Coriell Institute for Medical Research Announces Availability of Revolutionary New Stem Cells

Strategic Insights -

The Coriell Institute for Medical Research has announced the availability of powerful new stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), to the scientific research community. These cells possess many of the important properties of embryonic stem cells but can be made from skin cells or blood cells, bypassing controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells. iPS cells can multiply indefinitely and can become almost any type of cell in the human body.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Coriell Institute for Medical Research has made available five new iPS cell lines derived from individuals with Huntington's disease, juvenile onset diabetes, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, or severe combined immunodeficiency.
  • The demand in the research community for access to iPS cells is quickly growing, and Coriell's President and CEO, Michael F. Christman, Ph.D., recognizes the importance of incorporating this new technology into Coriell's repertoire.
  • iPS cells are revolutionizing the way human disease is studied and how drugs are developed, enabling researchers to model diseases in a Petri dish and screen potential drug candidates using iPS cells created from individuals with diseases.
  • The NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository, managed by Coriell since 1972, contains more than 10,500 cell lines, and Coriell is uniquely qualified to distribute these important new stem cell lines.
  • The Coriell Institute for Medical Research is a pioneer in genomic medicine, examining the utility of DNA information in clinical care through the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative(R) (CPMC(R)) research study.
  • The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports basic research to increase our understanding of life processes and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Statistics:

  • Coriell's NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository contains more than 10,500 cell lines.
  • 30 iPS cell lines have been received by the NIGMS Repository from several respected laboratories worldwide.
  • The iPS cells were derived from individuals with various rare and common diseases, including Huntington's disease, juvenile onset diabetes, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, or severe combined immunodeficiency.
  • The Coriell Institute for Medical Research has been managing the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository since 1972.
  • The Human Genome Project was completed in 2007.

Sources:

  • Coriell Institute for Medical Research
  • Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative(R) (CPMC(R)) research study
  • Marketwire
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
  • Coriell Institute for Medical Research press release, dated June 27, 2011.