Safety test for stem cells is developed in Australia

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CSIRO scientists develop safety test for induced pluripotent stem cells' [4 o" ^6 S; ?  j) x
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Australian scientists have created a test to work out whether certain types of stem cells are unsafe.# ^# Q4 U  {3 U: w' T5 _' E
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The CSIRO has spent five years developing a safety test for induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells.
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( A$ q! M8 R/ \$ e0 D3 E% UiPS stem cells do not require a human embryo and are considered an important research advance.
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( c# `, b+ {7 G' {6 A) yLast month, scientists were able to use human skin cells to create early-stage embryos.. E8 _# C9 h& U8 F, P3 i  b7 ]
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There is much debate in the scientific community about the advantages of iPS stem cells over their embryonic counterparts.( ~* _6 y* Q, D8 o. q" z

( r" R3 q3 G5 W' i! u/ n; V9 u6 q% [5 @- ^The CSIRO's Andrew Laslett says there is still a number of question marks about the long term stability and safety of iPS cells.8 Z* K7 H+ \* W/ j7 p' L& w) |! K
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"At this stage it appears that human embryonic stem cells may be slightly safer, but it's early days," he said." S" J9 C- N8 y0 J4 r7 w4 O% h
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Dr Laslett says the new test will provide more information about the quality of iPS and help identify unwanted cells that can mutate.
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"Sometimes the cells that are made from the iPS cells change back into stem cells which are unwanted because these cells can form tumours called teratomas," he said.
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Dr Laslett is hoping the research will be used to ensure stem cell therapies are safe for humans.2 [3 l) m/ @/ s; H; r: {
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"Any cell line that's going to be used for cell therapy has to go through a whole barrage of different tests to see whether they're safe," he said.4 H2 X5 _  r& w
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"We hope that this one will be added to that number of tests... and it's really the first one that's entirely specific for human induced pluripotent stem cells."3 L  Y) e1 s' T" D$ S, ^; c

, Q# x* m! v) c) \; e) ^5 h. ^ By science and technology reporter Jake Sturmer + d! y# |$ }5 e
Posted Tue Jun 4, 2013 1:21pm AEST