Engineering Breakthrough Yields Adult Stem Cells that Do Not Age

Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo (New York, USA) have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The new cell lines – named “MSC Universal” – were created by genetically altering mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow and can differentiate into cell types including bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, and beta-pancreatic islet cells. The cells that Techung Lee and team created show no signs of aging in culture, but otherwise appear to function as regular mesenchymal stem cells do – including by conferring therapeutic benefits in an animal study of heart disease. Importantly, despite their propensity to proliferate in the laboratory, MSC-Universal cells did not form tumors in animal testing.