Bone marrow cells appear to have the capacity to replace any cell in the body by being coaxed in a number of diverse ways.

In San Francisco, the American Chemical Society hosted three presentations at its annual symposium in early September that will hopefully confirm this hope. The papers that were presented all discussed similar findings.

1. All the researchers evaded the ethical questions raised by the use of embryonic stem cells by conducting their experiments using adult stem cells.

2. Typically the precursor to blood cells, the adult stem cells that were used can become solid organ cells or even nerve cells as all three of the papers concur.

3. The papers agreed that by altering the physical environment in which they grew, the adult cells were able to become pluripotent.

The bone marrow cells were encouraged by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. It was there that the cells were coaxed and given the direction needed to become blood vessel cells.

To get the cells to align properly, Kyle, a Berkeley scientist was able to compel the cells to attach to an elastic membrane which had grooves specific for the job.

For several days, the membrane was constantly relaxed and stretched. Smooth muscle cells were created by this exercise, the kind of cells that make up blood vessels.

The newly-formed smooth muscle cells, which can also expand and contract, may possibly be used as a component of a tissue-engineered graft that could provide superior performance over conventional grafts that are used for bypass surgery.

In the body, stem cells attach to the walls of blood vessels as Kyle points out. The cells naturally stretch and contract as blood is pumped through these arteries.

“If a cell cannot flex its muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it cannot build its muscles,” Kyle said in a news conference. “Gov. Schwarzenegger got big biceps by lifting dumbbells … It works the same way for stem cells to become smooth muscle cells. They have to sit in culture day in and day out lifting weights.”

In a second presentation, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Dennis presented the notion of stem cells feeling their environment. What they feel determines what they become.

The team lead by Dr. Dennis was able to develop soft nerve cells, rigid bone cells, and soft muscle cells, by changing the environment of adult bone marrow cells. A rigid, stiff, or soft environment determined the outcome of the cells. Based on resulting cell shapes as well as messenger RNA and protein markers, stem cells grown in more rigid environments — like bone — produced bone-like cells; those grown in environments with medium elasticity — similar to muscle — produced muscle-like; and stem cells grown in softer environments — such as brain tissue — tended to produce nerve-like cells.

The cells required stimulation from the proper mix of chemical messengers to complete the process as Dr. Dennis and his team discovered.

The third report confirms that blood stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells) can indeed become many different kinds of cells. The report was presented by Dr. Terry, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University.

Dr. Terry and his colleagues were able to make the cells move in a formerly unexpected direction by simply manipulating the setting in which the blood stem cells were grown.

“We demonstrate these cells can do more than is currently accepted,” Dr. Terry said in the news conference. “There are several approaches to harness the potential of the billions of stem cells we make every day.”

The similar findings in these three presentations continue to prove that embryonic stem cells are not as necessary as once thought. As adult stem cells maintain their drive forward at full speed, the future continues to become brighter for this non-controversial source. The possible treatments for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury and other devastating conditions comes closer and closer as the science of adult stem cell therapy continues to advance.

The topic of stem cells is a hot issue due to all the vast potential they have, the ethical debates they entail, and the political party alignments that are associated with. Produced by either cloning via somatic cell nuclear transplant or by in vitro fertilization of human eggs, human stem cells can be acquired from human embryos. But they can also be obtain from adults.

Their value in drug testing and disease models, their lack of rejection, their rapid proliferation, their potential to form every cell type and finally, their great promise are the most often stated advantages of embryonic stem cells.

However, these “advantages” are less clear from a medical and scientific point of view. Scientists that either hold key patents or are strongly supported by biotech companies pursuing embryonic cells commercially are the ones that state that embryonic stem cells hold great promise.

The “potential of embryonic stem cells to possibly form every cell type” in the body is remarkable but is of minute clinical significance. The potential to form every cell type is a moot point, as long as a stem/progenitor cell is capable of forming the cell types required for particular injury of disease.

Furthermore, stem cells derived from adults have the same potential as numerous studies have supported. The umbilical cord, bone marrow stromal cells, fat, and the skin are among the many locations in the body that can supply a source of adult stem cells.

