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The research, sponsored by the UCAM and developing a team of scientists from the United States and Spain led by Juan Carlos Izpisua, seeks to obtain human organs for transplanting in pigs sick.

Being able to implant a patient with a liver generated from a cell taken from her hair and developed in an animal, a seriously ill cornea recover or regenerate an unrecoverable meniscus.

It sounds like science fiction, but the international reference scientific journal 'Nature' has published the results of the progress of the research promoted by the Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, leads in this regard Dr. Juan Carlos Izpisua, coordinating scientific US and Spain, in what is already a global benchmark and generated great expectations.

For researchers "for the first time we can say that cells with the potential to generate all the cells of the human body. This is something that we have long been trying to achieve and allows us to take the next step, which is to generate tissues and organs size and similar to humans' physiology.

LA JOLLA IN USA;

CLINIC, CEMTRO And UCAM IN SPAIN

The Spanish scientist Juan Carlos Izpisua heads the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, (California), where she works nearly a thousand scientists from 20 different countries and has led to 22 Nobel laureates.

It is also a professor in Developmental Biology UCAM and Doctor Honoris Causa by this institution.

From there it coordinates a large team of scientists working in this American institution as well as three other Spanish centers: the Catholic University of Murcia (being the group leader Jerome Lajara, ophthalmologist and vice dean of the Faculty of Medicine), the CEMTRO Clinic Madrid (front, the orthopedic surgeon Pedro Guillen, director and extraordinary professor of Sports Traumatology UCAM) and the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (under the responsibility of its director, Josep Maria Campistol, nephrologist).

It also has the collaboration of the University of Davis in California (hand investigator Paul J. Ros) and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia (with Professor of Animal Pathology, Emilio Martinez).

And in orthopedics, nephrology and ophthalmology would be three areas where clinically apply this technique of regenerative medicine, if this team of scientists take to achieve transplants in humans.

PETRI PLATE TO SUCCESS 'IN VIVO'

Ensure that the cell itself is the best medicine was the target of the investigations of reference, which had developed only under in vitro, in a petri dish in a laboratory, managing change one, and specialized adult cell, to provide it the same ability to generate embryonic tissues, ie with pluripotent ability, called Cell IPS (induced pluripotent stem).

Izpisua's team has now been able to make it happen 'in vivo', as it has managed to be born a mouse with a pancreas generated from IPS cells of rat.

So today published the journal 'Nature', with an impact factor of 42 351 and first in their area of ​​expertise: 1/55 in Multidisciplinary Sciences.

AND, IN PIGS

Izpisua and has launched the next phase, the generation of human organs in pigs and also obtain positive results, we would be willing to transplant to sick people.

This is part of the research that is now developing in the region of Murcia, where sows have been inseminated until hundred embryos which have introduced them pluripotent human cells.

The embryos were then implanted into recipient sows and, after a few weeks of gestation, will check if these cells have divided and differentiated to yield the desired organ.

Izpisua explains that "we had our doubts if we could mix a human cell into an animal environment, and this experiment proves it, which we are very hopeful that we can expand."

The hope is that "if we make a similar animal species in the size of organs such as the pig, that can be a material for transplantation of any organ or tissue."

The prestigious Spanish scientist says that "for me it was very important to have the support of people who believe in this project, and in this case the Catholic University of Murcia through its president Jose Luis Mendoza, which has allowed us to extend these observations and this is the first step in a much larger and important project that can alleviate many of the diseases that have no cure today. "

OBJECTIVE: HEALING IN HUMANS

Explanation "to create a tissue or a human body comes from the same patient, a skin cell or hair" It "; create tissue that the patient need (loss of function), in another animal and that is the source of transplant. "

For this "we must begin by tissues in which a small success is already a breakthrough. If a blind person sees a little bit, it is a great success. If insulin levels can be reduced a little, quality of life the person is really different. If we can encourage mobility even in a very small proportion, the quality of life of a person with joint problems will be much better. "

UCAM

Juan Carlos Izpisua headed the Department of Developmental Biology of the UCAM, one of 60 that has this University, which also has 22 research groups and 73 active research projects, or a pioneer of Industrial PhD program, all within its Research Plan.

José Luis Mendoza, president of the UCAM explains that "have bet heavily on quality research, always at the service of humanity and the research projects to be carried out with this chair are made thinking of curing many diseases but for the poorest, most needy "people especially benefit.

He adds that "we have invested this year more than 9 million euros in research; it proves the importance we not only quality education, which is fundamental to the whole Anglo methodology applied in college, but also to research excellence and transfer to the society to benefit from it. "

Source: UCAM