The use of stem cells taken from embryos has been popular among researchers because they can turn into any type of cell. But the practice has been controversial. That's why researchers have been trying to do the same thing with adult stem cells. Similar success has been reported using stem cells isolated from brain tissue, bone marrow, liver, and skeletal muscle. Monday's study was the first report of success using stem cells from fat removed during liposuction.
Stem cells are precursors to other types of cells.
As a stem cell becomes a specific cell, like a fat cell, the genes that would turn it into any other cell are turned off. The stem cells from liposuctioned fat were harvested just before that would have happened. If they had been left alone, they would have turned into fat cells, the researchers said. Instead, through laboratory techniques, they turned the stem cells that had been destined to turn into fat cells into bone cells, cartilage cells, and skeletal muscle cells. Dr. Marc Hedrick, one of the UCLA researchers, said such stem cells appear to exist in every tissue and organ in the body.