will make a difference

Well thats a dodge if I ever saw one. So much for discussion and debate. If you cannot support you position with reasonable arguments, then don't post. You are not going to always get blanket agreement from everyone.

[anniegetyourgun]

Your argument is not with me at this point....it's with God.

[anniegetyourgun]

You'll love this.

[anniegetyourgun]

Excuse me, I mean THIS.

[Nebullis]

I don't think the problem here is with surface proteins, but rather with gene switches in the DNA.

Good point. But it turns out that many of these genetic switches are controlled by surface proteins which are activated by changes in the extracellular environment.

[realpatriot71]

Your argument is not with me at this point....it's with God.

Again, nice dodge. Me and God are just fine. If you do not want to discuss when "human" life begins, then fine. However, I do not support the harvesting of aborted organs, nor do I support abortion after the 1st trimester. You should not assume what you do not know.

Good day

[aruanan]

a. Epithelial to mesenchymal transformation? Are these lines able to redifferentiate into different lineages?

b. These cadherins are certainly candidate switches. I'm convinced that it won't be long before fully differentiated adult stem cells can be switched to embryonic states, eliminating the "need" for embryonic stem cells.

a. I'm not sure. This was in a paper I read while researching my own thesis. I know that they didn't redifferentiate into different lineages. When they lost contact, they dedifferentiated. When they were induced to reestablish contact with the ECM (it may have been via cadherins), they regained their normal appearance and behavior. I was interested in this because of the possibility of cytoskeletal connection between those CAMs and the nucleus. There was some other paper that showed a mechanical connection via cytoskeleton that went all the way from the CAM to the nuclear membrane and from there through the nuclear cytoskeleton to the DNA or at least to the chromosomes, so that if a bead attached to the CAM was tugged, it would perturb the chromosomes.

b. This fits in well with the growing realization that CAMs do far more than serve as bolts to hold cells together, especially since many of them, the cadherins in particular, function in conjunction with various growth factor receptors. I like the idea that at least some of the signaling for gene expression is not through diffusing factors but through actual mechanical interactions with the particular gene. This, combined with known transcription factors, could really add to the complexity and make for even greater degrees of control in gene expression.

[cake_crumb]

Thanks for the suggestion that we FReep CBS. Just did it.

BUMP for umbilical chord stem cell funding.

[Nebullis]

I was interested in this because of the possibility of cytoskeletal connection between those CAMs and the nucleus.

Cool! I've had a long-standing interest in the role of cytosketal genes in oncogenesis.