SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A new way to rejuvenate old stem cells raises the possibility that patients' own stem cells may one day be rescued and banked, U.S. researchers say.
Dr. Xiao-Dong Chen of University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio said stem cells are immature cells that have the potential to convert into bone, muscle, blood vessels, nerve fibers, and other body cells and tissues. Older stem cells are not as robust as young ones, Chen said.
Chen's team extracted mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow of 3-month-old mice and 18-month-old mice. The group also obtained extracellular matrix -- a scaffold of connective tissue, such as collagen, which constitutes a majority of the body's structure -- from mice of both ages.
The team seeded half of the older stem cells on extracellular matrix from the 3-month-old mice and half on extracellular matrix from the 18-month-old mice. Likewise, half of the young stem cells were seeded on the young extracellular matrix and half were seeded on the old extracellular matrix.
The study, published in the FASEB Journal, found the old cells that had been grown on a young extracellular matrix produced just as much bone as young cells, while old cells grown on an old extracellular matrix produced no bone.
