Conditional reprogramming leads to breakthroughs on the cancer front

  Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/07/372691919/a-bed-of-mouse-cells-helps-human-cells-thrive-in-the-lab
  Author: Richard Harris
  Date: January 7, 2015

       In Georgetown University Medical Center, Dr. Richard Schlegel and his group found a way to keep human cells alive in the lab, using a technique called conditional reprogramming.  This technique works by placing a layer of living mice cells that are unable to grow, underneath the living human cells.  For reasons still unknown to Dr. Schlegel, the mice cells keep the human cells alive in the lab without issue.  This is a instrumental breakthrough, as previously, it was very difficult to keep human cells alive in the lab.  In addition, when they were kept alive, they often were not biologically similar to similar cells found in the body. 
       Dr. Schlegel and his group have grown over 30 types of cancer cells with this technique.  On these cells, they now have the ability to test different medications and vaccines, not only the medications specifically prescribed for cancer.  While testing a variety of different medications on cervical cancer cells, Dr. Schlegel noted that a common drug used to treat malaria also killed cervical cancer cells.  Working with Dr. Connie Trimble and her team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Schlegel is now running clinical trials with this drug.  There is hope that the drug will be able to help treat women with cervical cancer that do not have access to life-saving surgery. 

       This research relates to our class as we discussed cancer in our unit on cells.  It offers an alternative method to eradicate cancer cells to the ways we discussed in class.  Also, the mice cells act as a medium for the human cells, providing them with nutrients that they need to survive.  We discussed the topic of bacteria mediums in our unit on molecular genetics.