Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Study: Muscle Stem Cells From Females Work Best

Study: Muscle Stem Cells From Females Work Best
Stem cells taken from the muscles of female mice are better at regenerating tissue than those taken from male mice, a new study finds.
This revelation could have a major impact on the development of stem cells as therapies for many diseases and conditions.
The discovery came when scientists who had done many studies with these muscle stem cells realized that all of the ones they had used came from female mice.
They then did an experiment with both male and female cells to see if they would perform similarly.
Muscle breakdown
Embryonic stem cells can divide to become any type of cell in the body. Muscle stem cells, which come from adult tissue instead of an embryo, are more specialized and limited in what they can become.
The researchers injected stem cells from healthy mice into mice that had a disease analogous to the human genetic disease Duchene muscular dystrophy, which affects one in every 3,500 to 5,000 young boys in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. link to http://www.foxnews.com/

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