"Immortal cells" have the possibility to produce artificial blood infinitely

ByMariusz Szczepanik

Animals including humans can not survive without blood, and there are people around the world who need blood transfusions due to injuries and illnesses at the moment they are doing. In the current technology, the blood currently used for blood transfusion has to rely on blood donation from a healthy donor. Currently, the lack of blood is a very important issue for people with unusual blood types, but in the UK studies The team has succeeded in creating "immortal blood cells" that can infinitely produce blood (red blood cells) from blood stem cells.

March: red blood cells | News | University of Bristol
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2017/march/blood-cells.html

Scientists have created 'immortal' cells that could allow them them make make artificial blood - Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-have-created-immortal-cells-that-could-allow-them-to-make-artificial-blood-2017-3

Mass-produced artificial blood is now a real possibility
https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/27/mass-produced-artificial-blood-breakthrough/

I was conducting this research at the University of Bristol in EnglandJan FrayneIt is a research team focusing on biochemistry doctor. Although there was a method of culturing erythrocytes from stem cells that make up blood until now, the problem was that efficiency was extremely low. In the past method, the number of erythrocytes that can be cultured before one stem cell died was about 50,000, but this number means that the number of erythrocytes contained in one common transfusion bag isApproximately 1 trillionIt is just an insignificant amount when considering that it is very practical.

ByWellcome Images

In order to confront this problem, the research team advances a completely different approach. What used here is to "immortalize" cells based on mature stem cells and create "erythropoietic stem cells" with continuous cell division capability. Using this stem cell, the original stem cell will not die basically, it seems that it will be able to keep producing new red blood cells forever. In order to do immortalization of the cell, the research team said that it effectively uses the technique of "confining" stem cells in the early stages of cell division. The research team will divide this stem cell into "Bristol Erythroid Line Adult" or "BEL-AI call it.

Dr. Frayne said, "The artificial way to produce erythrocytes depends on stem cells that were able to produce only a very limited number of cells in their lifetime.In our study, We have realized a method that can continuously produce an acceptable amount of blood, and we are already producing blood of as many liters. "

As a human-derived immortalized cell, it was established as a cell line in the 1950's and was used for the study of polio and cancer cellsHeLa cellsIt exists. This cell line is derived from human cervical carcinoma and its name is taken from Mr. Henrietta Lux, who was the original patient, but Mr. Lux made a cell line based on its own cell He said that he was not informed of what he was doing. On the other hand, it seems that this time BEL-A cells were produced after obtaining consent from anonymous donors.

This research result that hope spreads to those who need a lot of blood due to illness etc. The team is not thinking about using this technology in general for blood transfusion at the outset, firstly the blood of a person having a particularly unusual blood type We are considering using it to solve the shortage. Production of safe artificial blood based on previous research results is expected to start in the second half of 2017.

Papers by the research team can be viewed from the following links.

An immortalized adult human erythroid line facilitates sustainable and scalable generation of functional red cells: Nature Communications
http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14750