Fat Americans are New Source of Stem Cells

The debate over stem cell research may soon take a different tone with the discovery of a new and abundant source for cells.

Researchers at Stanford University’s School of Medicine have found that some of the fat cells taken from liposuction procedures act in the same way as embryonic stem cells. Some of the fat cells are immature and can easily be turned into induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS. The iPS cells change into any kind of cell including heart, brain, and bone cells and could regenerate a patient’s tissue.

The current method of obtaining iPS cells is to convert skin cells, but that process takes about three weeks. The human fat cells obtained through liposuction convert to iPS cells in just a matter of days.

The Stanford researchers say that since 30 to 40 percent of Americans are obese, their fat is a rich supply of cells that can help others. The study is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.