Stem-cells may help the body cure itself

June 27, 2006

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an important

mechanism that regulates how many new cells are produced by each

intestinal stem cell. The study is published in the journal Cell.

" This might eventually help us develop new drugs for things like

neurological disorders and anaemia, " says Professor Jonas Frisén.

In most organs of the body, old cells are continually being replaced

by new. If too many new cells are produced, however, it can lead to

overgrowth and tumour formation. Too few cells, on the other hand,

can result in organ degeneration. It is therefore crucial that

exactly the right number of cells are produced.

As many serious disorders cause a reduction in the production of new

cells, scientists are keen to develop drugs that stimulate the

process, which in turn could help the body to cure itself.

It has long been known that the new cells are often formed by

immature cells known as stem cells, but the mechanism regulating the

number of new cells produced has remained something of a mystery.

However, in a new study to be published by Cell stem-cell researcher

Jonas Frisén has succeeded in showing how the body's own stem cells

do just this. Working alongside an American group of researchers,

Professor Frisén and his team have identified a signal transduction

process that regulates the degree of stem-cell division.

" Understanding how cell production is regulated increases our chances

of producing drugs able to stimulate the endogenous production of new

cells, " says Professor Frisén.

He hopes that the new findings can be used to develop drugs that

stimulate, for example, the formation of new nerve cells to treat

conditions such as stroke and Parkinson's and skin cells to

facilitate the healing of wounds. Professor Frisén is best known for

his research on cerebral stem cells; the present study, however, has

been carried out on stem cells in the intestine, one of the organs in

the body with the highest rates of cell renewal.

" We also know that blood, brain and skin stem cells express the genes

that we now know to be important in the intestine, " he says. " This

suggests that the cell production mechanism can be the same for these

stem cells too. "

The next step for Professor Frisén and his group is therefore to

study how blood and skin stem cells go about producing new cells.

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