Blastocyst derived after somatic cell nuclear transfer. The green fluorescence originates from the somatic cell genome and marks nuclei.NYSCF, DIETER EGLIScientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute, along with their international colleagues, have produced human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) by transferring the nuclei of skin cells from a 32-year-old type 1 diabetic woman into human eggs whose own nuclei had been removed, according to a study published today (April 28) in Nature. The researchers induced the hESCs to differentiate into insulin-secreting cells. They hope to eventually replace cells that type 1 diabetes patients lack with patient-specific insulin-secreting cells.
The publication comes hot on the heels of a study published earlier this month (April 17) in Cell Stem Cell that also showed the technique, called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), could be used on adult cells.
“This is the first report describing diploid patient-specific stem cell lines after somatic cell nuclear transfer, and together with the report that appeared . . . in Cell Stem Cell, it is also the first report on the derivation of diploid pluripotent stem cell lines from cells of an adult and from a human being after birth in general,” study coauthor Dieter Egli, a senior research fellow at the NYSCF, said during a press conference.
“This is an important demonstration that SCNT works and can be used to ...
