Adam's rib and the origin of stem cells
Authors: Francesco Callea, Michele Callea
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2011)

In the first book of the Bible, God fashions a woman from one of Adam's ribs: “while Adam was sleeping, … [he] took one of the ribs… and the rib taken from man… made a woman” (Genesis 2:21–22). Were stem cells present at this ancient origin point, in Adam's rib? The recent discovery of stem cells in bone marrow and their therapeutic application in stem cells regenerative medicine would support the hypothesis that the development of science represents a quite predictable phenomenon proceeding from the potency of Adam's rib. Likewise, the biomedical research appears to represent a continuous discovery of historical and prehistorical milestones. Stem cells represent by far the most recurrent word in all kinds of writings, in either scientific papers or mass-media communications. PubMed data reveal that over the past 10 years, more than 130,000 papers have been published on this topic in English international journals, with about 19,000 appearing just in the last year. These data reflect the great impact of stem cells on the scientific community and on worldwide expectations for disease prevention and treatment. We are now in an era of post-modern regenerative medicine. However, regeneration of tissue and organs has been a well-known phenomenon since ancient times. The story of Prometheus, the super hero chained to a rock for defying Zeus by stealing fire from Mount Olympus for the benefit of human beings, subjected to daily tearing at his liver by an eagle, attests to the early recognition of the extraordinary regenerative capacity of the human liver. This process has remained an intriguing mystery over the millennia. Alexander Maximow is given the credit for introducing the term “stem cells” in the medical literature in a lecture read before the Berlin Society of Hematology and published in 1909. In 1963, McCulloch and Till provided evidence that self-renewing stem cells are present in the bone marrow of mice. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant was first applied in 1959, when bone marrow cells were transplanted to a patient suffering from acute leukaemia from his identical twin [ 1]. Since then, bone marrow transplantation has been used to treat a number of acquired as well as congenital diseases. In addition, different stem cells have been identified in several organs and tissues and classified according to their differentiation potential: that is, toti-, multi-, pluri-, and uni-potent. A further designation of stem cells refers to adult or embryonic stem cells. Recently, a new type of stem cells has been identified, the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) derived from adult cells [ 2]. These cells are of particular interest in that they can help by filling the present gap among the various positions in the ongoing bioethical debate on the research opportunities and clinical uses of stem cells. The rib, in particular, represents an anatomic type of long bone with a wide, spongious component rich in hematopoietic bone marrow, containing multipotent, pluripotent, and unipotent stem cells [ 3]. Totipotent so far have not been identified in bone marrow. As with the making of new life from Adam's rib, new tissues and organs are now being made in both experimental and clinical work by using hematopoietic bone marrow from cell cultures. Given this creation of new tissues and organs via hematopoietic bone marrow, the question arises about the implication of these observations for science. Carefully reading Genesis 2 [ 4], one is impressed by the fact that man and woman originated via two different modalities: Man “from the dust of the ground, [God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7); Woman “from the rib taken from [from] man [Adam]” while he was sleeping (Genesis 2:21–22). The analogy between Adam's sleep and anaesthesia (as in surgical procedures, for bone marrow transplantation) is striking. Also striking, is that the two events—the origin of man and of woman—are not comparable. Adam's origin is not discussed at present, as nowadays, it seems to belong to the sphere of divinity and as such is inaccessible to scientific knowledge, whereas woman's origin is a suitable subject for science. The recent discovery (or rediscovery) of stem cells in bone marrow and their application in regenerative medicine would seem to support the hypothesis that the development of science could be predicted from the story of Adam's rib. Surprisingly, the progress of science, in turn, may lead us to look again into the narrative of our evolutionary ancestry. Francesco Callea*, Michele Callea , * Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy, Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy.