Japan created a breakthrough in cell technology

According to a study published on October 16 in the American scientific journal Plos One, the research team at Kyoto University (Japan) has succeeded in creating cells with cellular properties. cartilage from human skin cells, using a method faster than creating cells from stem cells.

The team used a method called direct reprogramming , which implants genes into skin cells to directly create another type of cell.

With this method, the time needed to produce cells is shorter than that based on artificial stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which are cells that can grow into any type. What tissue of the human body.

Photo: bloomberg.com

This technique can help treat cartilage damage due to disease or injury.

The researchers used a virus to introduce two c-MYC and KLF4 genes - the genes needed for iPS cell production, and another gene, SOX9, needed to develop cartilage cells, into skin cells. of a newborn.

Within 2 weeks, the cells carried the cartilage cell properties that were formed, then formed cartilage tissue when implanted in the experimental mice.

The researchers said no tumors were found after this process. In addition, the time to produce enough cells for transplantation is about 2 months, only half the time needed if using iPS cell technology.

On the other hand, a research team member, Professor Noriyuki Tsumaki, said that compared with iPS cell-related techniques, the above-mentioned reprogramming method eliminated the possibility of infectious cells that could not be split. tumor formation.

However, researchers are still trying to overcome problems related to the application of this method in regenerative medicine, such as the use of viruses to transport genes.