Scientists Develop T-Cells from Embryonic Stem Cells

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- UCLA scientists have for the first time developed immune cells from embryonic stem cells.

The discovery could one day improve treatment for people with AIDS and other blood disorders, who lack enough immune cells to fight their disease.

The researchers developed the immune cells -- called T-cells -- by first culturing human embryonic stem cells and then incubating them on bone marrow support cells taken from mice. This converted the stem cells into blood forming cells. From there they injected the blood-forming cells into a human thymus gland that was implanted into a mouse. The thymus is the human organ responsible for producing T-cells. The thymus turned the blood-forming cells into the disease-fighting T-cells.

"This tells you that you may be able to use human embryonic stem cells to treat T-cell and other blood disorders," notes study author Zoran Galic. "This could be a very important weapon in the fight against AIDS."

In addition to helping people with AIDS, a treatment based on the findings might be used as a therapy for people with rare immune system disorders such as severe combined immunodeficiency, more commonly known as "bubble boy disease." People with bubble boy disease lack a working immune system and must live out their lives in germ-free environments.

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SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online July 3, 2006