̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research

Scientists create mammalian cells with single chromosome set

gm349 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:15:32 +0000

Cambridge researchers have created mammalian cells containing a single set of chromosomes for the first time in research funded by the Wellcome Trust and EMBO. ̽��ֱ��technique should allow scientists to better establish the relationships between genes and their function.

Mammal cells usually contain two sets of chromosomes – one set inherited from the mother, one from the father. ̽��ֱ��genetic information contained in these chromosome sets helps determine how our bodies develop. Changes in this genetic code can lead to or increase the risk of developing disease.

To understand how our genes function, scientists manipulate the genes in animal models – such as the fruit fly, zebrafish and mice – and observe the effects of these changes. However, as each cell contains two copies of each chromosome, determining the link between a genetic change and its physical effect – or ‘phenotype’ – is immensely complex.

Now, in research published last week in the journal Nature, Drs Anton Wutz and Martin Leeb from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge report a technique which enables them to create stem cells containing just a single set of chromosomes from an unfertilised mouse egg cell. ̽��ֱ��stem cells can be used to identify mutations in genes that affect the cells' behaviour in culture. In an additional step, the cells can potentially be implanted into the mouse for studying the change in organs and tissues.

̽��ֱ��technique has previously been used in zebrafish, but this is the first time it has been successfully used to generate such mammalian stem cells.

Dr Wutz, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship, explains: “These embryonic stem cells are much simpler than normal embryonic mammalian stem cells. Any genetic change we introduce to the single set of chromosomes will have an easy-to-determine effect. This will be useful for exploring in a systematic way the signalling mechanisms within cell and how networks of genes regulate development.”

̽��ֱ��researchers hope that this technique will help advance mammalian genetics and our understanding of the gene-function relationship in the same way that a similar technique has helped geneticists understand the simpler zebrafish animal model.

Understanding how our genetic make-up functions and how this knowledge can be applied to improve our health is one of the key strategic challenges set out by the Wellcome Trust. Commenting on this new study, Dr Michael Dunn, Head of Molecular and Physiological Sciences at the Wellcome Trust, says:

“This technique will help scientists overcome some of the significant barriers that have so far made studying the functions of genes so difficult. This is often the first step towards understanding why mutations lead to disease and, ultimately, to developing new drugs treatments.”

Researchers have created mammalian cells containing a single set of chromosomes instead of two.

These embryonic stem cells are much simpler than normal embryonic mammalian stem cells. Any genetic change we introduce to the single set of chromosomes will have an easy-to-determine effect. This will be useful for exploring in a systematic way the signalling mechanisms within cell and how networks of genes regulate development.

Dr Wutz, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship, explains

Image Anton Wutz

Partial view of haploid chromosome set

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

Patenting ethics in stem cell research

lw355 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:53:03 +0000

A storm could soon hit European courts over whether it is ethical to patent work involving human embryonic stem cell lines. Scientists fear that the lengthy legal debate could spark more restrictive legislation, or even a ban on such work in Europe.

Professor Austin Smith, Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and scientific co-ordinator of the EuroSyStem Project, and other prominent coordinators of European stem cell research bodies, weigh in with an open letter in this week’s Nature supporting the right to patent in this field, now under review by the European Court of Justice.

Arguing that these established cell lines do not involve commercialisation of the human embryo and are superior to other available technologies for developing therapies, they say that European bioindustry must have patent protection in order to realise the clinical benefits of stem cell lines.

“We trust that [the court] will deliberate on the full implications before making a legally binding ruling,” say the signatories.

̽��ֱ��letter plus comments from ethicists and scientists is available on eurostemcell.org, along with the opportunity to comment or add a signature at www.eurostemcell.org/stem-cell-patents

̽��ֱ��EuroSyStem Project is a member of EuroStemCell and is an EC-funded partnership between Europe's top stem cell research groups. ̽��ֱ��Project aims to interlink complementary biological and computational expertise to drive the generation of new knowledge on the characteristics of normal and abnormal stem cells.

Scientists say ‘No’ to a ban on stem cell patents recommended by the European Court of Justice.

European bioindustry must have patent protection in order to realise the clinical benefits of stem cell lines.

Dr Thomas Moreau

Human embryonic stem cell colonies

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

Funding to boost scientific links with Japan

bjb42 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:37:07 +0000

Professor Austin Smith, Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, has received a Japan Partnering Award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This scheme provides funding for BBSRC-supported researchers to build and foster long-term collaborations with Japanese partners.

̽��ֱ��award will enable Professor Smith and colleagues in Cambridge to collaborate closely with Dr Hitoshi Niwa and other researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan. ̽��ֱ��project also involves Dr Paul Bertone, a biocomputational expert at the European Bioinformatics Institute near Cambridge, and Dr Kathryn Lilley, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Proteomics.

