Beaker Hill: Down with Bad Cholesterol, Up with Stem Cells

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Foodies concerned about the cardiac effects of Restaurant Week may soon be able to gorge themselves more comfortably, as a Cambridge-based company appears ready to come to your rescue. Technology Review reported yesterday that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has found a way to cut levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol in half using RNA interference. The technique, which won its discoverers a Nobel Prize two years ago, uses small molecules of RNA to block the action of a particular protein. In this case, the Alnylam researchers limited the amount of a protein, PCSK9, shown to increase the amount of LDL in the bloodstream. Since the PCSK9 was no longer around to do its nefarious cholesterol-increasing work, LDL levels were reduced in tests on rats and monkeys by about 60%. While you may not be able to get a side of RNA with your dinner quite yet, take heart (pun intended) in knowing that there are people working to help keep your arteries unclogged. The more technically inclined can feel free to peruse the full study at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In other biotech news from across the Charles, researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have produced 20 new stem cell lines carrying the genetic components of 10 different diseases, including Parkinson's disease and type I diabetes. These cell lines will be used to examine the development of these diseases from their inception, and perhaps give insights into potential methods of treatment down the road. Scientists located throughout the world will be able to access the cells for their own research through a new repository being created at Mass. General Hospital. The cells were produced using a method developed last year which avoids the ethical questions involved with embryonic stem cells. If you happen to loathe summaries and love jargon, point your browsers to the complete article in the August 8th edition of Cell.

Post contributed by Matt Feltz. Cholesterol image from Wikimedia Commons.