Mello Biotech, providers of a potential method for creating stem cells, had a booth on the expo floor at the Cambridge Healthtech Institute‘s 17th International Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference.
The basic idea is to introduce microRNA into a mature cell and reprogramming it to a stem cell state, capable of becoming any other kind of cell. The claim is that this process can create stem cells with as few as 400 mature cells (approximately the number in a hair follicle). The technology Mello Biotech uses is electroporation to deliver the microRNA into a cell, removing the need for a viral vector to deliver RNA.
There has been work done with creating stem cells with retroviruses mediating the RNA transfer; the concern is that viral gene insertion could be random and disrupt normal functioning of the cells.
So far, the company claims that they have created all three types of cells from the different layers of skin from a stem cell created through their process. The challenge will be to create other types of cells (kidney, liver, heart, nerve etc.) from stem cells created through this process.
If this technology is as efficient as the company claims and these cells can be used in treatment, stem cell therapy will be a reality.
Contributed by Chia Hwu, follow me on Twitter @chiah.
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[...] Note: Ms. Chia Hwu at Techpulse360 visited our booth and kindly summarized our technologies on their blog site. [...]