UK, Japan scientists win Nobel for adult stem cell discovery

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scientists from Britain and Japan shared a Nobel Prize on Monday for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like stem cells that may one day regrow tissue in damaged brains, hearts or other organs. John Gurdon, 79, of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain and Shinya Yamanaka, 50, of Kyoto University in Japan, discovered ways to create tissue that would act like embryonic cells, without the need to collect the cells from embryos. They share the $1.2 million Nobel Prize for Medicine, for work Gurdon began 50 years ago and Yamanaka capped with a 2006 experiment that transformed the field of "regenerative medicine" - the search for ways to cure disease by growing healthy tissue. "These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and specialization of cells," the Nobel Assembly at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute said. All of the body starts as stem cells, before developing into tissue like skin, blood, nerves, muscle and bone. The big hope is that stem cells can grow to replace damaged tissue in cases from spinal cord injuries to Parkinson's disease. Scientists once thought it was impossible to turn adult tissue back into stem cells. That meant new stem cells could only be created by taking them from embryos, which raised ethical objections that led to research bans in some countries. As far back as 1962 Gurdon became the first scientist to clone an animal, making a healthy tadpole from the egg of a frog with DNA from another tadpole's intestinal cell. That showed that developed cells carry the information to make every cell in the body - decades before other scientists made world headlines by cloning the first mammal from adult DNA, Dolly the sheep. More than 40 years later, Yamanaka produced mouse stem cells from adult mouse skin cells by inserting a small number of genes. His breakthrough effectively showed that the development that takes place in adult tissue could be reversed, turning adult tissue back into cells that behave like embryos. Stem cells created from adult tissue are known as "induced pluripotency stem cells", or iPS cells. Because patients may one day be treated with stem cells from their own tissue, their bodies might be less likely to reject them. "The eventual aim is to provide replacement cells of all kinds," Gurdon's institute explains on its website. "We would like to be able to find a way of obtaining spare heart or brain cells from skin or blood cells. The important point is that the replacement cells need to be from the same individual, to avoid problems of rejection and hence of the need for immunosuppression." In just six years, Yamanaka's paper has already been cited more than 4,000 times in other scientists' work. In a news conference in Japan, he thanked his team of young researchers: "My joy is very great. But I feel a grave sense of responsibility as well." Gurdon spoke of his own unlikely career as a young man who loved science but was steered away from it at school, only to take it up again at university. He still keeps an old school report in a frame on his desk: "I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist... This is quite ridiculous," his teacher wrote. "It would be a sheer waste of time, both on his part and of those who have to teach him." EARLY STAGES The science of iPS cells is still in early stages. Among concerns is the fear that implanted cells could grow out of control and develop into tumors. Some scientists say stem cells from embryos may prove more useful against disease than iPS cells, and the ethics of working with embryos should be defended. Nevertheless, since Yamanaka published his findings the discoveries have already produced advances. The techniques are being used to grow cells in laboratories to study disease, the chairman of the awards committee, Urban Lendahl, told Reuters. "You can't take out a large part of the heart or the brain or so to study this, but now you can take a cell from, for example, the skin of the patient, reprogramme it, return it to a pluripotent state, and then grow it in a laboratory," he said. "The second thing is for further ahead. If you can grow different cell types from a cell from a human, you might - in theory for now but in future hopefully - be able to return cells where cells have been lost." Thomas Perlmann, Nobel Committee member and professor of Molecular Development Biology at the Karolinska Institute said: "Thanks to these two scientists, we know now that development is not strictly a one-way street." "There is lot of promise and excitement, and difficult disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders, like perhaps Alzheimer's and, more likely, Parkinson's disease, are very interesting targets." For now, both men said their scientific work continues. Asked why he still keeps his schoolteacher's discouraging report, Gurdon said: "When you're having problems, like when an experiment doesn't work - which often happens - it's nice to remind yourself that perhaps after all you're not so good at this job and the schoolmaster may have been right." (Reporting by Patrick Lannin, Alistair Scrutton, Ben Hirschler, Kate Kelland, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chris Wickham and Peter Graff; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Blacks urged to donate blood, stem cells

A shortage of blood and stem cells in the black community is costing lives, Canada's blood agency warns.

Canadian Blood Services is calling on people of African and Caribbean heritage to register as blood and stem donors through its OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease of red blood cells, predominantly affecting people of African descent. In people with sickle cell disease, the red blood cells are abnormally shaped and starve tissues of oxygen.

The lifespan of affected people is about three decades shorter than average, said Dr. Isaac Odame, medical director of the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Complications can include infections, extreme bone pain and damage to the brain, lungs, heart and kidneys, Odame said.

Kynan Jackson, 7, of Halifax struggles with painful sickle cell disease. He takes medication twice a day, has had blood transfusions and been admitted to the hospital a few times since he was diagnosed at age four.

"It is stressful," said his mother, Winnell Jackson. "It's almost like a waiting game. The medication won't ever stop him from getting crisis again, so I know it's coming."

A stem cell transplant replaces the bad, misshapen ones with normal ones, said Odame.

Sickle cell disease can be cured with stem cell transplants, says Dr. Issac Odame. (CBC)
"The only way to give him [Kynan] a chance is to cure it," Odame said. "We know that it can be cured through stem cell transplantation."

Stem cell transplants require a close match from a donor of the same ethnic background, which narrows Kynan's odds of getting one.

"If you are Caucasian and you're looking for an unrelated match, probably 75 per cent chance you will find one. If you are of African descent, your odds are far, far, far less," Odame said.

Canada's blacks represent about 2.5 per cent of the population, based on the 2006 census. But of the 300,000 on the blood agency's stem cell and marrow registry, only 0.7 per cent are of African descent.

"Sometimes people wait six months to years to find a match and they may end up passing away in that time period because we can't find a match in Canada or around the world," said Sue Smith, executive director of One Match.

During Black History Month, Canadian Blood Services is appealing for young, black male donors in particular to donate blood and be registered. Men tend to be bigger and deliver a larger volume of stem cells without the complications of an over-reactive immune system that can occur during pregnancy.

Currently, the agency said there is a waiting list of 36 African Canadians with cancer who could be cured with a stem cell transplant. Kynan's mom hopes the campaign is a success and she's able to see him grow up.

It would "be really nice to know that, you know what, he does have a match out there. There's somebody out there wherever they may be, that would match him and be able to take that pain, help ease that pain in his life."

The blood agency's theme this year, "Our Canadian Story: Making Community Engagement a Priority," emphasizes community

Plea is aimed at battling sickle cell disease
CBC News Posted: Feb 4, 2012 10:44 AM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/03/blood-stem-cells-black-history.html