• Question: What do you do with the stem cells after you retrieve the stem cells?

    Asked by penguin27 to Emma, James, Jayne, Kara, Sharon on 24 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      Once the stem cells are made, we normally freeze them at very low temperatures to preserve them, and then lots of other scientists can use them for different things.
      I use them to study the genes involved in early development, when the embryo is less than 7 days old. Using stem cells in this way can help us understand what sometimes goes wrong in very early pregnancy. As well as this, I use stem cells to make something called mammoshperes, which we can use to look at breast cancer.

      In my lab, there are people who take the stem cells that I have made and are trying to make them into chondrocytes which are cartilage cells that could be used for people with diseased joints, or arthritis. There are others who are using them to try and make liver cells to repair danaged livers.

    • Photo: James Chan

      James Chan answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hi penguin,
      Once we retrieve the stem cells, we see how they respond to different chemicals. In my research looking at how to speed up bone healing, we are testing chemicals that can make the stem cells move and cause them to turn into bone. This way, we’d be able to inject the drug at the fracture site and get the stem cells in the body to move towards the broken ends of the bone and make new bone. We’ve found one way of doing it in mice and we’re looking for other possible drugs. Then we can test these on humans.

    • Photo: Jayne Charnock

      Jayne Charnock answered on 24 Mar 2011:

      Hiya penguin

      After I retrieve them from the bone marrow, i either put them into culture dishes and see how they behave in different experiments like how far they migrate, how easily i can get them to differentiate into different things, how much they divide etc, or i can introduce new genes into them and see what effects they have.

      By far one of my favourite types of experiments is to compare normal bone marrow stem cells with diabetic bone marrow stem cells. they behave so differently its untrue! lately ive been taking diabetic cells and injecting them into normal mice and vice versa to see if its the cells or the environment they are in which makes them behave that way. at the moment it seems like its the environment thats to blame. but its probably a bit of both

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