Millions of specialized cells in a couple of days
Researchers at the Sanger Institute, together with colleagues from the University of Cambridge, have developed a technology that simplifies the production of human brain and muscle cells from stem cells and reduces this process to several days.
Human pluripotent stem cells have the ability to form almost any tissue of the body. They have a huge potential for studying the development of the human body, as well as the impact on it of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and diseases of the cardiovascular system.
It takes 9-12 months for a human brain cell to fully develop and mature. The process of obtaining human brain cells – gray matter (neurons) and white matter (oligodendrocytes) – from induced pluripotent stem cells using modern methods can take from 3 to 20 weeks. However, these methods are very complex, time-consuming and often lead to a mixed population of cells.
The new OPTi-OX technology platform proposed by the authors optimizes the process of gene activation in human stem cells by selectively activating certain transcription factors. Overexpression of these factors ensures direct differentiation of stem cells into the desired cells, skipping the development and maturation phase and ensuring that the desired cell population is obtained within just a few days.
Figure from an article in Stem Cell Reports
With the help of OPTi-OX technology (from the English OPTimized inducible OvereXpression – optimized induced overexpression), researchers managed to obtain millions of almost identical cells within a few days. In addition to the neurons, oligodendrocytes and muscle cells obtained as part of the study, the OPTi-OX platform can be used to obtain populations of any cells characterized by unprecedented purity in the shortest possible time.
The researchers note that obtaining specific cell types from pluripotent stem cells will provide huge opportunities for studying human diseases in the laboratory, screening potential drugs, as well as cell therapy. The neurons obtained with the help of the new technology are already being used to study the mechanisms of development and functioning of the brain.
Article by Matthias Pawlowski et al. Inducible and deterministic forward programming of human pluripotent stem cells is published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute: New stem cell method produces millions of human brain and muscle cells in days.
03.04.2017