Stem Cell Research Paper
Stem Cell Research Paper

Human Biology

The human body is capable of many miraculous feats. Every hour, every minute, every second, millions of cells are working to maintain homeostasis within the body. This paper is going to focus on one type of cell in particular, the stem cell. The properties of this little cell are amazing. These unique cells self-regenerate through cell division, and in addition to being unspecialized, have the ability to develop into many different specialized cells of the body. Numerous studies have shown the potential of stem cells to cure cancers, as well as slow or reverse the damages of some neurological disorders, yet stem cell researchers have met with both public and legal resistance during their attempts to show the incredible usefulness of these cells. Therefore, the question is, with stem cell research showing the potential to reverse the damage from or slow the progression of neurological disorders, and possible cures for cancer and other diseases and disorders are the possible benefits too much to ignore?
The ability to self-regenerate is one the things that makes the stem cell such an appealing area to study. Most cells and organs in the body do not have the ability to self-regenerate, nor self-repair but stem cells can do both. Stem cells themselves are unspecialized, in that they have so special function (Stem Cell Basics, 2009). Part of the beauty of the stem cell is that through cellular division, these unspecialized cells divide and give birth to daughter cells (Kochar, 2004). Stem cells are most prevalent in the body during early stages of development, when still in the embryonic stage. It is during this time when cellular division gives rise to daughter cells with the same unspecialized attributes (Kochar, 2004).
As an embryo continues to develop, stem cell division continues. In these later stages of development, stem cells start to produce daughter cells in which one maintains the unspecialized attribute and the other becomes a more specialized cell (Kochar, 2004). This ability of the stem cell to divide from an unspecialized cell into a more specialized and specific cell is its differentiation potential. This potential is part of what makes the stem cell such a sought after avenue of research for the possible cures and treatment of cancers and neurological diseases and disorders.
There are two main sources of stem cells used in stem cell research. These two being embryonic and adult stem cells. However, research has found umbilical cord blood to contain stem cells as well, and has started to play a role in stem cell research. The embryonic stem cells are the preferred source for research because these cells are the most totipotent, that is they are capable of differentiating into all types of cells in the body. It is during early stages of development that stem cells are their most unspecialized state, allowing for the body to use them wherever necessary and in whatever manner needed. Their ability to develop into some 220 of the body’s different tissue types makes them ripe for researchers to want to experiment on. Embryonic stem cells are collected either from embryos created for in-vitro fertilization purposes, or as further research has found, from the amniotic fluid itself (Manier, 2007).
As mentioned earlier, umbilical cord blood stem cells are starting to play a role in stem cell research. When researchers found that the blood of the umbilical cord contained stem cells, a new area of stem cell research commenced. Researchers believe that like embryonic stem cells, the stem cells in the “umbilical cord is capable of differentiating into many other cell types within the body to form new tissue and even organs” (Cord Blood, 2011). Studies conducted with cord blood stem cells have delivered some promising results with research continuing and already in use to treat some diseases such as Hodgkin's disease, Ewing Sarcoma and Sickle Cell Disease (Cord Blood, 2010). The method of collection being after birthing has made this a much less controversial area of research. It has prompted the creation of companies like Cord Blood America, which specializes in storing cord blood for parents and their children, who views their service as a “biological insurance policy” for families (Cord Blood, 2010).
In order to help the body maintain homeostasis, a certain amount of repair and replacement of cells and tissues must take place as long as the body lives. This is where adult stem cells come in. The belief is that most adult tissue contains adult stem cells. It is through cellular division of the stem cells in those tissues that they help maintain homeostasis by replacing and repairing lost and damaged tissue (Snippert, & Cleavers, 2011). Different from the embryonic stem cells totipotent characteristic, the daughter cells of the adult stem cell usually have the ability to generate into cells related to the surrounding tissue. As stated earlier, stem cells lose their totipotent quality in later stages of development and no longer divide into two unspecialized daughter cells. Once this happens, cells begin to divide by a process known as asymmetrical stem cell division. During this process cells the cells divides to give rise to its two daughter cells but only one cell retains the “molecular cues” of the parent stem cell, while the other differentiates (Snippert, & Cleavers, 2011).
Several different characteristics determine stem cells self-regeneration ability. The first, mentioned earlier, is totipotent. The totipotent stem cell has the ability to differentiate into any cell in the body; the zygote is a prime example of a totipotent stem cell (Kochar, 2004). Pluripotent stem cells also have the ability to differentiate into all cells of the body, with the exception of “extra-embryonic tissues such as the amnion, chorion, and other components of the placenta” (Stem Cell Basics, 2009). Researchers have found that some specialized adult cells, under induced conditions, can return to their stem cell like state, with these cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (Stem Cell Basics, 2009). The ranges of a cells ability to differentiate continue on from multipotential cells, which still have the potential to differentiate into many other cells of the body, down to nullipotential cells, which have no cellular division at all (Kochar, 2004).
