The key to future innovation. What can they do for us and how will it affect our future? #SciChallenge2017

1. Stem CellsBy Khadija Ali and
Samruddhi Mujumdar

2. What’s the Big
Idea?
• Stem cells are the innovation of tomorrow.
• They are cells that have the ability to specialise
and become almost anything you like; found
even in our bodies.
• Researched and developed right now, to change
the face of the medical world.
• If done correctly medicine and the world of
pharmacology will never be the same again.

3. Public Health
• How will the advancing technology that is stem
cells change the public health sector?
• Three areas will be affected the most:
• ALS
• Heart
• Chimeras
• How will these areas be affected?

4. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS)
• Identifying the problem:
The neurodegenerative disease that affects
the brain and the spinal cord.
• In a person who isn’t affected, the motor
neurons reach from the brain to the spinal
cord and then to the muscles to move.
• So how is it caused?
• Progressive degeneration of the motor
neurons eventually leads to a loss of
voluntary muscle action
• The issue:
Hard to find a treatment to prevent
degeneration or regenerate cells.
http://www.alsa.org/research/focus-areas/stem-
cells/?referrer=https://www.bing.com/

5. What will Stem Cells
do?
• Cells can differentiate into the cells required for
the patient.
• Patients own stem cells cannot be used so iPSCs
are used(Induces pluripotent stem cells).
• These are created by skin cells and a mixture of
naturally occurring growth factors so they turn
into stem cells.
• Cells are then differentiated into:
• Upper corticospinal motor neurons, which
when damaged cause uncontrolled muscle
spasms.
• Lower motor neurons, that when damaged
cause weak muscles.

6. The Heart
• What are some of the main issues?
• What is a myocardial infarction?
• Repair irreversible damage done by myocardial
infarctions.
• Heart attack survivors are left suffering , due to
heart no longer pumping blood effectively.
• Some tissue can become stunned myocardium
due to poor function, can return if blood flow
improves.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-
news/11613306/Heartbreak-stem-cells-could-repair-damage-
of-heart-attack.html

7. Irreversible?
• Scientists working towards an injection
of the heart stem cells.
• BHF and ICL discovered stem cell in the
heart that is crucial to regeneration
process.
• After stem cells are injected, the heart
can pump twice as much blood.
• Currently used on mice.
• Identifying protein, PDGFRα.
• Use protein to find and multiply enough
stem cells for repairing process.
• Repair after 12 weeks.
http://www.heartdiseaseattack.com/heart_attack_damag
e.php

8. Chimeras
• Term taken from Greek mythology,
meaning an animal of a different
species.
• Exploring ways to grow human
organs inside an embryo of
another species.
• Do this by changing the DNA.

9. Why are we
using
Chimeras?
• Every day in the United States, 22 people die
waiting for an organ transplant.
• Supply of organs shrinking as demands keep
increasing.
• Scientists using different species to house these
growths.
• Species being explored include pigs, despite 90
million years of evolution separating them from
humans, lots of biology is shared.
• Human- mouse chimeras haven’t been
successful.
https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2017/02/09/will-pig-
human-chimeras-solve-organ-transplant-shortage/

10. How are
Chimeras
made?
• Human totipotent stem cells
injected into a pig embryo.
• Pig embryo held in place while
needle injects with stem cells.
• Embryo implanted for up to 1
month.
• 2,075 embryos, only 186 continue
to develop
• The human cells were working
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38717930

11. Drug
Development
• So what does the advancing
technology of stem cells
mean for the drug industry?
• Well it’s going to change
everything from the types of
drugs distributed to the
actual testing.
http://www.nature.com/news/stem-cells-take-root-in-drug-
development-1.10713

12. Toxicity of Drugs on
the Market
• Stem cells adopted in pharmacology.
• Help to identify new therapies.
• Selling heart and liver cells from ESC.
• Used to test if drugs are toxic or not instead
of trialling on humans.
• Stem cells mirror different gene codes and
the effect of different medicines on different
people.
• Increases overall safety
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130611111712.htm

13. Disease
Modelling
• What is it?
• An animal or cells displaying all of some of the
pathological processes that are observed in the
actual disease.
• Studying disease models, aids understanding of
how different diseases develop and help with
testing future treatment approaches.
http://www.nature.com/subjects/disease-model

14. Recent Advancements
• Progress in cellular
reprogramming has opened a
door in disease modelling.
• Pluripotent stem cells
representing a myriad of genetic
diseases can now be produced
from a patients tissue.
• Cells can be expanded and
differentiated to produce an
almost endless supply of the
affected cell type.
• Can be used as a tool to improve
understanding of disease
mechanisms and test
therapeutic interventions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3785403/

15. Key to
Success?
• Disease modelling with patient derives iPSCs
has been successfully used to clarify
pathophysiology of seven rare diseases.
• These include:
• Retinal degeneration
• Spinal Muscular atrophy
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Next steps are to employ these iPSC- based
platforms for molecular analysis of a disease
phenotype in question.
• This is then followed by drug screening and
drug development.
• If done correctly, this can help save millions of
lives across the planet.
http://kjim.org/m/journal/view.php?number=169327

16. The Ethics
• While using stem cells is great for the future there are
arguments both for and against.
• Against:
• ESC- people may be against using embryos(breaches
sanctity of life).
• Chimeras breach animal rights.
• Against natural order of life.
• Religious argument of being against God’s plan.
• For:
• No longer need to do multiple trials on animals and
humans.
• Prevent damage to organ donor.
• Help eradicate diseases.
• Chimeras can help with:
• Screening of drugs
• Studying human diseases
• Understanding stages of embryo development
• Explaining differences between species