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Stem cells help mice with muscular dystrophy: study |
| Date Added: January 21, 2008 06:16:21 PM |
| Author: Arthur Echo |
| Category: Treatment: Muscular Dystrophy |
Perlingeiro's team experimented with stem cells taken from mouse embryos. Mice in the study lacked dystrophin, a protein that is lacking in humans with muscular dystrophy. Perlingeiro knew it was important to isolate just the cells that would become muscle because early transplant attempts that included other undifferentiated cells had caused the mice to develop teratomas. Her team developed a painstaking technique using fluorescent dyes to sort through the cells, allowing them to isolate only the cells destined to become muscle. They injected these cells into the hindquarters of mice with the disease. After a month, the dyed cells had made their way deep into the muscle, suggesting they had started to grow new muscle cells. Many muscle fibers also contained dystrophin. At three months, the mice showed no signs of tumors. Tests showed the muscles were significantly stronger than in untreated mice with the condition and they performed better than other mice in tests of coordination. Click link for complete story |
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