UW leads stem-cell research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) strengthened Seattle's hold on the tenuous world of human embryonic stem-cell research this week, awarding a small but key grant to the UW.

In the first year of funding, the $2.2 million will be divided among three research location, to establish the nation's first Exploratory Centers for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. The awards are expected to draw more than $6.6 million in additional funding over the next three years.

While the grant provides a relatively small amount, it is considerable in light of President George W. Bush's restriction of federal funding for specific variations of stem-cell research. Due to the controversial nature of human embryotic research, Bush imposed strict limits on the field in 2001.

"The grant will allow us to build an infrastructure at both the UW and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center -- a small beginning to what we hope will result in a much larger future," said C. Anthony Blau, associate professor of medicine and hematology, adjunct professor of genome sciences and the chief investigator of the project.

Human embryonic stem cells, found in bone marrow, have not yet grown into specific types of cells, which is why they are valuable for research. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the division administering the NIH grant, hopes that the centers will "help researchers understand the extraordinary complexities of human biology," said a statement issued by the NIH.

"What gives stem cells their unique property to self-renew? When, how and why does a stem cell decide to differentiate, becoming another kind of cell? There is so much basic research we must conduct before we can unlock the potential of these cells and fulfill their promise," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni in the statement.

There are dozens of UW researchers -- in various disciplines -- who will use the research center for the generation of many types of cells, including heart and retinal cells, said Blau.

This is the first time the NIH has given a grant to establish research centers for human embryonic stem cells. However, this is not the first time the NIH has opened its wallet for human embryonic stem-cell research at the UW. In 2000, UW researchers received $5.3 million for research in this field.

Compared to mouse embryonic stem-cell research spanning over two decades, the technique of human embryonic stem-cell research was refined only recently. James Thomson, of the WiCell Research Institute in Madison, Wis. first detailed the technique in 1998 in what Blau called "technically a tour-de-force." Thomson is the principal investigator of a team of researchers who will staff another of the centers established by the grant.

When, in 2001, the NIH granted $12.83 million to the UW over five years for stem-cell gene therapy, George Stamatoyannopoulos, the principal investigator for that grant and professor of medicine, attributed the award to the great depth of talent already gathered at the school for gene therapy research.

While the reputation of the genome-sciences program was a "clearly helpful" instrument in obtaining this year's grant, they were not the main reason for the NIH's selection of the UW, said Blau.

"The UW and the Fred Hutchinson Center are already established powerhouses in stem-cell research," he said. "From the earliest bone-marrow work, done by Don Thomas in the 60s -- his work with leukemia is what initially drew me to Seattle."

E. Donnall Thomas, who Blau credits with much of the continuing success of stem-cell work at the UW, is a professor emeritus of medicine and oncology. Thomas was awarded the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine for being the first to successfully transplant bone marrow cells from one individual to another.

Blau's own research deals with the control of the fate of a cell after it's been transplanted. Blau, who arrived at the UW in 1989 as an oncology fellow, went to medical school at Ohio State and completed residency at Duke.

Blau was quick to point out that the embryotic cells that will be used for this research have been cultured and split over many years from the same original source. Blau welcomed the deliberation over the ethical nature of his research.

"The debate over stem-cell research is a paradigm for how difficult issues should be handled -- in a very public, open forum," he said.

Supporters of stem-cell research maintain that federal funding is essential to keeping the research in the public domain, ensuring ethical work.

The other center established by the grant will be housed in the University of Michigan Medical School.