Thanks to Wired,
I was tipped off on an article published in Nature about a type of stem
cell that
seems to be at the heart of the most advanced
brain tumors in adults and children. It is considered stem-cell like
since its
chief marker, CD133, is a protein associated with embryonic nerve cells,
and because
it has tremendous ability to reproduce. In one dramatic experiment, 16
of 19 mice
injected with CD133-positive human tumor cells developed tumors. Of the
15 that
received tumor cells negative for CD133 markers, none developed tumors,
though traces
of the cells were still found in the mouse brains during dissection,
implying that
while these human cells could live in the mouse, they could not develop
a tumor
on their own. This opens a new dimension into how cancer develops (and
where these
so-called “stem cells” really come from), and also hints that
a CD133
blocker may be a new weapon against cancer. Considering that an advanced
brain tumor
right now is more or less a death sentence within a year, this could be
quite important!
Dysfunctional stem cells were previously known to be at the
heart of leukemia, but this is the first solid tumor with a stem
cell as its
apparent source.
There’s some interesting Type I diabetes research where Harvard
researcher Denise
Faustman seems to have suppressed the autoimmune reaction against
beta-cells in
the pancreas which leads to insulin depletion and diabetes. What’s
really neat is
that beta cells seem to spontaneously regenerate when the autoimmune
reaction is
suppressed, promising a knock-down cure for that disease. I read about
this on the
NY Times, but it’s now no longer open for free access, so check out this
blurb from Do
No Harm about the research and Lee Iacocca’s funding initiative for
Dr. Faustman.
Check out the
Public Library of Science, an organization that publishes
peer-reviewed scientific
journals that are free to the public and entirely online.
2 thoughts on “Some Developments in Biomedicine”
Jerry Nora
Glad you enjoyed it. In addition to providing a possible cure for insulin-dependent diabetes that’s ethically permissible, it also has a plain old “gee whiz” factor to it. 🙂
I hope to generate more interest in the Public Library of Science. People should be able to see how science gets published; their taxes pay for an awful lot of it, and they have a lot of talking heads tell them why they should support space shuttle missions, NIH funding, etc. But until now you needed to pay a pretty penny for subscriptions or belong a hospital, university or corporation that subscribed to these places.
Very interesting stuff, Jerry. It’s always nice to see how we don’t necessarily have to compromise morality for practicality. That may be the first significant work I’ve read about that specifically addresses Type I diabetes from an autoimmune angle…
Glad you enjoyed it. In addition to providing a possible cure for insulin-dependent diabetes that’s ethically permissible, it also has a plain old “gee whiz” factor to it. 🙂
I hope to generate more interest in the Public Library of Science. People should be able to see how science gets published; their taxes pay for an awful lot of it, and they have a lot of talking heads tell them why they should support space shuttle missions, NIH funding, etc. But until now you needed to pay a pretty penny for subscriptions or belong a hospital, university or corporation that subscribed to these places.
Very interesting stuff, Jerry. It’s always nice to see how we don’t necessarily have to compromise morality for practicality. That may be the first significant work I’ve read about that specifically addresses Type I diabetes from an autoimmune angle…