South Korean Scientists Develop Trigger For Stem Cell Differentiation

A team of South Korean scientists said they had developed an efficient way of triggering stem cells to transform into specialist cells that can help the body repair itself. The team led by Moon Shin-Yong of the state-financed Stem Cell Research Centre said they had found that the PDX-I protein, produced in the human pancreas, can work as an agent to trigger stem cell differentiation. By using the new method, they were able to direct human embryonic stem cells to develop into cells producing insulin, a substance in the body that allows sugar to be used for energy. People with diabetes do not produce enough insulin. The research is still at a preliminary stage, researchers caution, and they say that although they can trigger differentiation, they have little or no control over what kind of mature cell the stem cell develops into.