Stem cells evade immune system hit

 An experimental spinal cord injury treatment may eliminate the need for drugs that suppress the immune system, Geron Corp., which is developing stem cell-based therapies, said.

The Menlo Park, California-based biotechnology company said its stem cell therapy, GRN0PC1, is not directly attacked by the immune system, thus requiring lower or fewer doses of drugs that suppress the immune system than are typically required with solid organ transplants.

Drugs that suppress the immune system are used to prevent the body from rejecting transplanted organs.

"A reduction in the requirement for immunosuppression decreases the potential for untoward side effects that are common with those types of drugs," said Thomas Okarma, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement.

Geron is one of several companies working to develop therapeutics based on human embryonic stem cells. Federal law restricts the use of federal taxpayer money for the controversial research.

Embryonic stem cells have the power to become any cell or tissue type. GRNOPC1 stem cells have started down the road to becoming a type of nerve cell called an oligodendrocyte.