Scientists at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg have developed a computer based model for reprogramming cells. This can be done entirely without stem cells.
In 2010 took place the first direct conversion of skin cells to nerve cells in the lab. The method used so far was largely guided by trial and error. Now, the LCB researchers have replaced trial and error with computer calculations. “Our theoretical model first queries databases where vast amounts of information on gene actions and their effects are stored and then identifies the genes that maintain the stability of differentiated cells. Working from the appropriate records, the model suggests which genes in the starting cells need to be switched on and off again, and when, in order to change them into a different cell type.” explains PhD student at LCSB Isaac Crespo
“Our predictions have proved very accurate in the lab,”says Professor del Sol: “And it turns out it makes no difference at all how similar the cells are. The models work equally well for cell lines that have only just branched off from one another as for those that are already very far apart.”
The model could be of enormous benefit for regenerative medicine, for example to reprogram a patient’s own healthy skin cells and develop them to nerve cells and treat conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.