UCSF sets pace on stem cells

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Contra Costa Times // Tues, July 12, 2005

By Betsy Mason // CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO - In 1981, UC San Francisco biologist Gail Martin isolated some remarkable cells from a mouse embryo. She named them "stem cells" because nearly every type of cell seemed to stem from them.

The discovery laid the groundwork for a whole new area of research. Nearly two decades later, a University of Wisconsin scientist adapted Martin's technique to human embryos.

The jump to human cells stoked a growing ethical controversy that led the Bush administration in 2001 to back away from funding work involving human embryonic stem cells, save for a few pre-existing stem cell lines. That decision threatened to hobble U.S. research and give the rest of the world an edge.

UCSF took matters into its own hands and has raised $13 million in private funds, including $5 million from Intel Corp. chairman Andy Grove, to establish a stem cell biology program and a separate facility to derive new embryonic stem cell lines. Today, UCSF is still a world leader and pioneer in stem cell research.

More than 60 scientists at UCSF are exploring the cells' potential to treat diseases and conditions such as diabetes and stroke. This work is supported by continued dedication to nuts-and-bolts basic cell science critical to enabling new discoveries.

"We cover quite a bit of the territory that is going to be required to bring cell-based therapies to our patients," said Arnold Kriegstein, head of UCSF's stem cell program.

Now with the help of Prop. 71, California's 10-year, $3-billion stem cell initiative, UC's premier medical research institution is poised to capitalize on its assets in a huge way.

One of UCSF's greatest strengths, and one that sets it apart from most research institutions, is its human embryonic stem cell program, co-directed by Susan Fisher and Renee Reijo Pera. One of just two centers in the country that derived federally approved embryonic stem cell lines, UCSF has distributed these cells worldwide.

Now, UCSF scientists are deriving new human embryonic stem cell lines that could be critical to research and future therapies. These lines cannot be used in studies supported by federal funding, but Prop. 71 may help scientists bring the new lines into their labs.

Reijo Pera is also interested in understanding how human embryos develop with an eye toward understanding birth defects. Her work could benefit women who use in vitro fertilization by reducing problematic multiple births.

"If you can understand what a good embryo is, that's a huge battle that's been won," said Reijo Pera. "We don't have to then put two or three embryos back in a woman; we can put one good embryo."

Much has been made of stem cells' potential to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Realizing that potential is likely to be more than a decade away, said Kriegstein, but a recent discovery is a major step forward.

Not long ago, scientists believed adult brains couldn't make new neurons. Fortunately, that idea was wrong. Last year, UCSF neuroscientist Arturo Alvarez-Buylla led a team that discovered newborn neurons in the fluid-filled cavity of adult brains called the subventricular zone.

The team also found a sheet of common, star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes in the same zone. These cells were traditionally thought to simply support neurons, the brain cells that do the actual work of thinking, feeling and directing movement. But when grown in a petri dish, the astrocytes produced neurons and are the likely source of the new neurons the team discovered. One day, the discovery could help restore brain function to people with diseases like Parkinson's.

Other studies have shown that stem cells found in bone marrow and the bloodstream can help hearts function better after a heart attack. UCSF cardiologist Yerem Yeghiazarians is trying to find out how this works.

"Getting from the stem cells all the way to how we improve heart muscle, there's a huge step in between," he said. "Nobody really knows exactly how this happens."

He hopes understanding the process could lead to better treatments for millions of Americans who suffer from heart disease or heart failure.

UCSF scientists are also studying adult stem cells in other areas of the body such as the pancreas. Michael German hopes to be able to harness these cells to help people with diabetes. And Rik Derynck is studying the possibility of convincing adult stem cells on their way to becoming fat cells to grow into bone or muscle cells instead, which could help conditions like osteoporosis.

Readily available therapies are years and maybe decades away, said Kriegstein. "But we are hopeful that the Prop. 71 funds will help accelerate all of this progress and make some of these hopes a reality."

Betsy Mason covers science. Reach her at 925-847-2158 or bmason@cctimes.com.