The first stem cell transplant performed successfully

A group of Japanese scientists on September 12 successfully implanted retinal cells developed from pluripotent stem cells (iPS) for a woman of about 70 years old and this is the first time the cells have iPS radicals are introduced into the human body through surgery.

Clinical trials - used by iPS Research Institute researchers, Biomedical Research Institute and Kobe Creative Hospital, a stem cell form developed by Shinya Yamanaka University Professor Kyoto Growth, can grow into different tissues on the human body.

The surgery on September 12 was first to test the risk of progression, including cancer, after transplantation of retinal cells for patients with wet macular degeneration due to age, one Retinal degenerative disease causing blindness.

Before the surgery, the team at the Riken Center for Development Biology created the iPS cells for the first time by injecting control genes into skin cells taken from the patient's body. Later, the group created a pigment epithelial membrane, a protective layer in the retina by developing iPS cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Head of the research group, Ms. Masayo Takahashi.(Photo: japantimes.co.jp)

According to Riken, during the two-hour operation at the hospital in Kobe, this retina plate was implanted in the patient's eye after removal of abnormal membranes in the retinal tissue of the female patient.

The team said that after surgery there was nothing serious or damaging for the patient, specifically blood loss.

The first patient to volunteer for an implant surgery was a woman who lived in Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan. If nothing changes, the patient may be discharged within 3-7 days.

Speaking at a press conference in Kobe, team leader Masayo Takahashi said: 'I am confident that the surgery has ended successfully. I hope this will be a significant step forward. "

The team is expected to have surgery for six patients. It may take about a year to determine the safety and effects of transplant surgery.

At a private press conference in Kyoto, Professor Yamanaka congratulated the successful surgical team on saying: 'This is a result of long-term efforts whereby the group has taken a step forward in a period of time. short about seven years from when iPS cells were created. I want to express my admiration for the group. "

The scientist who won the Nobel Prize said: 'The practical application phase of medical research has begun now. I feel the responsibility of a technology developer. "

People with wet macular degeneration often experience impairment or distortion of vision or retinal damage due to abnormal vascular proliferation.

In Japan, about 700,000 people are thought to be affected by the disease. The Ministry of Health of Japan considers this an incurable disease.

Professor Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2012 with researcher John Gurdon for his groundbreaking work on iPS cells.

The title has been changed.