Meeting and Postgraduate Course Program, Southeastern Surgical ^^1! types that are present m the tissues ftom whtch. Congress. ... was reconstituted with 2 mL serum-free defined BLSC ... Photographs were cropped using Photoshop 7.0.
Primitive Stem Cells Residing in the Skeletal Muscle of Adult Pigs Are Mobilized into the Peripheral Blood After Trauma CHRISTOPHER L. STOUT, M.D.,» DENNIS W. ASHLEY, M.D.,* JOSEPH H. MORGAN III, M.D.,* GYPSY F. LONG, B.S.,+ JULIE A. COLLINS, B.S.AG.,t JASON I. LIMNIOS, B.S.," FRANK LOCHNER, D.V.M.,11 GEORGE McCOMMON, D.V.M.,§ DOUGLAS HIXSON, PH.D.,# ASA C. BLACK, JR., PH.D.,+J HENRY E. YOUNG, Pn.D.t§
from the ^Department of Surgery, the Medical Center of Central Georgia, Macon, Georgia; the f Division of Basic Medical Sciences, the ^Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the §Department of Pediatrics, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia; the ^^Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; department of Veterinary Sciences, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia; and the ^Department of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island This study was designed to determine if trauma causes the release of adult-derived blastomerelike stem cells (BLSCs) from skeletal muscle into the circulating blood of adult pigs. Experimental procedures followed the guidelines of Fort Valley State University's Institutional Animal Care and Utilization Committee. Pigs were traumatized by splenectotny followed by pancreatectomy. Blood samples and skeletal muscle biopsies were taken before and after trauma. Adult-derived BLSCs were isolated from skeletal muscle and blood samples following established procedures. Nontraumatized skeletal muscle contained approximately 277 million BLSCs per gram of muscle. After trauma, skeletal muscle contained approximately 2 million BLSCs per gram of muscle. Blood taken before trauma contained approximately 22 million BLSCs per milliliter, whereas approximately 512 million BLSCs per milliliter were present within the blood after trauma. Blood values were statistically significant with a P < 0.05. This report is the first demonstration that trauma causes the release of adult-derived BLSCs from skeletal muscle into blood. Further studies are required to elucidate the roles that adult-derived BLSCs play in the response to injury and in the healing process. Surgeons must take a role in this evolving field.
MBRYONIC STEM CELLS were the first cells identi-
promoting embryonic stem cell research.** Primitive
fied that demonstrated pluripotent and totipotent capabilities, i.e.. the ability to develop into any tissue or organ. Since the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1997 and the discovery and isolation of human embryonic stem cells in 1998, a fierce ethical and scientific debate has ensued as to the use of these pluripotent and totipotent stem cells for medical therapies.'"-' Currently. the United States has restrictive policies limiting the study and use of etnbryonic stetn cells."^"^^ In contrast, many other countries have flexible policies
adult-derived stem cells'* present a viable alternative to embryonic stem cells, an alternative that avoids the ethical and moral issues concerning the use of embryonic stem cells. Adult-derived stem cells (i.e.. germ layer lineage stem cells, pluripotent stern cells, and totipotent stem cells) are present in connective tissue cotnparttnents throughout the body.'' This reservoir of stem cells serves in the repair of tissues and organs.^ Adult stem cells are normally quiescent in tissues. On activation. they have the ability to renew themselves and to differentiate into various cell types."^ Traditionally, adult stem cells were viewed as only being able to form the
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