NuRD brings the focus back to science

With media attention of cloning and stem cells at an all time high, one team of researchers bring the focus back to science

The potential of using stem cells to develop new therapies has rarely been out of the spotlight in the last few years, often for issues outside of the scientific realm. After the controversy surrounding the fabrication of Dr Hwang Woo-suk’s cloning results in Korea, scientists from the UK have moved the attention back to the science with a discovery they hope will boost the search for tissue replacement therapies.

The team - from the University of Edinburgh - have shown that a protein termed Mbd3 plays a crucial role in turning embryonic stem cells into specialised cells, such as brain or skin cells.

Brian Hendrich, who led the research team, said: “It is well established that embryonic stem cells need certain factors to sustainably make copies of themselves, that is, to self-renew. We have now shown, for the first time, that to leave that state and go down the specialisation pathway, cells require the activity of Mbd3.”

Mouse embryonic stem cells can be        If Mbd3 is lacking, cells remain as
directed to become neurons (green)       embryonic stem cells (red)


Mbd3 belongs to the NuRD (Nucleosome Remodelling and Histone Deacetylation)complex of proteins normally involved in regulating gene activity. The scientists made mouse embryonic stem cells lacking the Mbd3 protein and found that, unlike non-engineered cells, the Mbd3-lacking cells failed to form different cell types when induced to do so in a dish, and remained in an uncommitted state.

The findings, published this week in Nature Cell Biology, not only make advances in understanding of how stem cells can be used in replacement therapies but also give insights into the differences between mouse and embryonic stem cells.