First stem cell bank in the world is opened in UK
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
London
The first stem cell bank in the world opened last week in the United Kingdom, with the aim of providing an international resource for storing, characterising, and supplying ethically approved, quality controlled, stem cell lines for research and, ultimately, for treatment.
The stem cell bank will help scientists understand the processes that switch these cells into specialised types
Credit: DR GARY GAUGLER/SPL
The bank is being run by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control—a government funded organisation involved in quality assurance of research related to biological medicines.
Its key aims are to improve access to high quality stem cells for research. The Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council will fund the work of the bank.
Cell banks already exist for many other types of cell line, but this is the world's first repository for stem cell lines of all types, derived originally from embryonic, fetal, and adult tissues. These will be developed to supply well characterised cell lines both for basic research and clinical applications under appropriate and accredited quality systems.
The bank will operate according to strict principles of governance laid down by a steering committee, chaired by Lord Naren Patel—an obstetrician who is now a member of the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords. A management committee—with representatives from research, healthcare, and regulatory bodies and the public—will oversee its work.
Dr Stephen Ingles, director of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, said: "Stem cell therapy has great potential, but research is still at an early stage, needing a great deal more work to bring it to fruition. This work will go much better if stem cell lines are widely available—one of the central aims of the bank."
The bank will accept stem cell lines approved by its steering committee, grow them up, and provide them to researchers. "A second important role of the bank is to provide quality control. The bank will grow cells under controlled conditions, ensuring good quality material for researchers," he added.
The bank will handle and store cells under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions, which meet those required for human medicines, so that the cells could eventually be used for therapeutic purposes.
Stem cells are potentially very useful for research because they are able to multiply and reproduce indefinitely. They offer a potentially revolutionary way to repair diseased and damaged body tissues, replacing them with new cells. However, a huge amount of research is still needed to understand exactly how they work and how they might be used as treatments for conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Julia Goodfellow, chief executive of the BBSRC, said: "Stem cell therapy will remain a dream unless we can understand and control the processes that switch these cells into specialised types, such as brain or pancreas cells. The bank will help us to achieve this by providing isolated and well characterised cells for research."(Susan Mayor)
The first stem cell bank in the world opened last week in the United Kingdom, with the aim of providing an international resource for storing, characterising, and supplying ethically approved, quality controlled, stem cell lines for research and, ultimately, for treatment.
The stem cell bank will help scientists understand the processes that switch these cells into specialised types
Credit: DR GARY GAUGLER/SPL
The bank is being run by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control—a government funded organisation involved in quality assurance of research related to biological medicines.
Its key aims are to improve access to high quality stem cells for research. The Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council will fund the work of the bank.
Cell banks already exist for many other types of cell line, but this is the world's first repository for stem cell lines of all types, derived originally from embryonic, fetal, and adult tissues. These will be developed to supply well characterised cell lines both for basic research and clinical applications under appropriate and accredited quality systems.
The bank will operate according to strict principles of governance laid down by a steering committee, chaired by Lord Naren Patel—an obstetrician who is now a member of the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords. A management committee—with representatives from research, healthcare, and regulatory bodies and the public—will oversee its work.
Dr Stephen Ingles, director of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, said: "Stem cell therapy has great potential, but research is still at an early stage, needing a great deal more work to bring it to fruition. This work will go much better if stem cell lines are widely available—one of the central aims of the bank."
The bank will accept stem cell lines approved by its steering committee, grow them up, and provide them to researchers. "A second important role of the bank is to provide quality control. The bank will grow cells under controlled conditions, ensuring good quality material for researchers," he added.
The bank will handle and store cells under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions, which meet those required for human medicines, so that the cells could eventually be used for therapeutic purposes.
Stem cells are potentially very useful for research because they are able to multiply and reproduce indefinitely. They offer a potentially revolutionary way to repair diseased and damaged body tissues, replacing them with new cells. However, a huge amount of research is still needed to understand exactly how they work and how they might be used as treatments for conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Julia Goodfellow, chief executive of the BBSRC, said: "Stem cell therapy will remain a dream unless we can understand and control the processes that switch these cells into specialised types, such as brain or pancreas cells. The bank will help us to achieve this by providing isolated and well characterised cells for research."(Susan Mayor)