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news.Researchers have discovered a new type of embryonic stem cell in mice and rats that is the closest counterpart yet to human embryonic stem cells, bringing scientists closer to realizing the potential of stem cells in treatments for disease.
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The scientists from Oxford University, in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health, said that the cells are expected to serve as an improved model for human stem cells in studies of regeneration, disease pathology and basic stem cell biology.
Up until now, embryonic stem cells derived in humans and mice had looked different and behaved differently. In the new research, the team found that when mouse stem cells were derived from slightly older mouse embryos, they looked very similar to human embryonic stem cells under the microscope and had many of the same properties. Importantly, these new mouse stem cells could be maintained using the same growth factors as those used in the culture of human embryonic stem cells.
The discovery is likely to accelerate understanding of stem cell development and help the derivation of stem cells in other species, including livestock and disease-prone mice used in research, thereby providing better models for researchers involved in stem cell research.
The Oxford paper was published simultaneously with a paper from a team at Cambridge demonstrating independently the same findings.