Though 1998 marked the year where stem cell research first made its public appearance, actual research began more than 50 years ago (Solter, 2006). It was while studying teratomas and teratocarcinomas, tumors usually found in the gonads, that researchers first discovered and started working with the stem cells of mice. As early as 1961, experiments performed by scientist showed that a single cell from a teratocarcinoma, injected intraperitoneally could divide and differentiate into any of the cells contained within the teratocarcinoma. Further studies in 1970 confirmed the embryonic state of the stem cells isolated from teratocarcinomas. Research during this time also established embryonal carcinoma cells, which are the stem cells of tumors. In the late 1970’s experiments were conducted to induce mouse embryonic stem cells to differentiate in cultures, with 1981 being the year when scientists were able to derive, from mouse blastocysts in cultures, mouse embryonic stem cells (Solter, 2006).
It was in 1998 that scientist were first able to “grow” human stem cells in a laboratory setting. That year, two separate research teams announced that they had successfully cultured human stem cells. The first team, led by a Dr. John D. Gearhart of John Hopkins University, conducted experiments on human fetal tissue, and succeed in isolating and maintaining stem cells, which continued to divide and retain their unspecialized qualities (John D. Gearhart, 2010). Dr. James A. Thomson led the second team at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Thomson started his research on primates in an attempt to isolate and culture the stem cells of humankind’s “nearest relatives” (James A. Thomson, 2010). After efficaciously culturing primate stem cells in 1995, Dr. Thomson and his team moved to experimenting on human embryos created in vitro, though he was later able to induce adult stem cells to take on their former embryonic-like stem cell characteristics (James A. Thomson, 2010). His use of human embryos for experimentation met with much legal and public resistance.
Stem cell research has both its advocates and as well as opponents. The most avid groups of those against the research are anti-abortionist and religious groups, with many believing it unethical to use human life, to advance science. Opponents of stem cell research believe the embryos that contain the cells are human and have life, and that through experimentation, lives are being destroyed (Murnaghan, 2012). Supporters of the research embraced the new research as the source of treatments and possible cure for disease that until that time had no known cures. Advocates for stem cell research see the promising results of stem cells to out-weigh any ethical issues concerning embryonic stem cell research (Murnaghan, 2012).
After the public unveiling of stem cells derived from human embryos, a struggle for the legal right and federal funding to pursue research in the field began. In 2001, President George W. Bush established a policy that banned federal funding for the use of stem cells derived from human embryos, only allowing funding for existing stem cell research. Plenty felt that President Bush was halting medical advancements and possible treatments to previously incurable diseases. In 2005, President Bush vetoed a bill attempting to repeal his previous ban on federally funded stem cell research. Senate members such as, Bill First and Harry Reid, supported the bill citing that the potential of such research merits more lines of funding and that limiting funding crushes “the hopes of millions who suffer from debilitating conditions and diseases like diabetes, spinal cord injury, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's and others” (Deans, 2006).
Eight years after Bush’s 2001 ban on federal funding for stem cell research, scientists finally received the break they were so desperately seeking. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an order lifting the ban. During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to remove the 2001 ban, citing that Bush was “deferring the hopes of millions of Americans who do not have the time to keep waiting for the cure that may save or extend lives” (Meckler, 2009). His belief is that American’s were falsely choosing between science and faith: “that corruption, shielding, or shying away from the facts science lays bare benefits nobody” and “that the American government has not only a role but a responsibility to keep the country at the forefront of medical science” (Browne, 2009).
Before President Obama lifted the ban, stem cell research continued, though on a privately funded level. States such as Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington were adopting a pro stem cell research stance, and putting into effect state legislatures allowing funding for research on embryonic stem cells (Robeznieks, 2004). In 2004, California approved Proposition 71, which proposed $3 billion dollars of public money for stem cell research. In 2006, the people of the state of Missouri put to vote an initiative to secure legal rights for research on embryonic stem cells (Mauron, & Jaconi, 2007). New Jersey was yet another state where private funding would be going into stem cell research, with Gov. McGreevy plan of budgeting $6.5 million of state funds and $3.5 of private funds in 2004 (Robeznieks, 2004).
