Blatant Reality

PrimeGen Biotech announced today that it has successfully created human adult stem cells from normal somatic skin cells using non-viral methods.

PrimeGen Biotech (http://www.primegenbiotech.com) today announced that company researchers have successfully used purified proteins and DNAs in non-viral methods to reprogram adult human cells into stem cells.

 

Participating in this week’s Stem Cell Summit in New York, the company reported that this new class of stem cells — derived from adult human tissues such as skin — has properties of embryonic stem cells (ESC), as well as stem cells referred to as “induced pluripotent stem cells” or iPS cells.

 

Relying on a high efficiency particle delivery system to transport proteins and DNA molecules directly into cells from human skin, retina and kidney, researchers found that after one week, stem cell colonies arose that exhibited the markers of ESC and iPS cells. They also found that PrimeGen’s reprogramming technology is orders of magnitude more efficient and three to four times faster than previous viral methods — requiring just a week or two, rather than a month or more, to display the pluripotent markers.

 

Unlike iPS cells produced by other investigators in the US and Japan, PrimeGen researchers are the first to use methods that do not involve potentially tumor-causing viruses or genetic manipulations. And unlike embryonic stem cells, these methods use adult skin and other tissues from the patient, not embryos. As such, the company continues in its mandate to produce high quality cells that will be suitable for future patient therapies.

Once again, here is a technological and medical advancement that both sides of the stem cell issue can appreciate.