From National Right to Life

Today's News & Views
January 8, 2007

Amniotic Stem Cells Show Amazing Promise
by Dave Andrusko

It'd be hard to imagine a better front page headline at this juncture than "Scientists See Potential In Amniotic Stem Cells," which graced page one of today's Washington Post. The subhead of Rick Weiss's story was equally encouraging: "They Are Highly Versatile And Readily Available."

Since most TN&V readers keep up to date, you already know that the new pro-abortion leadership in the House and Senate is determined to pass legislation that would compel taxpayers to pony up money to fund morally repugnant stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos. The House is expected to have it first go at this on Thursday.

The ideologues will not be fazed, but anyone whose vision is not clouded over by bias will pause for reflection when they read the research that was described yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology in its online edition. Let me offer paragraphs from selected stories that give you the flavor of the good news.

From today's Baltimore Sun by Karen Kaplan:

"Researchers have found stem cells in human amniotic fluid that appear to have many of the key benefits of embryonic stem cells while avoiding their knottiest ethical, medical and logistical drawbacks, according to a study published yesterday."

From yesterday's Associated Press story by Paul Elias, updated this morning:

"Scientists reported Sunday they had found a plentiful source of stem cells in the fluid that cushions babies in the womb and produced a variety of tissue types from these cells - sidestepping the controversy over destroying embryos for research.

"Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells. They reported they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone.

"'Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs as well,' said Dr. Anthony Atala, head of Wake Forest's regenerative medicine institute and senior researcher on the project."

From today's Post

"The cells, shed by the developing fetus and easily retrieved during routine prenatal testing, are easier to maintain in laboratory dishes than embryonic stem cells -- the highly versatile cells that come from destroyed human embryos and are at the center of a heated congressional debate that will resume this week. …

"Moreover, because the cells are a genetic match to the developing fetus, tissues grown from them in the laboratory will not be rejected if they are used to treat birth defects in that newborn, researchers said. Alternatively, the cells could be frozen, providing a personalized tissue bank for use later in life.

"The newly analyzed fetal stem cells, scientists said, have many of the advantages of both [embryonic and adult stem cells].

"'They grow fast, as fast as embryonic stem cells, and they show great pluripotentiality," meaning they can become many kinds of tissues, said study leader Anthony Atala… 'But they remain stable for years without forming tumors,' he added, something that embryonic cells are not very good at."

From Maggie Fox's story in Reuters:

"Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology Atala and colleagues described how they have spent seven years proving the properties of these cells.

"'It has been known for decades that both the placenta and amniotic fluid contain multiple progenitor cell types from the developing embryo, including fat, bone, and muscle,' Atala said.

"' We asked the question, 'Is there a possibility that within this cell population we can capture true stem cells?' The answer is yes.'"

According to the Institute for Regenerative Medicine's web page.

"Atala and colleagues discovered a small number of stem cells in amniotic fluid – estimated at 1 percent – that can give rise to many of the specialized cell types found in the human body. The scientists believe the newly discovered stem cells, which they have named amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells, may represent an intermediate stage between embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. They have markers consistent with both cell types.

"'It took this long to verify that we had a true stem cell," said Atala, who began the work seven years ago.  'These cells are capable of extensive self-renewal, a defining property of stem cells. They also can be used to produce a broad range of cells that may be valuable for therapy.'"

I contacted Dr. David Prentice, who is an internationally recognized expert on stem cell research and cloning and who seemingly has testified everywhere, and asked for his opinion.