US, Japan researchers team up on stem cells

Tokyo (AP) - A new team of U.S. and Japanese researchers is stepping up the global race to perfect a cutting-edge technology that could offer an alternative to embryonic stem cell research.

Kyoto University and iZumi Bio Inc., a biotechnology startup based in South San Francisco, Calif., announced this week that they would begin collaborating on "induced pluripotent" stem cell technology - a type of cellular reprogramming that turns the clock back on ordinary skin tissue.

Called "iPS" for short, the new technique tinkers with human skin cells so they behave like embryonic stem cells, which can potentially morph into things like heart and nerve cells, as well as lead to new therapies for currently incurable diseases.

Scientists around the world have embraced the technology over the last few years, in large part because it removes the controversial act of destroying human embryos for research.

The latest partnership brings together two heavyweights in the field - and raises hopes that their work could lead to faster, better results.

Scientist Shinya Yamanaka at the Kyoto University lab led one of two teams who were the first to report generating human iPS cells in late 2007. iZumi Bio was founded in 2007 and is backed by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, who lists former Vice President Al Gore as one of its partners.

"The partnership between these two leading organizations is a critical step in furthering this research and turning stem cell research into therapeutic realities sooner," Gore says in a statement Tuesday.

The California firm says the researchers will initially focus on three neurological disorders - Parkinson's disease, spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a nerve affliction more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Still, the technique faces significant hurdles before it can be used to treat humans safely.

Akemi Nakamura, a spokesman for Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, said Wednesday that it would take time before the technology could be used to treat patients and the teams have not yet established specific development timelines.

Even if the technology were to progress to actual clinical studies, the Japanese government has yet to establish clear research guidelines, she said.

But such guidelines - and money - may well be in the works. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who outlined last week a long-term strategy for Japanese growth, highlighted the country's leading position in iPS research and pledged more government support in the coming years.