Starting from a single stem cell, scientists have now produced a functional prostate gland. This marks only the second time researchers have generated a whole organ from a single stem cell, which represents major progress for research on stem cells and our understanding of prostate development, experts say.
Creating viable transplant organs for patients in need is a holy grail of research on stem cells. The first success came in 06 when researchers created the mammary glands after discovering mammary stem cells in mice. Since then, researchers have worked hard to coax stem cells in other organs formation. The prostate is a promising target because previous studies in mice have revealed that it contained cells with the same protein markers as other known stem cells, suggesting that the necessary stem cells may be relatively easy to find.
These studies have suggested that the nearest region of the prostate urethra may be rich in stem cells. So biologist Wei-Qiang Gao developing and colleagues at Genentech in South San Francisco, California, examined how these cells react when they castrated six mice, which kills parts of the prostate, and inject them with testosterone to stimulate regrowth. The Gao's team used a form of reaction analysis of polymerase chain reaction to analyze cells for signs of various proteins, including some previously found in stem cells and some known to play a role in the development of prostate.
They turned a dark horse. The cells with a protein marker called CD117 +, not previously associated with prostate stem cells, proliferated after castration and testosterone injection, the researchers found. When 97 cells with a particular set of markers including CD117 +, were implanted in mouse kidney, 14 of the transplanted cells generated almost full size prostates researchers report online today in Nature . These stem cells generated prostates secreted the same proteins that normal prostates of operation.
The analysis of human prostates protein was also detected the protein CD117 +. If the protein appears to be a marker for stem cells of the prostate in humans as well, Gao said it should prove useful to researchers studying the hypothesis that prostate cancer originates from stem cells that have gone wrong.
"This is a very important finding," said Stephen Badylak, a specialist in regenerative medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. This study marks an important step towards the goal of organ regeneration, Badylak said, but more work is needed to ensure that the cells in regenerated organs know when to stop growing and form to take.
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