Channel: Charles River Labs clear
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| 1 | Charles River Labs | Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Cellular Shape Shifters | 2458 | 47 | 53.0 | 4:19 | Last year, scientists from China effectively cured a 25-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes by reprogramming cells from her own body to their biological beginnings to become nature's ultimate conjurers of creation, stem cells. This first-ever treatment has reignited interest in harnessing these specialized cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells, to create new generations of cell therapies, not just for type 1 diabetes, but other diseases as well. Induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPSCs, are a little like those science-fiction characters we've seen on etsyphiles or etsymin, who can become whoever, whatever their heart desires. In this case, stem cells can grow and morph into any kind of other cell in the body, be it a liver cell or a heart cell, brain cell or kidney cell. With this limitless potential, they offer hope to treat almost any disease and can be the foundation of ideas from science fiction, like artificial organs and re-growing new limbs. We have known for years how to generate IPSCs using viruses that trigger changes in the genes of adult cells. Unfortunately, when you use this approach, you run the risk of invoking dangerous mutations or cancer, as the line between spawning stem cell and precarious cancer cell can be quite thin. By using complex cocktails of chemical compounds, scientists can avoid viruses and genetic mutations to reprogram adult cells into stem cells, possibly reducing the risk of triggering dangerous side effects in patients. It was only three years ago that scientists discovered the secrets of chemical conversion for human cells, the potion that could transform a human skin cell into a stem cell. Now, we know it can work to treat and perhaps even cure diseases in people, opening the door for new possibilities in stem cell therapy. Not only do IPSC-based therapies have broad implications for the 8.7 million people with type 1 diabetes. Their potential to treat other autoimmune diseases, as well as liver and heart disease, are huge as well. And for the hundreds of thousands of people on organ transplant list worldwide, they could be the building blocks for new organs designed and grown in laboratories. Not surprisingly, more developers are revisiting IPSCs as a strategy for cell therapy development. Analysts estimate that the stem cell therapy market will grow 15% by 2029, fueled primarily by the emergence of IPSCs. Manufacturing these cell therapies can be challenging and complex, and the industry is turning to advances in biology, automation, and even AI to meet this growing demand. Manufacturing IPSCs using a patient's own cells are difficult to commercialize, so companies are seeking workarounds to this process by using donor cells. If we could have one or a few giant banks of IPSCs to meet the demand of tens of thousands of patients, a master source. This could make IPSC-based therapies more affordable and more accessible. Scaling up stem cell production to this level is not easy, especially in accordance with strict government regulations and good manufacturing practices. But the best companies are investing in the mines and the machines to meet the needs of the masses. Today, we can celebrate the potential cure of one patient. Tomorrow it's back to the lab again. Here, scientists and doctors work tirelessly so the few can become the many. So that one day, people may be treated with stem cell therapies like they are treated with antibiotics or other drugs. With the tens of millions of people in need of new cells, new tissues, and new organs, the need is certainly great. But the potential of stem cells? Why that's limitless. Thank you, Sarge, for sharing your expertise. And join us next time for another episode of Eureka's Dose of Science. | ↗ |