Stem cell lines specific to disease

Scientists from Harvard University in the US have developed a new collection of disease-specific stem cell lines based on Shinya Yamanaka's induced pluripotent stem cell technology.

The lines, which cover 10 different diseases, will be stored at a new facility at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and will be available for use by researchers around the world for a nominal fee.

The stem cell lines were produced by HSCI researcher George Daley and colleagues Konrad Hochedlinger and Chad Cowan. A paper describing the lines is published in the August 6 online edition of Cell. The first author is In Hyun Park.

Diseases covered by the new line are Parkinson's disease, type 1 diabetes, Huntington's disease, Down syndrome, Gaucher's disease, two forms of muscular dystrophy, severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome and the x-linked recessive disorder Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. The researchers hope to add other disease-specific lines to the depository.

The new iPS lines, developed from skin and bone marrow cells from patients ranging in age from one month to 57 years, will be held at an iPS Core facility at Massachusetts General Hospital. HSCI co-director Doug Melton will chair a committee to oversee the iPS core.

Australian researchers are currently studying iPS cells imported from James Thompson's lab at the University of Wisconsin. Thompson developed his iPS technique at the same time as Yamanaka.