Every now and then one comes across an article like this one from USA Today, in which the embryonic stem cell – tumor connection is brought to light:
‘The link between stem and tumor cells in science is a very old one,’ says Paul Knoepfler of the University of California Davis School of Medicine in the current Stem Cell journal. But no one talks about it much, he adds, even though understanding the link remains ‘an essential bridge to cross along the way’ in someday turning embryonic cells into organ transplants.
The article goes on to mention the case, described on the PloS Medicine Web site, of an Israeli child who was injected in the brain with fetal neural stem cells that later developed into tumors. Diagnosis? Glioneuronal neoplasm. Researchers’ conclusion?
The findings here suggest that neuronal stem/progenitor cells may be involved in gliomagenesis and provide the first example of a donor-derived brain tumor. Further work is urgently needed to assess the safety of these therapies.
