Scientists turn human skin cells directly into blood cells

The technique someday could help meet the need for alternative sources of blood.
By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times
November 8, 2010

Canadian scientists have turned human skin cells directly into blood cells, the first time one kind of mature human cell has been converted into another, according to a study published Sunday in the journal Nature.

The transformation was completed without first rewinding the skin cells into the flexible pluripotent stem cells that have most frequently been used to grow tissues. By skipping the pluripotent step, the researchers believe they have skirted the risk that the replacement cells might form dangerous tumors. the rest

By tweaking the formula, the team was able to produce different types of blood cells, he said. For example, when they left out the protein called erythropoietin, the skin cells generated neutrophils and macrophages, types of white blood cell used by the immune system.