How are things going with regenerative medicine and stem cells in Japan?
It’s still an exciting time there, but I’ve noted a sense that it is a time of transition too in some ways. For example, government funding is perhaps less certain than in the past.
Let’s start with a few articles on how the field is doing in Japan, which remains one of the top countries in the world for this kind of research.
Stem cells in Japan
- Japanese researchers eye COVID treatment derived from stem cells, Nikkei Asia. While I’m still fairly skeptical about the idea of directly using stem cells or other cells like MSCs for COVID, using pluripotent stem cells like iPS cells to make immune cells for COVID could be a viable approach. With COVID spiking back up now in many places, it’s a reminder that we need more treatment options.
- World’s first iPS cell regenerative treatment for heart failure tested in Japan, Nippon TV. Is the “world’s first” claim here accurate? It does not seem to be. Here’s my post from 2018 that perhaps was one of the first: Japan conditionally approves new IPS cell-based heart study. The approval six years ago was for an entirely different trial. I also found fifteen existing listings on Clinicaltrials.gov when searching for iPS cells and heart diseases. The newly approved study is from a biotech called Heartseed. It looks interesting but there’s no need to hype it.
- Highly regenerative species-specifc genes improve age-associated features in the adult Drosophila midgut, BMC Biology. The link for this one that’s available seems invalid so I linked to a preprint version. While this is beautiful work, some media have hyped this one too. I’ve included a picture from the research above. There is so much more we need to learn about gut stem cells, regeneration, and heath.
- Note that the hype I’m talking about in this post is not unique to media coverage of stem cell research in Japan. It happens all over and is, unfortunately, very prevalent here in the U.S.
More recommended reads
- Preclinical evaluation of transaxial intraputaminal trajectory for enhanced distribution of grafted cells in Parkinson’s disease, Journal of Neurosurgery. These encouraging preclinical primate research findings from Aspen Neurosciences also got some good media coverage: Delivery of stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s safe in primate trial
- The evolution and ongoing challenge of unproven cell-based interventions, Stem Cells Translational Medicine. Should we just accept the current reality of 100s of unproven stem cell clinics in the US and then many others in additional countries? Here in the U.S., regulators (FDA, state medical boards, FTC, etc.) have struggled to keep pace with oversight of the clinics.
- CRISPR and Stem Cells: New Hope for Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa, MedScape.
- Sac State Biology students tap the potential of stem cells to cure illnesses, Sac State.
- Cell and gene therapy accessibility, Science.
He Jiankui news
- Controversial CRISPR scientist promises “no more gene editing, MIT Technology Review. Not much of a promise as He Jiankui says he’ll wait until society is ready. Does he decide that?
- Jiankui He, creator of CRISPR-edited children, relocates to a Chinese medical tourism hub, STAT.
It seems like He is back giving interviews and such. Science as a field doesn’t really know what to do when researchers who have committed serious misconduct pop up again. See this post on thinking about second chances. It’s interesting because James Wilson, another researcher I mentioned in that post, has been in the news lately too including related to his departure from Penn.