BIOL 1544H
ELLEN TURNER
STEM CELLS:
MOVING FORWARD
ROBERT DAVID LEE
WHAT IF?
YOU KNEW HOW TO REVOLUTIONIZE MEDICINE
BUT COULDN’T?
THAT WAS PRECISELY THE PROBLEM FACING SCIENTISTS.
Dr. James A. Thomson
Sir Martin Evans
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka
OBJECTIVES
 INCREASE AWARENESS IN THE COMMUNITY AND
DISPEL CONTROVERSY.
 PROVIDE AN UP TO DATE RESOURCE AND
REFERENCE ON ADVANCEMENTS IN STEM CELL
RESEARCH.
 SHOW HOW STEM CELLS ARE ALREADY BEING
USED, ESPECIALLY IN ARKANSAS.
WHAT IS A STEM CELL?
STEM CELLS ARE UNDEVELOPED CELLS CAPABLE OF
PROLIFERATION, SELF RENEWAL, CONVERSION TO
DIFFERENTIATED CELLS, AND REGENERATING TISSUES.
CELL POTENCY:
PLURIPOTENT
Can divide into nearly all cells of an organism.
*THESE ARE THE ONES SCIENTISTS ARE AFTER.
MULTIPOTENT
Can divide into a number of cells, but only those of closely
related families.
SUCH POTENTIAL!
STEM CELLS COULD BE USED TO:
 REPAIR ORGANS, EVEN BURN VICTIMS
 MEND BROKEN BONES
 FIGHT HEART, PARKINSON’S, AND HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE
 TREAT DIABETES
 SCREEN EFFECTIVE AND SAFE DRUGS
 MUCH MORE!
WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?
PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS
1981
Mouse Embryos
1998
Human Embryos
1998
Fetal Gonadal Tissue
2001
Cloned Embryos
2005
Umbilical Cord Blood
2007
Amniotic Fluid
2007
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
UMBILICAL CORD
DERIVED PLURIPOTENT
STEM CELLS
THE MOST READILY ACCESSIBLE AND
UNDERUTILIZED STEM CELL SOURCE
 DERIVED FROM CORD BLOOD
 VIA IMMUNOMAGNETIC SEPARATION
A laboratory tool that isolates stem cells from cord blood
 LIMITED IN NUMBER
 MANY IMMEDIATE AND NON-IMMEDIATE USES
INDUCED
PLURIPOTENT
STEM CELLS
REPROGRAMMING A SKIN CELL’S GENOME THROUGH
RETROVIRAL TRANSDUCTION
 TRANSDUCTION – the insertion of genetic material
into a host cell by an RNA virus
 RETROVIRUS – an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host
by enzymes to synthesize DNA
 Enzymes then integrate the new DNA with the host’s
genome
INDUCED
PLURIPOTENT
STEM CELLS CONT.
REPROGRAMMING AN ADULT CELL THROUGH
ELECTROPORATION AND TRANSPOSITION
 ELECTROPORATION – the external application of an
electrical field to the host cell’s plasma membrane,
which increases its permeability
 TRANSPOSITION – DNA sequences transposing themselves
within a host cell’s genome, thereby reprogramming the
cell
 The enzyme transposase is introduced along with
plasmids through electroporation, and then induces
transposition, which incorporates the plasmids into the
existing DNA
MORE
THE ROLE OF
GOVERNMENT
FEDERAL FUNDING
vs. REGULATION
EMBRYONIC REGULATIONS
1973
Roe v. Wade
1974
National Research Act
1975
Research on the Fetus
1979
In Vitro Fertilization
1993
National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act
1996
Dickey Amendment
2001
2001 Fact Sheet
2005
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act Vetoed
2007
Executive Order 13435
2009
Executive Order 13505
STATE FUNDING
vs. REGULATION
 In 2003, the Arkansas State Legislature
effectively banned embryonic stem cell
research.
 Four years later, the Arkansas State Legislature
unanimously approved the New Born Umbilical
Cord Initiative Act.
“This Act allowed for the establishment of the Cord Blood
Bank of Arkansas, which is keeping Arkansas on the front
edge of medical development by authorizing the
collection, storage, and research of cells from umbilical
cord blood following the birth of healthy children.”
- CBBA WEBSITE
CORD BLOOD BANK
OF ARKANSAS
 PUBLIC BANKING
Used immediately for non-donor recipients, and
In researching more effective future uses.
Cost-effective source of stem cells!
 PRIVATE BANKING
Stored indefinitely for paying customers.
Source of revenue for the blood bank.
“No one else in the country has a statewide bank.”
-Dr. Michele Fox
Director of stem-cell therapy at UAMS
HARVESTING CORD BLOOD
 The obstetrician performs the procedure.
 Minimum 85cc per unit / 100cc is desirable.
 Sent to Life Force Cryo Banks in Florida for
evaluation.
 If a success, the unit is sent bank to UAMS and
stored in a cryogenic tank.
 If a failure, the unit is used for research.
THE
TANKS