American scientists have successfully developed a pure environment for culturing stem cells and have used this environment to create two new lines of human embryonic stem cells.
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A stem cell culture environment |
This is a significant breakthrough in the field of stem cell research, as the environment allows stem cells to grow without the need for animal products. Tenneille Ludwig, the lead researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stated: ”This success helps us overcome some major barriers in using stem cells for human disease treatment”.
Successfully culturing living cells outside the body typically requires a mixture of nutrients, hormones, growth factors, and serum. In the case of culturing human embryonic stem cells, it is necessary to have animal cells to maintain and promote the growth of the cells in the culture dish.
Animal products can contain viruses and other agents. Many scientists are concerned that viruses from animals and other agents may infect the stem cells in the culture environment, potentially transmitting to patients if these cells are used for treatment.
Moreover, the research team has created two stem cell lines in a culture environment completely free of animal products. The two lines have survived for over 7 months. However, one cell line exhibited an abnormal chromosome in the fourth month, and the second line showed an abnormal chromosome in the seventh month.
Minh Sơn (According to Reuters)
