friday, february 6, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
3A
Kansas researcher looking to stem cells for cures
Research focuses on how stem cells are able to change into other types of cells, may increase understanding of cancer
By Becca Evanhoe
bevanhoe@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Stem cells serve the same purpose as the blank tile in Scrabble; when the body needs new cells to perform a specific function, stem cells fill the position.
Kathy Mitchell is trying to figure out how to get that blank tile to cure diseases. She experiments with stem cells from umbilical cords, trying to unlock their potential to save lives.
"This is important research that's just beginning to be understood," said Mitchell, an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology. "What the average person should know is that
"This is important research that's just beginning to be understood. What the average person should know is that at some point, it will change your life."
Kathy Mitchell Assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
at some point, it will change your life."
Stem cells are "unprogrammed"cells that can develop
into other kinds of cells. For example, stem cells found in bone marrow can become red blood cells, white blood cells or bone cells.
While researchers like Mitchell see the promise of stem cell research, the federal government has put restrictions on the types of stem cells that can be used.
There are three basic types of stem cells, Mitchell said, adult stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Mitchell would like to research embryonic stem cells, but can't Federal research institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health, will only fund non-embryonic stem cell research.
Stem cells have the most potential for the field of regenera-
rive medicine, which is intended to develop treatments for repairing damaged or old tissues. When the cells arrive in the area of need, they take chemical clues from the surrounding cells to change into more specific, or differentiated forms.
"They seem to have a homing ability to find damaged cells and replace them," Mitchell said. They also release signals that encourage the surrounding cells to heal and reproduce.
Mitchell's research explores what in the genetic code of stem cells makes them morph into other types of cells. The umbilical cord stem cells she works with are donated from local obstetricians with the mother's consent. She tries to coax the cells into differentiating.
The potential findings of the research, which is funded by a Cancer Therapeutics COBRE Grant, can help cancer victims. COBRE stands for Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence. Stem cells behave similarly to cancer cells in how they make proteins from genetic information. So understanding how stem cells grow and reproduce can improve understanding of cancer cells, Mitchell said.
For example, the technology can also be applied to a brain that has experienced a lack of oxygen, as in an elderly person with a stroke, Mitchell said. It is possible to send in healthy stem cells to disperse and repair brain tissue.
Mitchell also is developing a stem cell treatment for Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disease that affects one in 3,500 boys worldwide. The disease causes slow muscle deterioration when genes fail to make a protein called dystrophin.
With a grant from Muscular Dystrophy Association, Mitchell hopes to develop a way to send in stem cells that can make dystrophin to replace defective cells and repair muscle tissue. She'll first experiment with injecting the umbilical stem cells into mice as a model.
The muscular dystrophy and kidney treatments are fairly straightforward, said Mitchell, who hopes for clinical trials of the potential new treatments in five years.
Birthright trip inspires students
— Edited by Robert Perkins
By Patrick Cady ocady@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
When students from the University of Kansas Hillel group arrived in Israel last month, they found something special happening to the parched desert landscape: rain.
A rare and celebrated event for the natives, the rain didn't dampen the students' spirits.
"The planners did a good job of giving us a sense of what Israel was really like," Jeremy Krashin, Overland Park senior, said.
achieve three goals.
The group of 30 KU students left Jan.7 and returned on Jan.19, having seen Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, an area key to the fight for Israeli independence. During traveling, the group grew closer to each other and their faith.
Benjy Simon, Overland Park junior, said the trip was meant to
First, students wanted make a stronger connection to their Jewish heritage. One way the group accomplished that was visiting the last standing wall of the Temple of David, or the West Wall.
"The wall is the holiest site in Judaism," Simon said. "I got chills standing there. I almost fell over."
Another goal of the trip was to connect the KU students with other Jewish peers, Simon said. Once in Israel, the group traveled with people from around the world, including Hillel groups from Texas Tech and Iowa.
Simon still sees lingering effects of the trip on his peers. He has seen their interest in and dedication to Israel and Judaism skyrocket, he said.
"I expected it to be an awakening, but I didn't expect it to have the impact it did," Simon said.
The third goal was to experience the current political situation in Israel, Simon said. To do this, students saw important historical sites such as the former Kings Square, now called Rabin Square, where Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995.
They also saw constant signs of the military and war.
"One of the most interesting things to me was getting to know some of the Israeli soldiers," Shana Kayne, Leawood junior, said. "They were our age and our peers, so it was easy to connect with them."
Students saw other examples of Israel's fight for independence. Riding on the bus from site to site, they passed burnt-out jeeps and tanks sitting on the side of the road, left from battles decades ago.
Because of the unsettled political situation, security was always a focus on the trip, Simon
said. Students would not leave their hotel in the evening. The group's bus always had a guard. And if the bus approached a possibly dangerous area, it would take detours of up to three hours to stav safe.
"That's when it started feeling like it wasn't really a vacation," Simon said.
Despite the security, the group felt strongly about seeing Israel's origins. Seeing the country's Declaration of Independence gave them a powerful feeling, Krashin said. While students viewed the document, a recording of Israel's national anthem hauntingly played in the background.
Moments like these put the trip — and the rain — into perspective.
"We did get to see some really nice rainbows," Kayne said.
— Edited by Danielle Hillix
LOCAL
Series of car break-ins may have common link
A series of burglaries occurred early Tuesday at two separate apartment complexes in Lawrence.
Seven people reported criminal damage to their cars and theft of hundreds of dollars of property, mostly of compact disc players and compact discs. Several of the cars were parked under or near a carport at Park-25 Apartments, an apartment complex near 25th and Iowa streets.
Katherine Haney, Derby senior,
had her back passenger window
broken and CD player stolen. She
said all the cars near hers were
broken into through the same window.
Conventry Manor at Meadowbrook, 15th and Iowa streets, was hit the same night. Alex Garcia, Olathe junior, said he thought five to six vehicles had been broken into, but it looked like only cars with installed CD players were targeted.
Garcia's Ford Explorer was broken into and his compact discs and
CD player were stolen. He said someone he lived near told him this also had happened in October.
Sgt. Mike Patrick of the Lawrence Police Department said that he suspected the same person or group for each lot, but there was no evidence to connect the different locations. He said he would not be able to confirm anything until the case was resolved, but considering the proximity of the cars, the similar method of the break-in and the times indicated, it was probably the same person or group.
Winter weather also contributes to further difficulties in catching criminals.
Because of the cold weather, the department cannot dust for fingerprints on the outside of the car. Fingerprints are made by amino acids, but if it is freezing, the frost just smears them. If the interior is warmer, it is possible to dust. But if a window is broken and the temperature has dropped, police cannot.
Patrick said the Lawrence police had no suspects yet.
— Neeley J. Spellmeier