MONTREAL, December 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Researchers in Montreal have discovered that a stem cell found in adult bone marrow does not cause rejection by a recipient's immune system. Called a 'miracle' stem cell, the mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, don't carry markers on their surfaces which lead to rejection, reports the December 15 issue of New Scientist.
While many scientists have had to go to human cloning to get human embryo stem cells to avoid the immune rejection, MSCs naturally avoid the reaction as well as the whole controversy over experimentation with embryos.
Ray Chiu, of McGill University in Montreal said the cells only seem to go to damaged areas once injected. “They turned into heart muscle, blood vessels and fibrous tissue,” he said. Moreover, the stem cells have been transferred successfully between species – from pigs to rats. (The New Scientist, “No more tissue rejection”, p4, Dec 15, 2001)