While embryonic stem cell experimenting was frowned upon by the public, research on human and nonhuman embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells continued to receive funding. In 2008, levels of funding for research on human embryonic stem cells show at $88 million, with and increase to $123 million in 2011. Nonhuman embryonic funds go from $150 million in 2008, to $165 million in 2011. Levels of funding for non-embryonic stem cells research show this method of experimentation as the more financed aspect of stem cell research. Human non-embryonic stem cell research funding went from $297 million in 2008, to $365 million in 2011, while nonhuman, non-embryonic research saw $497 million in 2008, and $620 million in 2011 (Estimates of Funding, 2012).
This funding has resulted in some amazing medical achievements. Over the years, many new stem cells therapies have emerged, giving hope to those who previously had none. Through autologus and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants, successful treatments now exist for several diseases. Diseases such as Hodgkin lymphoma, Ewing Sarcoma, and brain tumors are currently receiving treatment with autologus hematopoietic stem cell transplants (Diseases Treated by, 2012). Autologus hematopoietic stem cell transplants involve the use of one’s own stem cells for the transplant. Allogeneic transplants, conducted with stem cells from a donor, currently treat patients with disease such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and bone marrow failure syndromes (Diseases Treated by, 2012). Hospitals like Angeles Health International use stem cells as a treatment for COPD, numerous heart conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson and Alzheimer’s (Stem Cell Therapy, n.d). Patients diagnosed with the eye disease known as Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency, found relief when in 2009 with the first successful treatment of the disease (Wiley, 2009).
Successful treatments for cancers, heart conditions and neurodegenerative diseases encouraged a deeper exploration of the potential of stem cells in the treatment of other diseases. Researchers at the Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases experiment with stem cells in an attempt to find treatments for diabetes, and digestive, kidney, liver and pancreatic diseases (Clinical Research, 2010). Meanwhile, the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute conduct experiments and trials for treatments and cures for those who have diseases of the heart and blood vessels, lungs, blood cells and bone marrow (Clinical Trials, 2012). The Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York received approval in 2011 for the first clinical trial of stem cell use in the treatment of MS. Stem cells for this clinical trial derive from the patient’s own blood marrow, for injection into the patient’s cerebral spinal fluid. The trial, expected to last three years, consists of three rounds of injections spaced at three-month intervals, with the patients carefully observed for signs of improvement (Stem Cell Trial Approved, 2011).
Stem cell research piqued the interest of not only scientist here in the states but internationally as well. In the UK, scientists are just as active in the stem cell research field. One trial, conducted by a Dr. Paolo Muraro at the Imperial College in London, is using autologous mesenchymal stem cells in an attempt to prevent, and possibly reverse, the neurological degeneration caused by the relapse-remitting form of MS. Professor Geoff Raisman of the Institute of Neurology in London experimented with treatments for spinal cord injuries, and the prevention of blindness due to glaucoma. By using the adult stem cell called the olfactory ensheathing cells, Prof. Raisman and his team showed that nerve fibers in a damaged spinal cord have the potential for regrowth and that the mesenchymal stem cell can protect nerve fibers located behind the eye (Stem Cell Research, 2011).
In Singapore, Stem Cell Technologies i, conducted research on adult mesenchymal stem cells and the possible application of these cells in the area of regenerative medicine. They also worked with these cells in order to produce iPS cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells. They created the iPS cells with the hopes of using these cells to create insulin-producing cells, and hepatocytes (Stem Cell Facts, 2003). Research performed by scientist in Australia gave hope for the treatment of stroke victims. Two research teams at the Monash University discovered that, contrary to previous beliefs, the cells in the human brain are capable of forming new neurons in adulthood, and not fixed at birth (Study Raises Hope, 2012).
The history of stem cell research goes back further that most people realize, with experiments on mouse embryonic stem cells conducted as early as the 1950’s. Yes, the rise of stem cell research is associated with much controversy, yet the determination of researchers and advocates have brought to light the potential of this little cell. By isolating and determining the role of these cells in homeostasis of the body, scientists discovered that the ability to treat and cure certain diseases, no longer remained out of reach. The self-regenerative and self-renewing properties of this cell, along with its ability to differentiate into other cells of the body sparked, if you will, a scientific race amongst researchers to find treatments for spinal cord injuries and to reverse degenerative neurological damage, previously seen as permanent.
Even with the ethical debate and banning of federally funded stem cell research, the significance of the research shone through and while the ethical debate continues, the legal battle has lightened. It fought its way through the ban and maintained, however small, the support of private and state funding to help see it through to legal acceptance. With research showing successful treatments for sickle cell anemia, COPD, Parkinson, Alzheimer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain types of leukemia and other cancers, the importance of continued research on this cell should be obvious. So, to answer the question posed earlier in this paper, are the benefits of research on this amazing little cell too much to ignore? The answer is yes. The future of medicine stands to benefit enormously from continued testing, as current research and trials have proved without a doubt.

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