There’s new buzz around stem cell research, literally
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that an active protein component of royal jelly – a nutritious substance that helps a small larva become a large queen bee – could be used for regenerating human cells.
(Re)establishing hierarchy in the hive
According to Discover magazine, the queen begins her life just as all of her other siblings in the hive, until one day she is fed a delicacy more special than everyone else receives: royal jelly.
She eats more, which means she grows larger and increases in her cell count, which is said to be brought on by stem cells, because they haven’t changed into specialized cells.
The Royalactin Study
Researchers at Stanford University said it’s the active compound in royal jelly, the royalactin, that’s producing these stem cells.
“In folklore, royal jelly is kind of like a super-medicine, particularly in Asia and Europe,” said assistant professor of dermatology Kevin Wang, MD, PhD. “But the DNA sequence of royalactin, the active component in the jelly, is unique to honeybees. Now, we’ve identified a structurally similar mammalian protein that can maintain stem cell pluripotency.
Understanding the power of royalactin, the researchers placed the protein on mouse embryonic cells and studied the response. What they found led them to believe that the royalactin stopped the cells from differentiating, which means they had a potential for therapeutic purpose.
“This was unexpected,” Wang said. “Normally, these embryonic stem cells are grown in the presence of an inhibitor called leukemia inhibitor factor that stops them from differentiating inappropriately in culture, but we found that royalactin blocked differentiation even in the absence of LIF.”
Additional research found that the cells treated with royalactin began to react similar to stem cells with inhibitors. In the future, the same researchers plan to test whether these cells have any therapeutic value in cell regeneration or healing.
Stem cells at the Longevity Centres
At the Longevity, Centres, we exclusively harvest adult mesenchymal stem cells from bone, cartilage, fat, connective tissue, blood vessels, muscle and nerve tissues to be activated and transplanted back for therapeutic purposes.
The most common uses of this cutting-edge regenerative medicine include joint pain, autoimmune disorders, cardiac issues, neurological and urological conditions.
To learn more about our experience with stem cells or to schedule your complimentary consultation, contact us directly today.