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Aug 19, 2019

New clues on stem cell transplant rejection revealed in study

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

In 2006, scientists discovered a way to “reprogram” mature cells—adult skin cells, for example—into stem cells that could, in principle, give rise to any tissue or organ in the body. Many assumed it was only a matter of time until this groundbreaking technique found its way into the clinic and ushered in a regenerative medicine revolution.

Because the same patient would be both the donor and the recipient of derived from these so-called induced (iPSCs), these cells would be seen as “self” by the , the thinking went, and not subject to the problems of rejection that plague conventional transplants.

But iPSCs haven’t emerged as the cure-all that was originally envisioned, due to unforeseen setbacks, including the surprising preclinical finding that iPSC-derived are often rejected, even after being reintroduced into the organism the cells were sourced from.

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