Federal approval of Michigan embryonic stem cell line gives boost to state research

A Michigan stem cell line developed from a 5-day-old embryo has been approved by the U.S. National Institutes of Health for federally-funded research ? a move that strengthens Michigan?s foothold in the growing field of embryonic stem cell science.

At the University of Michigan, the line known as UM4-6 was cultivated by Gary Smith, co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies ? part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

In October 2010, Smith took the tiny clump of about 30 cells from a 5-day-old embryo that had been created for reproduction but was no longer needed, according to U-M.

Nurtured in what Smith has called "a very precise culture and the right nutrients,? those cells continued to replicate into millions, even as they remained in their embryonic state.

The line was approved Feb. 2 and now appears on the NIH registry, listed as the 147th stem cell line.

UM4-6 is believed to be disease-free. Though other stem cell lines have been derived elsewhere, only those available on the registry are approved for federally-funded research.

Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 2008 permitting researchers to use surplus embryonic stem cells in research. That cleared the way for UM4-6?s development.

Two other lines at U-M have been submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific: one carries a genetic defect that causes hemophilia; the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder.

Smith is expected to submit eight more lines to the registry ? three that are genetically normal and five that are considered disease-specific.

Contact Robin Erb at 313-222-2708 or rerb@freepress.com

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Federal approval of Michigan embryonic stem cell line gives boost to state research