Mike Bradowski, a University of Arizona graduate student, views a colony of stem cells, judging them by number and potency. UA researchers are making use of stem cells from sources other than embryos. These sources are unlikely to be "caught up in politics," one professor says.

photos by Benjie Sanders / The Arizona Daily Star

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UA scientists on the leading edge of non-embryonic stem-cell research will host an open conference Wednesday, highlighting work in cancer, cardiology and diabetes, as well as business and political issues surrounding stem cells.

The conference, at University Medical Center's DuVal Auditorium, will run from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It will include 18 lectures by scientists, a businessman and a state legislator.

David Harris, a University of Arizona microbiology professor and the scientific director of Cord Blood Registry, began planning the conference in November. He said it's important for scientists to present their research, which is often misunderstood.

"People in general think stem cells, stem cells, stem cells, not even realizing there's different types," he said. "Stem cells have the ability to revolutionize medicine — not only revolutionize it, but individualize it, as long as it doesn't get caught up in politics."

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can mature into any type of cell in the human body and be guided into doing so. Taking stem cells from embryos is a politically controversial topic, but UA research covers other sources of stem cells.

Harris focuses on stem cells taken from umbilical-cord blood, while other UA researchers use adult stem cells taken from fat tissue. Cord blood is one of the easiest sources from which to obtain stem cells, and those cells are among the few with the potential to be like embryonic stem cells.

"We think cord blood is the next best thing to embryonic stem cells," Harris said. "These cells are versatile and robust. Neonatal stem cells are fairly equivalent to fetal stem cells, without all the controversy and hindrance."

Stuart Williams, a UA professor and chairman of biomedical engineering, developed the first operating-room system that isolated fat cells and used them for stem-cell regenerative medicine.

Williams said stem-cell use in regenerative medicine has tremendous potential and will continue to increase.

"We've cured almost every single disease there is in mice," he said. "Now it's translating it from mice to humans. Fifteen years from now, I foresee patients not needing heart transplants. We'll replace tissue that has become damaged with healthy tissue."

Williams, who spent 30 years developing ways of getting adult stem cells out and back into patients, said he settled on fat cells because they're a sufficient source for everybody.

Williams' talk on Wednesday will focus on generating brand-new cardiovascular systems from fat stem cells.

A small liposuction procedure can isolate the stem cells, which then can be used in a variety of ways, creating new organs or parts of organs. In a single operation, stem cells are harvested, prepared and reimplanted in a patient. Once they're extracted, the stem cells are ready within 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the procedure, Williams said.

"The patient's new organ is undergoing its development right there in the operating room," Williams said.

Since 1988, about 35 patients have been treated in Tucson with fat-derived stem cells through methods Williams developed. Worldwide, the total approaches 600, he said.

Harris said the cord-blood stem cells have been used to create everything from nerve tissue to a new cornea. The only thing he hasn't been able to create are motor neurons.

"Our focus is trying to figure out all the different applications," Harris said. "If somebody needs a cornea transplant, we should be able to do that. If they have a nonhealing bone fracture, we'd like to take the stem cells and make more bone."

In his lab, Harris is working on genetically manipulating stem cells to recognize a tumor as a way of complementing the immune system. In mice, he's turning stem cells into white blood cells that specifically target cancer cells.

Regenerative medicine is a field on the move, and Harris expects that heart attack and Type 1 diabetes patients will routinely be treated with stem cells within the next five years. Within 10 years, stem-cell applications will include treatments of cancer and viral infections.

Harris is lobbying state leaders to create a regenerative medicine center in Arizona, a collaborative, multidisciplinary center "without walls" that can link scientists across the state, and even medical technology industry segments.

Twelve states have regenerative medicine centers or institutes, all of which use embryonic stem cells, Harris said. Arizona would be the first to focus on non-embryonic stem cells.

"The state is poised to be unique in this type of institute by focusing on neonatal and adult stem cells and excluding embryonic ones," he said.