Leading biomedical journal names stem cell technology ‘method of the year’
Breakthrough by Dr. Andras Nagy included among innovative discoveries named in Nature Methods.
(Toronto –
January 5, 2010) The development of a new technique to create pristine
stem cells by Dr. Andras Nagy, Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld,
was selected by the journal Nature Methods in their story on
‘Method of the Year.’ Dr. Nagy’s work contributes to a red-hot area of
study that reprograms mature body cells into
a pluripotent state, meaning that the processed cells can develop into
most other cell types.
The Method of the
Year story was published in the December 21, 2009 online edition of
Nature Methods. The editors recount the history of stem cell technology, including
milestone breakthroughs, and present a synopsis of current perspectives
on its role within new directions in biomedical research. The
journal selected stem cell technology because of its wide-ranging potential as a tool for therapeutic
discovery in human diseases and understanding of fundamental
biology.
The editors of
Nature Methods stated that “since the
first reports of this form of cellular reprogramming a few years ago,
research on induced pluripotent stem cells has moved forward amid much
attention and at an almost frantic pace. But with the dust of the first
heady days settling, with several researchers newly entering the field,
and with methods to induce pluripotency becoming more robust, this
research is now poised for biological discovery.”
In March, Dr.
Nagy developed a new method to create pluripotent stem cells without
disrupting healthy genes. Dr. Nagy’s method uses a novel wrapping
procedure to deliver specific reprogramming genes into stem cells.
Previous approaches required the use of viruses to deliver the required
genes, a method that risks damaging the DNA and causing
mutations.
Dr. Nagy’s method
does not require viruses, and therefore overcomes a major hurdle for
the future of safe, personalized stem cell therapies in humans. The
method could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including
spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s
disease.
“We hope that
these stem cells will form the basis for treatment for many diseases
and conditions that are currently considered incurable… This new method
of generating stem cells does not require embryos as starting points
and could be used to generate cells from many adult tissues such as a
patient’s own skin cells,” said Dr. Nagy in March.
Dr. Nagy generated considerable media interest
this year for his innovative discovery, including his inclusion in
Scientific American’s Top 10 Honor Roll, as well as CBC’s The
National’s list of leading scientific breakthroughs of
2009.
In a commentary accompanying the Nature
Methods story, Dr. Nagy and Kristina Nagy (who is a member of the
research team) discuss some of the basic questions that stem cell
research could help answer, as well as the advantages offered by
induced pluripotent stem cells. Other researchers working at this
leading edge also offer their perspectives on the opportunities (and
challenges) presented by stem cell research.
For more details on the story in
Nature Methods, click
here.
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