Stem Cell Research －Basic Science And Clinic Applications

  Somatic stem cells found in various tissues and organs appear to have a wider differentiation potential than previously thought. We will isolate neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and multipotent adult stem cells, develop methods to expand them and to keep them multipotent at the same time. Once those cells are proved to be functional and harmless in animal models, they could be offered as materials for autologous transplantation to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s, ALS, spinal cord damage et al. 

    To solve the problem of immune compatibility, we will create cells or tissues for human autologous transplant therapy through a procedure called “therapeutic cloning”. Human somatic nuclei will be reprogrammed by nuclear transfer (nt), and allowed to develop in vitro to the blastocyst stage. Embryonic stem cells will be isolated from the blastocysts and differentiate into a broad spectrum of cell and tissue types. The in vivo function and safety of ntES cells and their derivatives  will be tested thoroughly in animal models.

   The system of somatic nuclear reprogramming, including nuclear transfer, embryonic stem cells and directional differentiation of stem cells, offers also a window for studying important questions such as “the molecular basis of pluripotency”,  “epigenetic modification of the genome”, and “dialogues between mitochondria and nuclei”. To facilitate understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling differentiation pathways, we are going to characterize the function of Notch signaling pathway using a mouse mutant. Meanwhile, we have also begun to create an ES cell mutant library and screen for genes associated with differentiation process of muscles and neurons.