Studies on ESC Programming

Studies on ESC Programming
A press release from the journal Cell reports on two articles in the forthcoming issue which study the genetic programming of embryonic stem cells. Both research teams identified mechanisms which help embryonic stem cells to retain the pluripotency instead of differentiating into a specific type of cell.

One group found that one member of the Polycomb protein group, which is known to silence gene activity, is distributed across 200 special genes in embryonic stem cells. It apparently represses the gene activity which would lead to cellular development. The research also found that histone proteins, which are involved in gene regulation, also occupied the developmental genes. The researchers also found that the genes silenced by the Polycomb protein included three transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, and nanog) which had previously been found to be key in regulating pluripotency.

The second group discovered a new chromatin structure which had both activating and repressing characteristics in the embryonic cell; in a differentiated cell, it is either fully “on” or fully “off.” The in-between status of the chromatin in the embryonic stem cell apparently allows it to turn on quickly as needed. (The chromatin is part of the nucleus of a cell and consists of DNA and proteins.)

Both studies seem pretty interesting.

Proposed California Bill Fight Turns Ugly

Proposed California Bill Fight Turns Ugly

The Sacramento Bee reported that AIDS activist Jeff Sheehy, who is a member of the oversight committees of the CIRM, says he feels intimidated and betrayed by State Senator Deborah Ortiz because he testified in the Senate against SB 401, a bill sponsored by Ortiz, which “seeks to put an initiative on the November ballot to open up more meetings of stem cell working groups and to require a minimum of royalties from taxpayer-funded stem cell research be returned to the state.” Sheehy says he was urged not to testify and that Ortiz attempted to remove him from the oversight committee—Ortiz denies it. She did say that he acted inappropriately after the bill was passed and told her it had become “personal,” threatening to campaign against her in her run for Secretary of State.

I don’t know why Sheehy testified against the bill or what his feelings are on the subject. Ortiz has been in the front of discussions about the state getting its cut of royalty money and the CIRM not being too closed. I’m not going to speculate on who is telling the truth or what anyone’s motives are. But it’s a shame that people who are proponents of stem cell research can’t mediate their battles privately and work toward consensus—they have plenty of other obstacles already.

Missouri May Fund Adult Stem Cell Research

Missouri May Fund Adult Stem Cell Research

An AP story that appeared in the Belleville News-Democrat reports that a bill which would allocate some of the money coming to the state from tobacco companies to adult stem cell research received first round approval in the state House yesterday. A 2003 law required that 25 % of the state tobacco money go toward life sciences research; the $38.5 million in the fund is presently untouched because of concern by some law makers that it might go toward embryonic stem cell research if the proposed ballot initiative passes in November.

This is all very preliminary, so we’ll see what happens.

A Bit on Neural Cells

A Bit on Neural Cells

The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a one-day Stem Cell Symposium yesterday, and the Wisconsin State Journal had an article about neural stem cells. One researcher reported that he has coaxed embryonic stem cells to differentiate into neural cells in culture, and that they acquired a rosette structure, similar to a neural tube, at the same age that neural tubes would begin to develop in a fetus. Other researchers are doing experiments with stem cells that develop into oligodendryocytes, the brain cells that produce myelin. The article said that research on neural cells is relatively slow because big drug companies are wary of the stem cell controversy.

The Stem Cell Symposium abstracts can be found at http://www.btci.org/stemcell/abstracts06.html. There were some other interesting sounding lectures on stem cells, with topics including ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), aging and cancer, and fetal neural stem cells.

A Bioethics Forum is occurring today and tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.

US Biotech Company Moves to Costa Rica

US Biotech Company Moves to Costa Rica

The Arizona Republic had an article today about a Scottsdale based company that is setting up shop in Costa Rica to provide stem cell treatments for stroke and cerebral palsy. It will also do research on using umbilical cord stem cells to treat cancer. The founder of the company has a history of studying non-conventional methods of treating cancer. The company already has a waiting list of 200 patients. The licensing requirements for treating people are much less stringent in Costa Rica than they are in the U.S.

The article is in the business section of the newspaper. I note that no one except the company founder is quoted—there are no comments from other stem cell researchers on the viability of the work, the science, or the legal issues. It seems like it’s often easier to obtain licenses to do research on people in countries where poverty is endemic. I hope that this company abides by the same rigorous standards of care that they would in the United States and is scrupulous about its informed consent practices for all its patients, regardless of where they come from. The science, if conducted in an appropriate lab with good equipment and standards, can be fine, but I would be wary of any miracle cure claims for treatments.

This, by the way, is not a slap at the Costa Rican people or government—I know very little about either. It is just a reminder that the FDA exists for a reason. Like any agency, it can be hidebound and bureaucratic—but it also provides a reasonable certainty of safety with new therapies.