Stem Cells from Fat Used to Grow Teen's Missing Facial Bones

Surgeons have reported success in first human bone growth procedure using fat stem cells.

Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors replaced a 14-year-old boy's missing cheekbones—in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body.

The technique, should it be approved for widespread use, could benefit some seven million people in the U.S. who need more bone—everyone from cancer patients to injured war veterans.

Read more in the original article here.

Before:



After:

Jaw bone created from stem cells

Scientists have created part of the jaw joint in the lab using human adult stem cells. They say it is the first time a complex, anatomically-sized bone has been accurately created in this way.

It is hoped the technique could be used not only to treat disorders of the specific joint, but more widely to correct problems with other bones too.

The bone which has been created in the lab is known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

The latest study used human stem cells taken from bone marrow. These were seeded into a tissue scaffold, formed into the precise shape of the human jaw bone by using digital images from a patient.

The cells were then cultured using a specially-designed bioreactor which was able to infuse the growing tissue with exactly the level of nutrients found during natural bone development.

Original article here.

From Stem Cells to Tooth In the Mouth of a Mouse

Researchers used stem cells to grow a replacement tooth for an adult mouse, the first time scientists have developed a fully functioning three-dimensional organ replacement, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers created a set of cells that contained genetic instructions to build a tooth, and then implanted this “tooth germ” into the mouse’s empty tooth socket. The tooth grew out of the socket and through the gums, as a natural tooth would. Once the engineered tooth matured, after 11 weeks, it had a similar shape, hardness and response to pain or stress as a natural tooth, and worked equally well for chewing. The researchers suggested that using similar techniques in humans could restore function to patients with organ failure.

Original article here.

Skin Cells Reprogrammed as Heart Cells Beat in a Dish

Below is a video of skin cells that have been turned into heart tissue beating in a dish.

The tissue isn't ready for transplantation, but it's a moving proof-of-principle for induced pluripotency, which genetically reprograms adult cells into a near-embryonic state, capable of becoming almost any cell type.

In the last few years, induced pluripotency has been hailed as an uncontroversial alternative to embryonic stem cells, production of which requires the destruction of embryos.

However, reprogrammed cells aren't yet safe enough for clinical use — the mutations involved leave cells prone to forming tumors — but scientists are trying to make the mutations safer.



Original article here.

Mice Cloned After 16 Year Freeze

Cells taken from mice frozen 16 years ago have grown into healthy clones, raising the possibility of reproducing long-dead animals and even resurrecting extinct species.

The accomplishmen represents a large step forward in animal cloning. Earlier clones have required tissues taken from living animals or carefully-preserved cells, rather than an entire frozen animal.

Scientists thought that freezing would damage cells beyond repair. But the scientists salvaged intact nuclei from the neurons of their mice. These were inserted into living mice eggs, forming an embryo that developed until embryonic stem cells could be harvested. The stem cells were then used to make healthy mouse pups.

According to scientists, the new technique might someday be used to clone "extinct animals frozen in permafrost, or specimens collected opportunistically from endangered species in the field without access to sophisticated laboratory facilities."

Original article here.

Stem Cell Milestone Announced

Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells (2), a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy.

The "direct reprogramming" technique avoids the ethical, political and practical obstacles that have stymied attempts to produce human stem cells by cloning embryos.

Scientists prize embryonic stem cells because they can turn into virtually any kind of cell in the body. The cloning approach -- which has worked so far only in mice and monkeys -- should be able to produce stem cells that genetically match the person who donates body cells for cloning. That means tissue made from the cells should be transplantable into that person without fear of rejection.

How Does a Zebrafish Grow a New Tail?

If a zebrafish loses a chunk of its tail fin, it will grow back within a week. Like lizards, newts, and frogs, a zebrafish can replace surprisingly complex body parts. A tail fin, for example, has many different types of cells and is a very intricate structure. It is the fish version of an arm or leg.

Scientists have discovered some of the genes and cell-to-cell communication pathways that enable zebrafish to restore their tail fins. The ability involves creating cells that can take any number of new roles. This can be done by re-programming cells that already have a given function or by activating resident stem cells. Through a series of signals, cells waiting for their calling learn which spot to take to help form the embryo, what kinds of cells to become there, and how many cells like themselves should be reproduced.