Another Organ Successfully Grown From Scratch
From Reuters: "Researchers have discovered stem cells in the prostates of mice and grown complete prostates from them ... human beings have similar stem cells in their prostates, although they have so far not grown human prostate glands from the cells. ... The research team [first] found a marker, a protein, that would differentiate prostate stem cells from other cells in the prostate. This marker, C-117, can also be found in the human prostate ... Other stem cell experts said they doubted Genentech would try to grow human prostates but might use the finding for research into prostate cancer and other prostate conditions. This is a compelling and important study providing strong evidence not only for the presence of stem cells in the adult prostate, but a way to identify them. This extends the number of adult organs in which such tissue-specific stem cells have been found, including skin, brain, mammary glands, and the gut. ... whether you need to regenerate a new prostate is a moot point, since the prostate simply gives the aging male population serious medical problems. However, it is a widely held view that cancers originate from normal stem cells, so this discovery will be a significant boost to prostate cancer research."
Link: http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN2237531420081022