British scientists say they can for the first time create liver cells by re-establishing stem cells from patients' skin samples , paving the way for a potential new treatment for diseases. about the liver.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Dr. Tamir Rashid of the University of Cambridge and also the director of the study said that scientists have also discovered a way to avoid political and ethical problems from stem cell creation. from embryos that are causing much controversy in the United States.
Illustration. Source: Internet
Rashid said: "This technology does not necessarily need to use human embryos. The cells made from the skin are as good as the embryonic stem cells."
In his experiment, Dr. Rashid's research team took skin samples from seven patients suffering from liver diseases and skin samples from three healthy people to compare.
They then recreated the cells from these skin samples into a type called artificial multipurpose stem cells (IPS). Scientists continue to recreate these IPS cells into liver cells like those in liver patients that were initially taken. They also used similar techniques to create healthy liver cells from the comparison group.
Stem cells are the main cells in the human body and scientists are trying to find new ways to use them to create new organs, restore the spinal cord or degenerate heart or Replace brain cells destroyed by strokes, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.
Liver disease is the fifth leading cause of death in developed countries, after cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke and respiratory diseases. In the US, about 25,000 people die every year from liver-related diseases.
Liver disease can be caused by genetics or by drinking too much alcohol or being infected like hepatitis.