STEM CELL scientists from Monash University have modified a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells.
The Victorian scientists modified the hESC line, ErythRED, which represents a major step forward to the eventual aim of generating mature, fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells.
The research was conducted by a team at the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories which included scientists at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Funded by the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC), the research team hopes the work will help scientists to track the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into red blood cells.
While hESCs have the potential to turn into any cell type in the body, it remains a scientific challenge to reliably turn these stem cells into specific cell types such as red blood cells.
The development of the ErythRED embryonic stem cell line, which fluoresces red when haemoglobin genes are switched on, is an important development which will help researchers to optimise the conditions that generate these cells.
The research was supported by the Australian Stem Cell Centre, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Foundation.
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