Thanks to a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies and molecular research scientists at Michigan-based Genesis Genetics, a stem cell line carrying the gene defect responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) has been added to the U.S. National Institutes of Health registry, making it available for federally-funded research.

The line, designated UM11-1PGD, was derived from a cluster of approximately thirty cells removed from a donated embryo. The embryo had been created for reproductive purposes and, when genetic testing showed it was unsuitable for implantation due to a genetic disorder, it was donated for research.

Because the stem cell line carries the unique genetic characteristics of CMT, researchers can use it to study how the disease progresses. This may lead to improved screening techniques and, ultimately, new therapies.

The University of Michigan Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies is part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. In an April 25, 2012 press release, Dr. Eva Feldman, who sees patients with CMT as part of her clinical practice at the University of Michigan Medical School, said: “This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan. It opens up another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients.”

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of the Taubman Institute, was quoted saying that “this new milestone means much to the University and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. We hope it is the first of many lines that we can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health.”