(January 27th, 2012) King’s College London brings the prospect of stem cell therapies one step closer to reality. In the making of a new stem cell line absolutely no animals were harmed.
It was in early December, when scientists at King’s College London (KCL) announced that they had made the first deposit of clinical grade stem cells into a public stem cell bank called the UK Stem Cell Bank (UKSCB), which is based at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control. These cells, unlike previously banked stem cells, have been produced under very strict conditions making them suitable for use in clinical trials, subject to them passing independent safety tests.
Critically, these stem cells have been produced in a “xenofree manner” meaning without the use of animal-derived products such as mouse feeder cells or animal serum. This xenofree approach eliminates the potential risks associated with the use of animal products such as transmission of pathogens and xenogeneic contaminants like non-human proteins capable of eliciting an immune response in humans. The work was financially supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) who have said they are “delighted that this investment into regenerative medicine research is beginning to bear fruit” and that stem cell therapies using such clinical grade stem cell lines “have the potential to treat diseases that currently have no known cure”.
Peter Braude, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and former director of the Stem Cell Programme at King’s College London, emphasised in an interview with the BBC that these cells have been placed in cell banks “without restrictions” and that the cells are intended for “public benefit in the hope that they will help in the development of regenerative medicine in the UK and internationally”.
These stem cells may be suitable for the regeneration of a vast range of tissues including cardiovascular tissue, nerves and cartilage. At present, two small scale clinical trials using these stem cells are underway treating, firstly, spinal cord injuries, and, secondly, age related macular degeneration, a condition which results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field (the macula) due to retinal damage. Braude said that this deposit “is a significant achievement for the team” but he is also keen to stress that the public and the press have to appreciate that “it has taken nine years to get to this point”, and there is “still a long way to go”, and “we are not on the verge of saying: ‘Tomorrow we are going to be injecting cells into people.’ ”
It is expected that this deposit of cells in the stem cell bank will be closely followed by deposits from other groups in the UK later this year, including a group led by Daniel Brison at Manchester University who, according to a KCL press release, believes the deposits “should reframe and enhance the initiative established in the UK, and lead the way to important new therapies in regenerative medicines”.
Nicola Hunt
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