Muscle cells employed in successful gene therapy. (Stanford University and University of Michigan)

Stanford University and University of Michigan

Muscle cells may become the newest tool for gene therapy, according to two independent studies reported December 5, 1991, by scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Michigan.

The studies in mice show that genetically altered immature muscle cells, called myoblasts, injected into normal muscle cells can serve as molecular ambulances capable of shuttling beneficial proteins.

Using genetic engineering techniques, the researchers inserted into myoblasts the gene for human growth hormone, which is normally expressed in the pituitary gland in the brain, explained Dr. Helen Blau, professor of pharmacology and head of the Stanford team. The genetically altered muscle cells were then injected into normal muscle tissue …