A pluripotent stem cell is the original progenitor cell of our body. From that cell we can go on and make any type of cell (muscle cell, heart cells, liver cells, etc...) based on the signals the cell receives. A study done in UCLA has shown that researchers have successfully been able to isolate these cells. Using the normal human development process (the signalling discussed earlier) we are able to guide the path of that pluripotent stem cell to become a muscle cell.
This is ground breaking news for childhood genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscle dystrophy. I am affected by this disease personally as 3 of my cousins have already lost their lives to it. It is a degenerative muscle disease where dystrophin (an integral protein in the muscle) is not made and the muscle degenerates. It starts by attacking your skeletal muscles (muscles in your legs first) then it attacks your heart muscles and diaphragm. These people eventually die of cardio-respiratory failure.
With this new technology, they have found efficient ways to produce the dystrophin protein and effectively cure a diseaae that is bound to kill you. What the research team over at UCLA did was find two cell markers unique to skeletal muscle and isolate for them. Once they did that they could guide the development of new skeletal muscle. They took the skeletal muscle cells out of the Duchenne patients by isolating for them, and then they removed the mutation that causes the dystrophin protein to be deleted. Then, they inserted the cells back into the patients.
Pretty cool stuff and definitely a leap forward in terms of managing this disease. Moving forward it would be interesting to see if they could do these manipulations and stop the muscle cells from degenerating and fading. Essentially making us strong forever lol!
Have a goodnight everyone, until tomorrow!