The serious problem with embryonic stem cells is actually due to the ability of the cells to quickly proliferate, a quality which is often touted as a quality that makes them so superior. But as obviously seen with weeds in a garden or cancer in the body, rapid growth is not always an enviable quality.

Rats injected with embryonic stem cells, in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease, showed a minor benefit of about 50%. However, the embryonic stem cells caused brain tumors in one-fifth of the rats which lead to their death.

It is true that embryonic stem cells are not rejected, but saying that there is a lack of rejection is shrewdly deceptive. The cells must mature into a particular type of cell to be functional in therapy. The immune system recognizes cells that have matured as foreign objects and they are then rejected. Thus, some scientists argue this dilemma as a reason for human cloning so the rejection of embryonic stem cells can be avoided, but cloning carries its own set of problems and moral dilemmas.

Only a few studies have been conducted in animal experiments to exhibit the viability of this and so the field is still in its infancy. Chasing this extreme measure when the human body is full of stem/progenitor cells that would not be rejected is one of the most absurd directions ever observed in the history of science that is purportedly being promoted to help people.

Tissue models and drugs need to be tested on mature tissue not embryonic cells, so the “usefulness in drug testing and disease models” is not a sensible claim. Tissue culture model systems of muscle, skin, etc are plentiful and regularly used in drug and disease models.

Virtually unknown to the American public are the advantages of adult stem cells. It is embryonic stem cell treatment that is most profitable, and not the best, that is getting all the exposure.

The safest cell option for people, one of the greatest advantages of adult stem cells is that it is usually possible for a person to use his or her own stem cells. Uncontrolled growth, chromosomal abnormalities, disease transmission and rejection problems are all eliminated with adult stem cells.

Rarely mentioned is that methods have yet to be developed to grow embryonic cells in a manner that does not induce significant chromosomal abnormalities.

The record for adult stem cells compared to embryonic stem cells is exceptionally impressive if one looks at human clinical trials or research using experimental animals.

In examining only the scientific evidence, one wonders why the controversy even exists.

Let’s first take a look at Parkinson’s disease. The stem/progenitor cells are the only cells that survive when a transplant consists of embryonic/fetal tissue. It is thought that as a consequence of cellular overgrowth or from rejection of the foreign cells/tissue derived from embryo or fetus, devastating deterioration at one year after treatment occurred in about 15% of patients in two clinical trials using embryonic/fetal tissue.

A patient who received his own adult stem cells got results that were in striking contrast, he had almost full recovery for several years after the transplant.

In an animal model for Parkinson’s, human embryonic stem cells did not cause any improvement and actually caused tumor formation. The use of growth factors in treating Parkinson’s is another position supporters of embryonic stem cells try to push.

Diabetes is like Parkinson’s in the regard that it is a disease, so a dissipation of symptoms for several years rather than a cure is the most likely scenario when treating with stem cells. Recently, after receiving stem cells from her mother, it was reported that a girl afflicted with diabetes gained insulin independence.

Blocking the autoimmune response can reverse diabetes in mice which is an encouraging result in animal studies. There are also several reports that adult stem cells can develop into insulin-secreting cells.

In regards to spinal cord injury, there is an even more dramatic comparison between adult and embryonic stem cells. Extensive web coverage and the front page of many newspapers were dedicated to mice receiving embryonic stem cells. However almost total recovery from complete paralysis was observed in rats using adult stem cells from bone marrow, these results were published in a paper by Zurita and Vaqueo. Resulting in improvement for people with severe and chronic spinal cord injury, transplants of tissue containing one’s own stem cells is safe.

Looking at heart disease, adult stem cells derived from bone marrow have provided reported benefits in several studies involving patients with heart attacks. After using one’s own adult stem cells in treatment, clinical trials have also shown improvements in some patients with heart failure.

Similar comparisons can be made for a variety of diseases and injuries. But headlines will never be written nor will the majority of the American public ever hear of these successes with adult stem cells.

The results with adult stem cells will eventually end the controversy that should never have existed in the first place, although it may take years for these adult stem cells treatments to become commonly available.

One of the first things Chang did when his twin baby girls arrived into the world was to instruct the doctor to preserve a sample of blood from their umbilical cords. Of course, the new father waited until after he was satisfied cuddling them and his wife for the first time.

