Another importance of stem cells comes to the fore front as claimed by Australian scientists who have grown a human prostate in mice. This is the first time in the world that such a feat has been accomplished.
The feat is to grow a human prostate gland in mice using embryonic stem cells.This would be helpful in treatment for prostate cancer and other diseases.
Monash University at Melbourne researchers had combined human embryonic stem cells with mouse prostate cells and implanted them in mice, where they grew into prostate glands. Ecstatic at this feat Professor Gail Risbridger, a member of the team, said “breakthrough would allow researchers to 'study the transition of healthy prostate tissue to cancer'. Not only will this enable us to develop new, more effective ways of treating diseases that affect nearly every man, but we hope eventually to find a way to prevent these diseases in the first place.”
'We've taken these embryonic stem cells to a point where they are actually functioning like a human prostate. This is a novel use of embryonic stem cells, where we're using them to benefit us scientifically and to further our understanding in the laboratory. We've now got a model that we can easily test potentially new clinical therapies for prostate disease.” Renea Taylor, co team member, said. Therefore this research gains importance as prostate cancer is common among men.
