VITAMIN C HELPS PRODUCE STEM CELLS
Stem cell therapy generates a great deal of controversy. One method of stem cell regeneration that avoids the ethical controversy of obtaining cells from human embryos is reprogramming adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This process involves turning on a set of genes, which recent research has aided by the introduction of transcription factors present in embryonic stem cells. The inefficiency of this conversion has prompted research into methods to improve results. Now Dr Duanqing Pei from the South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his colleagues have found that vitamin C enhances pluripotent stem cell generation in mouse and human cells, while accelerating gene expression changes. The vitamin appears to act, in part, by retarding cell senescence. "Our results highlight a simple way to improve iPSC generation and provide additional insight into the mechanistic basis of reprogramming," Dr Pei concluded. "It is also of interest that a vitamin with long-suspected anti-aging effects has such a potent influence on reprogramming, which can be considered a reversal of the aging process at the cellular level. It is likely that our work may stimulate further research in this area."