University of Michigan Stem Cell Line Gets Federal Backing

The University of Michigan Health System announced its first human embryonic stem cell line has been accepted by the National Institutes of Health register, making the cells available for federal research dollars. UM4-6 is the first stem cell line the University of Michigan has had accepted, says Gary Smith. Smith is the co-director for U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, a division of A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute in Ann Arbor and is responsible for deriving the line. Here are details about this event.

* In 2008, Michigan voters approved a ballot proposal that amended the state constitution to allow human embryonic stem cell research under certain guidelines. The cells had to be created for fertility purposes, unsuitable for implantation (or extras not needed), taken from embryos that would otherwise have been discarded and donated by the person seeking fertility treatment.

* According to the Taubman Institute, university researchers have been working to extract this line. They derived it in 2010 from a cluster of 30 cells taken from a 5-day-old embryo.

* According to NIH's stem cell registry, the UM4-6 became the 157th line on the federal register on Feb. 2. Other schools that have registered lines include UCLA, Harvard, Stanford, New York University and the University of Connecticut. Stem cells can be obtained anywhere, but to qualify for federal research funding, it must be registered with the NIH.

* According to the Detroit Free Press, the stem cell line is thought to be disease-free. Smith says it's a tribute to the precision of the methods. He says the stem cell line will continue to reproduce into the millions in the embryonic state if it's nurtured properly.

* Smith has submitted two other disease-specific stem cell lines for possible inclusion on the registry, including one that carries Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association says the disease is a nonfatal, noncontagious genetic condition in the Muscular Dystrophy family. CMT affects the nervous system. The other stem cell line carries hemophilia, a potentially deadly genetic blood-clotting disorder. Smith plans to submit eight more stem cell lines: five disease-specific and three normal.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues in her home state of "Pure Michigan."

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University of Michigan Stem Cell Line Gets Federal Backing