A study published in Nature Communications shows that is possible to repurpose the function of mature cells from across the body. The work was published yesterday and comes from scientists at Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute.
"When cells develop, they differentiate into different organs with varying functions: bone, intestine, brain, and so on," says Carmit Levy, Ph.D., a professor at Tel Aviv University. "Our study proves, for the first time, that this process is not irreversible. We can turn back the clock and transform a mature cell that already plays a definite role in the body into a cell of a completely different kind."
The scientists took cells from different parts of the mouse and placed them in a solution to activate the genetic switch, MITF, which is responsible for the production of melanocytes. Through this method, a stomach cell was turned into a skin cell.
"All of our genes are in all our cells, but genetic mechanisms allow them to manifest in the appropriate place while remaining dormant everywhere else," says Jacob Hanna, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the Weizmann Institute. "Each cell has a kind of 'switch.' We activated the MITF switch to create melanocytes from cells designated for other purposes."
According to Levy, this work shows that it is possible to have a "transplant" from within oneself. This would eliminate long transplant waiting lists and rejection of "foreign" organs.
Image: Mouse embryonic stem cells. Image courtesy of the National Science Foundation.