̽��ֱ��collaborative effort is tackling an emerging area of research: the systems biology of stem cells. Systems biology integrates complex information about whole biological systems to understand how they function. Like stem cell biology, it has been a fast-growing research field over the past decade.

‘Only recently has it been realistic to start bridging the two approaches in order to answer questions about the behaviour and decision-making pathways of stem cells,’ explained Professor Smith. ‘It’s an exciting but challenging area, and it makes very good sense for researchers in Cambridge and Japan to share complementary experience, tools and resources.’

Commenting on the awards, which have been made to four research groups in the UK, Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: ‘Modern bioscience demands international collaboration. By working together across international borders we can generate faster progress and higher quality science than we can alone.’

For more information, please contact Professor Austin Smith (austin.smith@cscr.cam.ac.uk). Professor Smith was recently awarded the prestigious 2010 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for his contributions to stem cell research.

Researchers in Cambridge and Japan will be working together towards a more integrated understanding of how stem cells make decisions.

Modern bioscience demands international collaboration. By working together across international borders we can generate faster progress and higher quality science than we can alone.

Professor Douglas Kell

Dr Jason Wray

Embryonic stem cells

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

Understanding how cancer cells grow

bjb42 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:30:05 +0000

Most tissues in the human body are maintained by stem cells – master builders and repairers that replenish different types of cells when needed. ̽��ֱ��unique properties of stem cells are of great interest to scientists investigating the possibility of regenerating and repairing human tissues. But stem cells have also come under close scrutiny in relation to cancer, since the ability to self-renew is a characteristic of tumours. Research into cancer stem cells is offering new insight into how cancer cells grow and how some tumours relapse even following powerful therapy.

Cambridge has a very active stem cell community, recognised as a centre of excellence by the Wellcome Trust (WT) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). A major research theme within this community is the Cancer Stem Cell Programme at the MRC Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Professor Fiona Watt, who directs the Programme, explained why cancer stem cells are so interesting: ‘Pathologists have known for centuries that within a single tumour there can be cells that differ in maturity. It is now becoming clear that this heterogeneity reflects, at least in part, the existence of cancer stem cells and their offspring, and that these cells play a crucial role in the life history of cancer. Eradicating these master builders would strike at the heart of the tumour.’

Cancer stem cells

̽��ֱ��Cancer Stem Cell Programme brings together clinicians and scientists with expertise in haematological, epithelial and brain cancers.

One of the best-studied adult stem cell systems is the process by which the many different cell types found in blood are constantly replenished. Professor Tony Green and Dr Brian Huntly in the Department of Haematology are using this process as a paradigm for understanding leukaemias: ‘We are especially interested in the molecular rewiring that underlies the change from a normal cell to a cancerous stem cell,’ explained Professor Green. A recent success has been the discovery of a new molecular mechanism for leukaemia.

To identify cancer stem cells and their complex interactions, researchers frequently develop biological models of cancer. Dr Stephen Goldie in Professor Watt’s lab, in collaboration with clinicians at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is investigating cancer stem cells in human head and neck tumours by creating models that recapitulate the original human tumour. ‘Interactions between the tumour and its environment are being tracked by state-of-the-art imaging technology to establish which cells are responsible for making the tumours and what can be done to make the tumour shrink and stop spreading,’ explained Dr Goldie.

Scientists from the Centre for Brain Repair in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the WT Centre for Stem Cell Research are investigating stem cells in brain cancer. ‘Brain cancer accounts for a disproportionate number of cancer deaths and new treatments are urgently required,’ explained Dr Colin Watts, Consultant Neurosurgeon, from the Centre for Brain Repair. ‘These tumours contain stem-like cells that are resistant to current treatments. Work in the Centre aims to understand the mechanisms underlying this resistance and to develop ways of killing these cells.’

Driving new treatments

̽��ֱ��current thinking is that cancer stem cells constitute a minority of the cells within a tumour and, although they are capable of dividing continually, they may do so relatively slowly. Most therapies are targeted towards rapidly dividing cells, which might kill the bulk of the tumour but not the cancer stem cells. Understanding more about cancer stem cells is therefore crucial, as Professor Watt explained: ‘Future treatments that are specific for cancer stem cells will not only be more effective in treating the disease, but will also incur less collateral damage to the patient’s normal tissues.’

For more information, please contact Professor Fiona Watt (fiona.watt@cancer.org.uk), the Herchel Smith Professor of Medical Genetics, at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute/Li Ka Shing Centre.

Cambridge scientists are asking what role stem cells play in how cancer develops, spreads and relapses.

Kim Jensen

Stem cells

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes