Could Reprogrammed Tissue in Mice Help Create Human Stem Cell Regeneration?

A recent study shows that scientists may be closer to tissue regeneration. According to officials in Spain, they have worked to gain mature cells in living mice in order to revert the tissues back to their original youthful state via stem cell regeneration.

Though this technique is still at its early stages, scientists envision that it may one day be possible to replicate this process in human tissues by replacing lost or diseased cells with new ones.

A 2006 study led by Shinya Yamanaka in Japan announced this breakthrough, according to the AFP. The news organization notes that four genes were introduced via adult cells that were regrown in a lab dish to their original state.

What scientists refer to as induced pluripotent stem cells have become widely known among the medical field and may prove to be even more promising than embryonic stem cells.

For this study, the study authors looked again at the possibilities of these four genes. 

Researchers Manuel Serrano and Maria Abad of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre created genetically-modified mice in order to carry out the four "Yamanaka genes," according to background information from the study. These genes were then switched on through a gene given to the mice via their drinking water.

Cell activation in various parts of the animal's body, including the kidney, stomach, intestines and pancreas, resulted in a "totipotent" state, showing that tissues could be reprogrammed back to their original beginnings. This confirmed that this process can occur in living tissues and not just a lab dish. 

"It's really quite striking," said George Daley via the Wall Street Journal, a stem-cell researcher at Children's Hospital Boston, who wasn't involved in the study. "It means that every cell in the body may have the potential to regenerate a new organism."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Nature.