Stem cells from cord lining
By Chang Ai-Lien
The Straits Times
24 March 2008
Page H6
SINGAPORE company CellResearch Corporation has made headlines for discovering that stem cells can be harvested from the umbilical cord lining, and that these are versatile enough to transform into many of the body's cells.
By taking such cells from the baby's umbilical cord, which would otherwise be discarded, the company has sidestepped the controversial use of days-old embryos as a source of stem cells. Also, while embryonic stem cells are the most potent - they can turn into any cell - they can also form tumours.
The company was recently granted a British patent for its process of collecting and cultivating the cells. Its research has shown how such stem cells can transform into skin, bone and fat cells, among others. CellResearch is working with 10 groups here and abroad to tap the potential of such stem cells to treat a host of diseases.
Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States, for example, is studying the potential of such cells to treat hearing loss, said Dr Stefan Heller, who is leading the research.
While the science is still in its early stages, he said: 'It makes us optimistic that these cells might be useful for development of therapy methods for inner ear damage.'
At the National Cancer Centre, researchers are looking at how stem cells can be used to treat diabetes and the blood disorder haemophilia.
Dr Kon Oi Lian, who is heading this effort, said the cells, unlike most other primary cell types, have the unusual ability to divide for relatively long periods in the lab.
'Thus, these cells could potentially be produced in sufficiently large numbers for treatment.'
