Thought Theater

Stem Cell Research: UCLA Able To Elicit T-cells genre: Gaylingual & Little Red Ribbon-Hood

UCLA has taken a large step towards demonstrating the ability to use genetic manipulation to create t-cells which are an essential component of the immune system. The results are a further indication of the potential offered by the continuation of controversial stem cell research and may provide a promising means to combat HIV and other immune system ailments. Read the full article here.

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported this week that they coaxed stem cells into becoming T-cells, a crucial part of the immune system. If T-cells could be manufactured, doctors would have a powerful new weapon against AIDS and other diseases at their disposal, the investigators said.

But the research "is not ready for prime time," cautioned study co-author Dr. Jerome Zack, a UCLA professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. It will take several years just to prepare for testing in humans, and even that process will take a while, he said.

Still, "the potential is huge," Zack said. "We have to see if it lives up to that potential."

In the new research, Zack and colleagues tested what happened when blood-forming stem cells were injected into a human thymus that had been implanted into a mouse.

The findings of the federally funded study were released in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The thymus, part of the human immune system, converted the stem cells into T-cells.

In another positive sign, the research suggests that scientists can piggyback a gene onto stem cells, delivering it to a diseased organ.

That ability would allow a treatment to not only create new immune cells but also target a diseased part of the body with gene therapy, Zack explained.

Potentially, the stem-cell therapy could fight any disease that robs the immune system of its ability to function properly.

"The caveat in all of these types of studies is that it is still an early laboratory study, and does not mean that this is a treatment," he said. The public should "realize that such treatments may be years away."

President Bush has opposed expanded funding for the development of additional stem cell lines that were in existence before he approved his limited research initiative. The Bush position has drawn criticism from many within the scientific community as well as from high profile individuals like Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve. The Senate is expected to bring the issue up for further debate this year. If the Senate were to vote to expand stem cell research, they would need 67 votes in order to overturn an expected Bush veto.