Scientists stop cell death for spinal cord injury treatmentRSS Feed

A new chemical to prevent stem cells from dying off has been found, scientists say.

Stem cell-based treatments may be used in future to treat spinal cord injury patients, though difficulties still remain with the technology.

One problem is that of cell death in human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells when cultured as single cells.

A team from the University of California, Riverside has isolated the cause of this death and found a chemical that can prevent.

The hPS cells were treated with blebbistatin, a synthesized compound, to block the activity of nonmuscle myosin II, the cause of cell death.

"Our research shows that blebbistatin works as effectively as the most potent cell death inhibitor of hPS cells available today," explained assistant professor of biochemistry Noboru Sato, whose lab led the research.

"This discovery brings stem cell research a step closer towards finding therapies for several diseases."

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, recently announced the successful use of stem cells to treat mice with spinal injuries.

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Posted by Paul Breen

 

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