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Scientists make blood from human skin cells

People who need blood transfusions may soon be able to have blood made from their own skin. Clinical trials will begin in 2012.
Written by Boonsri Dickinson, Contributing Editor

Scientists at McMaster University discovered an alternative way to make blood - all it takes is a fingernail-sized piece of skin to produce enough blood for a transfusion.

The Canadian researchers turned skin cells into blood, a breakthrough that could usher a new way to treat cancer and other blood disorders such as anemia. Giving patients a transfusion made from their own cells would eliminate the chance of the blood being rejected.

The study was published in Nature. The scientists used directed differentiation to turn skin cells into hematopoietic progenitor cells to produce other blood cells.

To transform skin cells directly into blood, the researchers had to inject a virus into a gene called OCT4 in skin cells. The altered cells were then soaked in a solution of proteins called cytokines. This is when the skin cells would differentiate into different kinds of blood cells such as red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells.

Normally, researchers try to turn adult skin cells into stem cells, so the stem cells can turn into any other cell in the body. But the Canadian researchers didn't have to do that. The direct route also eliminated the chance of the cells turning into tumors.

"We have shown this works using human skin. We know how it works and believe we can even improve on the process," said McMaster's Mick Bhatia, in a statement. "We'll now go on to work on developing other types of human cell types from skin, as we already have encouraging evidence."

Clinical trials will begin in 2012. Leukaemia patients will likely be the first candidates for the trial. But one day, this lab-grown blood might satisfy the blood donor shortage.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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