Читать книгу The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research - Группа авторов - Страница 269

California stem cell researchers are making great strides in developing new therapies. In 1999, scientists at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles succeeded in removing 10 to 15 neural stem cells from a patient with Parkinson’s disease and forced them to develop into six million dopaminergic neural stem cells. The new cells were then injected into the brain of the patient from whom they derived. As a result, the patient’s ability to produce dopamine increased by 62 percent, improving the patient’s motor skills by 40 to 50 percent.

In 2009, Elizabeth Blackburn, a professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work on cell biology with Carol Grider, a professor of biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Jack Szostak, a genetics professor at Massachusetts General Hospital. The following year, Menlo Park–based Geron Corporation launched a major trial of a stem cell therapy designed to restore spinal cord tissues in patients with severe injuries.

David Rowitch and a team at the University of California, San Francisco transplanted human neural cells into the brains of four young males suffering from a genetic disease that prevented the wrapping of neurons in myelin, which protects the neurons and assists the brain in sending electric signals. A year later, the researchers found that the transplanted stem cells had succeeded in restoring the myelin. Similar results were reported by other researchers who conducted similar research on the neuron cells of mice. Stephen Back led one of the studies at Oregon’s Health and Science University; Nobuko Uchina led the other study at Stem Cell Inc. in Newark, California.

The tendency of human bodies to reject foreign invaders means that most transplant patients need to take immunosuppressive drugs regularly. The situation becomes more serious when patients develop graft-versus-host disease. Researchers are constantly working for new ways to prevent such occurrences. At the University of California, Davis, researchers are using dogs with liver transplants to test the possibility of giving patients extra amounts of mesenchymal cells from adult bone marrow or umbilical cord blood to bypass transplant rejection.

Private companies are also making considerable contributions to stem cell research in California. In 2007, International Stem Cell Corporation developed the process of parthenogenesis in which eggs are chemically induced to begin maturation. Although these parthenotes display the same pluripotent characteristics as human embryonic stem cells, they are not viable embryos because they are incapable of developing into a human being. Thus, parthenogenesis bypasses the ethical debate of human embryos. One method for negating the need for immunosuppressive drugs in patients with liver transplants is being developed by San Diego–based Viacyte Inc., which is creating containers that the body will not be able to detect even though it allows the cells to perform normal functions such as absorbing and secreting waste. Viacyte is also developing a bio-artificial pancreas for diabetes encased inside a plastic cartridge that will allow the stem cells inside to release insulin into the body as needed.

In Palo Alto, Stem Cells Inc. has applied for federal approval to begin clinical trials for its proprietary neural cell therapy for patients with Batten disease, a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes blindness and dementia in children. Since 2011, Advanced Cell Technology Inc., located in Santa Monica and Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been conducting clinical trials using embryonic stem cells to reverse damaged retinas in children with juvenile macular degeneration. A second trial involves treating macular degeneration in the elderly. In 2012, International Stem Cell, based in Carlsbad, announced that it was collaborating with researchers in India to use stem cells to regenerate corneal tissue in patients suffering from macular degeneration.

Because of California’s staunch support for stem cell research, the state has served as a model for other states committed to creating their own supportive environments. Representatives from other countries, including the United Kingdom, Israel, China, and India, regularly visit California to observe the state’s stem cell activities and discuss potential collaborations. Researchers from California are also regularly invited to other countries to participate in international conferences and workshops. California is home to the only state agency that has been invited to join the International Stem Cell Forum (ICSF), which is made up chiefly of national agencies involved in stem cell research. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine joined ISCF in 2007.

Elizabeth Rholetter Purdy

Independent Scholar

See Also: Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, The, Geron Corporation; International Stem Cell Forum; Maryland; Michael J. Fox Foundation; New York; Stanford University; Stem Cell Companies: Overview; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Davis; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; University of California, San Francisco; ViaCyte Inc.