ROME: The Vatican is pushing for research of adult stem cells as an alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells, which the Catholic Church opposes because it maintains that the destruction of the embryo amounts to the killing of human life.
The church is opposed to embryonic stem cell research because it involves the destruction of embryos, but it supports the use of adult stem cells, which are found in the bodies of all humans.
Human embryonic stem cells are produced from surplus embryos of in vitro fertilization procedures used to help infertile women get pregnant.
Both are prized for their ability to morph into other kinds of cells, offering the possibility of replacing tissue damaged by ailments such as Parkinson's disease.
But adult cells are thought to be less versatile than embryonic ones, and scientists have had more trouble growing adult stem cells in the laboratory than embryonic cells.
Still, adult stem cells could be easier to use if they are taken from patients themselves, because the replacement tissue would have less chance of being rejected.
Obama has lifted restrictions, imposed by his predecessor President George W. Bush, on federal funding of research using human embryonic stem cells.
He called intestinal stem cells "a very exciting area of basic research" but said therapeutic uses are only speculative at this point.
"We want to harvest them, we want to isolate them, we want to make them grow outside our body," and transform them into cells of any kind, said Alessio Fasano, the scientist leading the project and the director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.
"If we reach that phase, if we are able to achieve that goal, then our next step is to eventually move to clinical application," Fasano told the AP.
Intestinal stem cells have certain features that make them appealing for this kind of research, Fasano said.
They are very active cells - the intestine replenishes all its cells every few days - and they are intrinsically flexible - already programmed to generate all the various kinds of cells such as mucus cells or epithelial cells present in the highly complex organ- AP
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