By Noimot Olayiwola
Staff Reporter
Researchers and scientists in the field of both embryonic and adult stem cells research in the Middle East were yesterday urged to be more open to collaboration and networking among themselves in order to build on their already acquired and existing strengths for the betterment of the future use of stem cells in curing genetic diseases in the region.
Stem cells are ‘unspecialised’ cells that are able to divide and produce copies of themselves and having the potential to differentiate, that is, to produce other cell types in the body.
Speaking on how to further expand the scope of stem cell research in the region during a panel discussion yesterday at the ongoing Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar’s Dr Jeremie Arash Rafii Tabrizi said there was the need for the region’s researchers in the field of stem cells to know each other and come together to network and form collaborations.
“I believe that each and everyone in the field within this region has built some sort of strength while conducting their individual researches, so I will suggest that we all come together to put heads together and also explore how we can benefit from our colleagues elsewhere. And if we can be more diseases-focused in our researches, I believe it is a good way to move forward,” he noted.
Making a presentation on “Stem Cell Research: From Promise to Practice”, Dr Aida al-Aqeel, of Riyadh Military Hospital’s paediatrics department, maintained that it would take a while before stem cell research can become a ‘clinical reality’.
“Despite that stem cell research is at the forefront of the need for research to cure most degenerative diseases, it will still take a long way for the stem cell research to become achievable clinically because the embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have huge therapeutic potential as they can give rise to every cell type in the body (pluripotency) as compared to adult stem cells (ASCs) from certain adult tissues that can only differentiate into a limited range of cell types,” she said.
“However, this research raises sensitive ethical and religious arguments, which are balanced against possible great benefit of such research for the patients suffering from so far incurable diseases. Serious questions remain about safety,” she said, noting that the ability for stem cells to be expanded in culture without genetic and epigenetic abnormalities and their ability to form functional cell types in vitro and in vivo, and their immuno-compatibility with the patient still need to be studied.
“In Saudi Arabia, for the last five years, the Stem Cell Therapy Programme has been established at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre with the launch of 10 projects. Embryonic stem cell therapy for genetics metabolic disorders is one of the most promising modalities for the therapy and prevention of mentally and physically handicapped in children,” she said while sharing experiences from the KSA.
She pointed out how Islamic teachings make embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic technique, and its modality of treatment permissible as well as the Islamic perspectives about reproductive/therapeutic cloning.
“The focus of research community should be on developing human research capacity in both ASCs and ESCs. Each type of research will take time to mature. The ethical debate will need to produce acceptable policy and regulatory compromises so that the regulatory burden can be reduced and investors’ risk aversion can be overcome,” she stated.
Other speaker during the session moderated by WCMC-Q dean Dr Javaid Sheikh were Professor Hossein Baharvand from the Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine Stem Cell Biology and Technology on “A Chemical Approach to Efficient Generating Embryonic and Germline-derived Pluripotent Stem Cells”.

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