The researchers at Osiris Therapeutics in Baltimore report in the journal Science that they isolated a single cell, called a mesenchymal stem cell, and then grew it into a colony of more than a million cells that could be induced to produce bone, cartilage, or fat. Other experts in the rapidly expanding field of stem cell research applauded the achievement. It may be that such cells can eventually be used for therapy and that would be quite exciting.
Stem cells are the body's building blocks.
Some, such as pluripotent stem cells, come only from embryos and their use in research is opposed by many people. Other stem cells, such as the mesenchymal cells used by Osiris, are produced in adults. But only the pluripotent stem cells from embryos are thought to be capable of growing into any tissue in the body. The mesenchymal stem cells are the parent lines for bone, cartilage, fat, tendon, and muscle. The Osiris work helps move stem cell research from the laboratory toward the clinic, said Dr. David J. Anderson, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute stem cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology.