Small Molecules Change Hearts and Minds

Scientists have transformed skin cells into heart and brain cells — without the addition of genetic material.

Instead, this method uses chemical cocktails of small molecules to alter cell types. The molecules interact with existing proteins in the cells, changing their structure and function. If proven safe and effective, this chemical engineering technique could be a cheaper, more-efficient alternative to genetically induced stem cells, according to a research team led by Sheng Ding, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes and professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Univ. of California, San Francisco.

For the first few weeks of an embryo’s development, all cells have the capacity to become any type of cell in the body — they are what is known as pluripotent. As development continues, however, cells specialize. In adult tissue, stem cells can generally make only one type of tissue.

Turning back the clock to make body cells into embryo-like pluri­potent stem cells has been the subject of research for a decade. Unlike previously developed approaches, the new method does not involve directly tinkering with the cellular DNA. This is the first time cellular reprogramming has been accomplished without adding external genes to the cells.