STEM cells can help treat diseases by releasing growth factors, not just by replacing diseased tissue.
A team at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York has shown that injecting embryonic stem cells into female mice before they become pregnant partially corrects a genetic heart defect in their offspring (Science, vol 306, p 247).
鈥淐ells in the mums were secreting factors that crossed the placenta,鈥� says team member Robert Benezra. Identifying such factors might lead to new treatments for a range of diseases. Some researchers suspect stem cells help treat heart attacks by secreting growth factors, for instance (New 杏吧原创, 25 September, p 38).
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