Scientists create first pig stem cells
Scientists create first pig stem cells
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Wednesday, 03, Jun 2009 08:21
Scientists have managed to induce cells from pigs to transform into pluripotent stem cells - cells that, like embryonic stem cells, are capable of developing into any type of cell in the body.
The discovery is the first time the procedure has been achieved using somatic cells (cells that are not sperm or egg cells) from any animal with hooves, also known as ungulates.
Experts claim the discovery has far-reaching implications and could open the way for the creation of models for human genetic diseases, genetically engineering animals for organ transplants for humans, and for developing pigs that are resistant to diseases such as swine flu.
Commenting on the research, lead scientist Dr Lei Xiao, from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, said: "To date, many efforts have been made to establish ungulate pluripotent embryonic stem cells from early embryos without success.
"This is the first report in the world of the creation of domesticated ungulate pluripotent stem cells. Therefore, it is entirely new, very important and has a number of applications for both human and animal health."
Researchers succeeded in generating induced pluripotent stem cells by using transcription factors to re-programme cells taken from a pig's ear and bone marrow.
After the cocktail of reprogramming factors had been introduced into the cells via a virus, the cells changed and developed in the laboratory into colonies of embryonic-like stem cells.
Dr Lei said: "Pig pluripotent stem cells would be useful in a number of ways, such as precisely engineering transgenic animals for organ transplantation therapies."
Because the pig species is significantly similar to humans in its form and function, including similar organ dimensions, there a number of ways the new discovery could be developed.
"We could use embryonic stem cells or induced stem cells to modify the immune-related genes in the pig to make the pig organ compatible to the human immune system. Then we could use these pigs as organ donors to provide organs for patients that won't trigger an adverse reaction from the patient's own immune system," Dr Lei said.
"Pig pluripotent stem cell lines could also be used to create models for human genetic diseases. Many human diseases, such as diabetes, are caused by a disorder of gene expression.
"We could modify the pig gene in the stem cells and generate pigs carrying the same gene disorder so that they would have a similar syndrome to that seen in human patients. Then it would be possible to use the pig model to develop therapies to treat the disease."
He added, for example, to combat swine flu, a precise, gene-modified pig could be made to improve the animal's resistance to the disease.
As well as the medical applications for pigs and humans, experts believe the discovery could also be used to improve animal farming, by making pigs healthier, but also improving the way they grow.