Feb 07 2008
Stems cells effective for drug screening
Scotland, Feb 7: In a bid to get rid of the potentially harmful substances in drugs it will be thoroughly screened using the stem cell research. The research focuses on specific enzymes secreted by the liver cells that play a crucial role in processing drugs. Researchers of the Edinburgh University has successfully generated human liver cells
A team at Edinburgh University has generated human liver cells using embryonic stem cells. It is expected that the cells could be used to provide treatment for patients suffering from liver related disorders. It could also extend the possibility of researches on liver diseases. The embryonic stem cells have an immense ability in the formation of unlimited numbers of human cells.
While commenting on this Dr David Hay, a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh said: “We have given shape to a unique model that permits us to focus on main enzymes that are important in drug metabolism. This helps us to test drugs in laboratory setting before experimenting in animals and humans.”
The embryonic stem cells can be effectively used in biomedical research, drug discovery and cellular therapy. The unlimited supply of liver cells gains upper edge over other common methods that make use of liver cells extracted from organs that cannot be transplanted or of poor quality and are limited in Supply.
