New research done at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is helping to explain how stem cells create the differing tissues which make up the human body.
University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor Randy Ashton has been working with two molecules dealing with cellular communication—sonic hedgehog and ephrin ligands. These two molecules determine what cell type stem cells develop into.
Ashton hopes that by understanding how these two molecules communicate with stem cells, he will be able to develop a way to instruct human stem cells to become certain tissues in the lab.
"We are trying to understand how particular tissues arise in development," Ashton said in a recent press release. "Then, using human pluripotent stem cells, we can replicate the signals that allow those structures to develop in order to create tissues that would be therapeutic for different degenerative diseases and disorders."
The implications of Ashton's research has numerous benefits in treating diseases and injuries. In addition, a further understanding of how stem cells work could offer insight into the origins of diseases.
