Stem-cell researchers at UW-Madison recently applied genetic manipulation techniques to human embryonic stem cells for the first time. This development, published Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, may aid in a variety of ways ranging from simulation of genetic diseases in a petri dish to manipulation of immune factors to prevent cell or tissue rejection.
\Now we can really study all of these [human] cells and how they develop with disease in a petri dish in the lab,"" UW-Madison researcher Thomas Zwaka said.
Nearly five years ago, UW-Madison researcher James Thomson was the first scientist to isolate and culture human embryonic stem cells. With this latest achievement, he, along with Zwaka, has yet again provided the next step in human stem-cell research and gained worldwide attention for the university.
""Thomson is probably the most famous stem-cell researcher in the world. It's an important step and one that the university and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is very proud of,"" said Andy Cohn, Government and Public Relations Manager for WARF, the organization that holds patents for UW-Madison research.
In addition to positive publicity, Cohn said he hopes this breakthrough will reward the university with further research funding and grants.
""I think it will move [research] forward and attract additional dollars from both private sectors and the federal government,"" Cohn said.
The newly discovered gene-targeting technique extended to human embryonic stem cells will aid in current research at UW-Madison.
""It's basically the basis of all the research we are doing. [This technique is] really necessary to do the kind of [research] we are doing right now,"" Zwaka said.
Among numerous possibilities, this breakthrough allows researchers to manipulate human genomes in order to study gene function. It also allows researchers to mimic human disease in a lab dish while monitoring its development and purify specific cell lineages so that they may be modified.
""The technique itself allows us now to modify every part of the human genome. We can now introduce a marker and have the opportunity to purify its specific lineage,"" Zwaka said.
Cohn said this most recent step in the ever controversial science of stem-cell research will only further future research opportunities and findings.
""I don't think this will slow down research at all,"" Cohm saod. ""Most importantly, it moves science forward and it opens one more door. The more doors we open, the closer we get to treatments and cures for the world's most devastating diseases.\
