Stem Cell Research

Canadian researchers James Till and Ernest McCulloch led the way in stem cell research in the early 1960s as they attempted to prove that bone marrow contained stem cells.  Using radiation to kill the blood- and immune system-forming cells of lab-mice they then gave a group of these mice an infusion of bone marrow-derived cells.  The mice without the injected cells died but those receiving the bone marrow cells survived as their blood and immune-forming systems were rebuilt using the stem cells.

Till and McCulloch continued to work on stem cell research and their investigations formed the basis of modern-day human bone marrow transplants used to treat leukaemia and other disorders of the blood.  The pioneering work done by these two scientists has been expanded by a wealth of other stem cell investigators.  Embryonic stem cells were also first extracted, in the 1980s, from mice and their inner cells (from the blastocysts) which led to the process of isolating human embryonic stem cells in 1998.  Stem cells have now also been found in a considerable number of different places in the body including adipose tissue, the umbilical cord and amniotic fluid, the blood, and even the brain.  Such stem cell ‘niches’ offer significant promise of developing treatments for specific conditions involving specialized cells and much of stem cell research so far has concentrated on improving the control of stem cell differentiation in culture.

The progression of stem cell research into actual treatment of patients follows a long process involving laboratory testing, animal testing, refinements and modifications and then careful planning of a therapeutic protocol.  Phase, I, II, and III testing take a considerable amount of time, money, and commitment and very few stem cell treatments have been investigated at such length at this time.  As private biotechnology companies have moved into the field of research in recent years, the need for federal funding has somewhat dissipated and many now collaborate with universities and hospitals in stem cell research.  Rapid advances in stem cell research have followed, although it is advisable to remain cautious regarding hyperbolic statements released to the press regarding miracle results found in trials.  Stem cell research certainly has a long way to go with every new development seemingly throwing up a number of further questions for scientists to then investigate.