Frogs provide clues to stem cell differentiation
An effective treatment for diabetes comes a step closer, as researchers at the Institute of Stem Cell Research in Edinburgh, UK, have found a way to obtain pancreatic insulin-releasing cells from stem cells. The team have found that a specific protein known as Wnt (pronounced 'wint') is essential in forming the pancreas and liver in the developing embryo. Stem cells are 'undifferentiated' cells, meaning they have no specific function and can develop into any specific cell with a specific function. Stem cells also have the ability to divide without limit. If stem cells can be guided into becoming insulin-producing pancreatic cells, and this discovery provides the first steps to achieving this, then an effective cure for diseases like diabetes could be years away. The team used the African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) to study the developing anterior endoderm - the area which is the source of early tissues and organs in the developing embryo - and they found a 'cascade' of activity, which ultimately led to production of the protein Wnt. Further research has identified a specific gene which has to be switched-off to stop the production of another protein, known as Nodal. The team has now moved onto mouse embryos, using the Wnt protein to produce a pure population of cells which lacks the Nodal protein 'We believe that our findings in frog embryos tell us that these cells would be real anterior endoderm, which can potentially be used to make both liver and pancreas,' said lead researcher Josh Brickman. If correct, this is a way stem cells can be guided, and eventually transformed into useful cells, which can be used for the treatment of disease.
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