Chang saw first hand what leukemia can do to its victims, his brother died from the disease. His brother was given two options, chemotherapy and radiation. His only hope, as his white blood cell count continued to drop sharply as treatment after treatment continued, was to receive a transplant of cells that would enable bone marrow to form new blood cells. There is only a very small chance of finding a fitting donor in such circumstances.

An ad for a cord blood bank caught Chang’s eye not long after his brother passed away. The best alternate for bone marrow in such cases, the undifferentiated and primitive cells found in the blood of a child’s umbilical cord would be ideal proclaimed the ad. Chang could not stand to see another family member suffer from the wasting disease, and knowing that hereditary can be a factor in diseases like leukemia, he decided to store the blood.

Change stated that, “If his brother had been able to save his cord blood, he might not have died.”

Newspapers, magazines and even clinics all over Taipei are packed with advertisements for private cord blood banks just like the one Chang saw. Some companies are making extraordinary claims as the competition becomes intense due to the booming cord-blood stem-cell industry that is rising on the island. Some say they have the highest-quality service, others the best technology or they boast being the leading player in the business. With all this, fewer expectant parents are willing to risk the chance of not saving their babies’ cord blood, an insurance against possible illness that may befall their children down the road. This very environment had caused demand to grow by leaps and bounds.

A viable substitute for more conventional stem-cell transplants from bone marrow, the cells derived from cord blood have demonstrated that they are an effective alternative in treating conditions such as leukemia. Individuals with spinal injury and other blood disorders such as sickle cell disease, and metabolic disorders are possible candidates for treatment. Incurable diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s can be treated with cord blood stem cells as well. Members of the donor’s family can also use the cord blood stem cells for treatment in addition to the donor himself. The use of cord blood stem cells for disease treatment holds exciting promise.

“Cord blood transplants have been widely used to treat children with blood-borne cancers, and we have witnessed successful cases,” said Chiu who is the director of the National Health Research Institutes’ Stem Cell Research Center. “Cord blood is even a better alternative than bone marrow, as it is less difficult to find a matching donor, less painful to extract the stem cells, and less likely the cells will be rejected,” he added. “This is what I refer to as hope.”

Due to the successful use of umbilical cord blood transplants in treating blood and immune-system diseases, private and public cord blood banks have sprung up since the mid to late 1990’s. Using a syringe, three to four ounces of placental blood is drawn from the umbilical cord. In preparation for freezing and preserving the blood, the content of the syringe is deposited in a bag or vial. The family can then use this blood at a later date based on a written contract (binding for a 10 or 20 year period) that the parents sign.

The government medical policy is not the only reason for the thriving private cord blood storage market in Taiwan. Originating from the traditional Han Chinese societal customs, the strong sense of family values in the country has much do with it, said Chris who works for one of the original cord blood banks in the country.

“Children are considered very precious and many parents are willing to sacrifice for their children,” said Chris. “If there’s a chance to save their children someday, then parents can’t afford not to.”

“Moreover, unlike most of the countries in Europe, whose governments are responsible for overall medical services and cord blood cell storage is a public service included in the governmental infrastructure, in Taiwan, cord blood storage is not included in public health services. People have to turn to private cord blood banks instead,” he explained.

In terms of the medical uses for cord blood stem cells, Chris added that there remains an ample prospect for development. The field could have an enormous impact, not only in treating disease, but also in pharmaceutical development and new innovations, such as regenerative cosmetology.

In Taiwan, no more than 5 percent of new parents take advantage of banking, and cord blood storage remains an option only available to those who can afford it. This is despite public donation option plans.

“It may probably cause pressure to those parents who are less well-off because they feel guilty for not offering the best to their children,” said Chou, an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s department of national development.

Successful cases using cord blood to save lives may make physicians and families happy, but it is also used as good PR by private cord blood banks. The idea is uncomplicated: parents pay for peace of mind. Those families who can afford it pay for a sense of security.

As for Chang’s twins, they are now healthy, happy two-month-olds, and blood from their umbilical cords is securely stored in a blood bank.

“We are just trying to prepare for the worst, especially since our family has a history of leukemia,” Chang said. “The best thing that could happen is we never need it.”