近日，英国科学家说，他们已经制取了质量一流的“金标”干细胞，这可能引发一波治疗退化性疾病的新方法。相关论文发表在最新一期的《细胞治疗》（Cytotherapy）期刊上。
英国《每日电讯报》12月6日报道称，取自人体胚胎的这些干细胞在明年年底前就可以提供给研究人员用于临床试验。
研究人员说，此前在人体上进行的胚胎干细胞试验一直使用质量较低的“研究级”干细胞，它们是在经过处理后被重新定为“临床级”的，而新的干细胞在被捐赠出来的时候就具有“临床级”质量，不需要昂贵而又危险的转换过程。
英国伦敦大学国王学院的研究人员把这些干细胞捐给了英国干细胞库。这些干细胞将在这里进行检测，以确保它们安全无害，并且达到了可用于人体试验的质量。
国王学院研究团队的主要成员彼得·布劳德说：“就再生医学而言，可以随时投入临床使用的干细胞是每个人都向往的‘圣杯’。”
《每日电讯报》报道称，这些干细胞取自由接受人工授精治疗的患者所捐献的针头大小的胚胎，它们对患者本人不再有任何用处，而且即使不捐献出来也会被扔掉。（生物谷Bioon.com）
>>延伸阅读：解读干细胞临床应用标准与规则
>>延伸阅读：干细胞疗法临床转化面临的问题
>>延伸阅读：卫立辛：混乱的临床应用不利于干细胞的整体发展
>>延伸阅读：谁来拯救“超人”——干细胞临床研究在世界范围内的争论
>>延伸阅读：干细胞临床转化之路在何方？
doi:10.3109/14653249.2011.623692
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Derivation and feeder-free propagation of human embryonic stem cells under xeno-free conditions
Dusko Ilic, Emma Stephenson, Victoria Wood, Laureen Jacquet, Danielle Stevenson, Anastasia Petrova, Neli Kadeva, Stefano Codognotto, Heema Pate, Maxine Semple, Glenda Cornwe, Caroline Ogilvie & Peter Braude
Background aims. Human embryonic stem (hES) cells hold great potential for cell therapy and regenerative medicine because of their pluripotency and capacity for self-renewal. The conditions used to derive and culture hES cells vary between and within laboratories depending on the desired use of the cells. Until recently, stem cell culture has been carried out using feeder cells, and culture media, that contain animal products. Recent advances in technology have opened up the possibility of both xeno-free and feeder-free culture of stem cells, essential conditions for the use of stem cells for clinical purposes. To date, however, there has been limited success in achieving this aim. Methods, results and conclusions. Protocols were developed for the successful derivation of two normal and three specific mutation-carrying (SMC) (Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy 1) genomically stable hES cell lines, and their adaptation to feeder-free culture, all under xeno-free conditions.
