Download Unlocking the healing power of stem cells

MEDIA RELEASE
02 JULY 2014
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Unlocking the healing power of stem cells
Unique stem cell research facility at the University of Pretoria is a first for South African and will allow
researchers to do pioneering clinical trials
In a state-of-the art facility at the University of Pretoria, researchers are doing cutting-edge work focused
on harnessing stem cells to combat cancer, heart failure and even HIV. Through a number of large funding
awards, the facility has been able to significantly increase its resources both in terms of post-graduate
students and senior researchers, and as well as highly sophisticated equipment.
Some of the high-tech equipment, for example a high-performance cell sorter, is the only one of its kind on
the African continent. “With this much-needed cell sorter we will be able to identify and isolate stem cell
populations so that they can be studied in more detail,” Prof Michael Pepper, director at the Institute for
Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM), explains. “It also makes it possible to keep the cells in a sterile
environment for patients who are to be treated.”
Stem cells are basic living cells that seemingly have no specific function, but they do have the remarkable
potential to turn into many different kinds of cells. Scientists believe that if these cells are tweaked just
right, they can be triggered to transform into highly specialised cells with a very specific application in
fighting disease.
“Stem cells offer potential for the treatment of many life-threatening and infectious diseases,” Pepper, who
is also a professor in the Department of Immunology, adds. “Locally this field is still in its infancy, but it
holds great potential to alleviate the burden of disease.” Current uses of stem cells in South Africa generally
revolve around bone marrow transplants.
Pepper, who is also professeur associé in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development in the
Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, is world-renowned for his work on the
cellular and molecular components of human disease.
He is developing novel stem cell therapies and, together with his team at UP, they are busy preparing for
clinical trials for a number of key diseases. The ICMM comprises 20 research groups in seven of the nine
faculties at the University of Pretoria that tackle themes such as stem cells, the human genome, cancer,
bio-entrepreneurship and human-tissue legislation.
Much of the ICMM’s work is done in uncharted territories, such as efforts around HIV eradication.
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Pepper, working with a global research team, explores ways to help the human immune system to become
HIV-resistant. This could have far-reaching implications in the management of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on
the African continent. Gene-therapy research is done to create HIV-resistant blood-forming stem cells. This
is done by preventing expression of a specific protein found on the surface of white blood cells. The virus
uses this protein to enter into the host cell. But some people have a specific gene mutation that prevents
expression of this protein and they are therefore immune against certain strains of the virus. The gene
therapy project aims to achieve a similar effect.
“By applying a specific kind of gene therapy to blood-forming stem cells, we can make them HIV resistant
and then transplant them into people who would effectively become HIV-resistant,” he explains.
“We are starting to grasp the healing power of stem cells, but we must also recognise that stem cell
treatment can be an emotive issue for many people” adds Pepper.
Pepper is a passionate proponent of the idea that scientists must engage with the public about their work.
“Our work, after all, is funded by tax payers, and the more people understand what we are trying to
achieve, the better informed they will be in order to make important decisions for themselves and their
families. This also impacts positively on the general acceptance of rapidly-moving and sometime
controversial fields,” he adds.
He often uses public platforms to tackle complex and controversial issues such as sex determination,
gender identity and the human genome.
He sees the current regulatory environment pertaining to the use of human tissues in research as “cause
for concern”.
“Rapidly evolving fields of research, as is the case with stem cells, offer great opportunities, but can also be
damaged by unethical practices, causing false hope for often really desperate people,” he says. "It is
important to have laws that will protect emotionally vulnerable sick people against bogus therapies.”
He believes current South African legislation is flawed and incomplete. “We need more progressive national
policy and closely monitored clinical trials to keep us competitive at the cutting edge of this kind of work,
while at the same time balancing ethical concerns, scientific progress and public opinion,” he adds. (Pepper
is a member of the Minister of Science and Technology’s National Advisory Committee on Innovation.)
He believes a public cord blood bank should be established to provide stem cells for therapeutic purposes.
Stem cells that are harvested from the umbilical cord and placenta when a baby is born offer an alternative
source to bone marrow (from family members of the patient or bone marrow registries). Adult stem cells
are more acceptable to people who have objections to the use of stem cells from embryos, says Prof
Pepper. Currently, the only cord blood banks operating in South Africa are in the private sector.
“The process of collecting cord blood is non-invasive and can increase the pool of local donors
significantly,” he explains. Finding bone marrow stem cells that are compatible (genetically similar) to that
of the patient remain difficult. Many patients that require bone marrow transplants, especially in the
African population in which there is great genetic diversity, therefore go untreated.
This leader in medical research and biotechnology has been nominated for the 2014 National Science and
Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards, to be announced on 3 July 2014. This is in recognition of his
contributions to creating awareness of science, medicine and biotechnology (the use of living things to
create useful tools and products).
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Media enquiries: Nicolize Mulder; Department of University Relations, University of Pretoria;
Tel: +27 12 420 3023 / +27 83 709 3041; Email: [email protected]
For interviews, contact Prof Michael Pepper at the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Tel: (012) 3192179/90; Mobile: 072 209 6324; Email: [email protected]
HIGH RES PHOTOS – CAPTIONS – DOWNLOAD AT http://bit.ly/1p9HvIO
1. Prof Michael Pepper
2. Prof Michael Pepper with PhD students Ilkadim Kiper (left) and Karlien Kallmeyer (right)
3. Prof Michael Pepper demonstrates the Affymetrix microarray platform and a Dx2 reader, which
allows his team to study the genetics of diseases such as leukemia, but also the response of
patients to different medications (pharmacogenomics) and gene expression in many settings such
as stem cell differentiation.
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