Welcome to Straight Talk on Health. I’m your host Dr. Chet Zelasko. Straight Talk on Health is a joint production with WGVU in Grand Rapids MI. I examine the practical application of health information. Nutrition. Exercise. Diet. Supplementation. I look at the science behind them, and let you know whether it’s something to consider or not. You can check out other things that I do on my website Drchet.com and sign up for my free emails.
Years ago, when I was a college professor, they were just completing the genome project. My feeling back then, and I feel the same today, is that once we have identified every gene and more importantly what they do, we're going to be able to repair the body from the inside out. I made the statement to those students that someday, in their lifetime, people will be able to grow new limbs if they needed to. That probably sounds as crazy today as it did back then to those students. The challenge is to find out how to turn on specific cells so that they will grow a new limb, grow a new heart, or whatever organ is necessary. I still believe that possible today.
Understanding the genetic code will still probably take decades unless they are able to create some kind of guidebook. I'm sure that part of that solution is going to be utilizing stem cells. I’ve been asked about stem cells for specific uses so I decided to find out all I could. If you have no idea what stem cells are, listen on because I'm going to give you a brief overview.
Stem cells are unique. Why? Because they can renew themselves. They have the ability to differentiate into many different types of cells. They can also do different things during different phases of life. There are two types of stem cells. Let’s check out them out.
The first is the “pluripotent” stem cells that are embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Pluripotent simply means that many things can be made from these types of cells. As such, pluripotent stem cells (PSC) have the ability to differentiate into all of the internal cells of the adult body. In the early development of a mammals’ embryos, there are two types of stem cells. They are cells of the inner cell mass. They will ultimately develop into the specialized cells such as liver cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, and so on. Cell types, tissues and organs of the body. That makes sense. The other types of cells are called tro—phec-to-der-mal cells and they will contribute to the development of the placenta. That’s also understandable.
Early in the 2000s, researchers discovered specific conditions which would allow mature adult cells to be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state. Those types of stem cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). This is where much of the research is happening but I’ll come back to that later.
Adult stem cells are interesting. During our life, cells wear out and are damaged. Adult stem cells serve as an internal repair system that generates replacements for cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease. Adult stem cells have been found in many organs and tissues and are generally associated with specific anatomical locations. These stem cells may remain quiescent or quiet state for long periods of time until they are activated by a normal need for more cells to maintain and repair tissues.
What makes stem cells so fascinating? They have the unique property to self-renew and then to recreate functional tissues. Muscle cells, blood cells, nerve cells and others don’t have the ability to replicate. They can’t make copies of themselves. Stem cells, on the other hand, can replicate many times.
This is also interesting. When a stem cell begins to divide, it can make two stem cells, a stem cell and another type of cell like a nerve cell, or two other types of cells. Yet, in spite of that, there doesn’t appear to be out of control growth from stem cells; somehow they maintain the right balance. At this stage of the research, how that control is maintained is not understood.
Getting the vibe why basic research is so important? If the mechanism that stem cells have to self-replicate and to replicate into other types of cells is discovered, it may help to understand what happens during the development of embryos before birth and babies after birth or what goes wrong during aging. That will also allow researchers to grow stem cells more efficiently under laboratory conditions. To study stem cells, you have to be able to grow them in the lab. If they could grow more efficiently, they would be able to control how the stem cells replicate because, left to their own devices, they differentiate into specific cells types. The real question is why do they do that?
Stem cells have the ability to recreate functional tissues. PSC are not one specific type of cell yet when they receive the correct signal, they can make any type of cell in the body. ASC are limited to dividing and making only the types of cells found in the organs they are found in.
While the process to create iPSC stem cells is extremely complicated, if ASC could be taken, let’s say from bone or cartilage, and turned into iPSC that could stimulate the growth of bone or cartilage specific to that area of the body, the body could repair itself from within. That’s the type of thing we’re talking about here. Potentially. Maybe it’s not possible because the iPSC can’t be directed to be that specific. Think about it. The bone in the femur is a different shape in different areas of the same bone. It has to be able to replace just the damaged bone, not stimulate bone growth where it is not needed. That’s why research on stem cells and other types of basic research must continue. To find out what’s possible and what’s not. The possibilities are exciting.
So is the reality of scienceploitation we live in. There are numerous products that claim to increase the stem cells through phototherapy and by releasing nutrients that will help stimulate the production of stem cells. While the companies offering these types of products proliferate, the actual science lags. The potential for wound healing and skin repair are probably the most applicable but there are no FDA approved therapies for use. Claiming to stimulate the production of stem cells via topical dressings is not the same thing as growing stem cell patches for specific purposes. The approval process is tightly regulated but that hasn’t stopped companies from making claims about what topical applications will do.
However, there is continuing research on using stem cell patches to treat diseases. In this case, scientists have grown stem cell patches that will cause muscle cells to grow. Research has been done on Rhesus monkeys that demonstrate repair and improved function in monkeys with severe heart failure. Human trials are under way. The stem cells that are used are grown in the laboratory and attached to the exterior of the hearts of patients with severe heart disease. These are patients who are on a heart transplant list so the disease is severe. In the first patient who received the patches grafter to her heart, she did get a heart transplant after several months. Examination of her old heart revealed that the patches took and grew blood vessels to become part of the heart tissue. Researchers were not looking at this as growing a new heart but to improve function until a suitable donor could be found. Short of that, the purpose was to improve the quality of life. It appears that the study may help establish benefit.
There’s the primer on stem cells. The research is not without controversy as one may expect. The best source for obtaining stem cells is from embryos but that raises ethical issues. The next best source is in cord blood after birth. The most likely source will be adult stem cells that are reprogrammed to be specified iPSC cells taken from adult donors. We’ll see. In the meantime, don’t be fooled by products in the market. There are only a couple of FDA-approved products that are administered only by physicians. While research continues, unless a stem cell therapy is within an approved study, it’s best to avoid it for now.
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References: The promise of human embryonic stem cells in aging-associated diseases. by O. Yabut and H.S. Bernstein, 2011.
Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08463-0 (2025).
