Green Howard
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Bioessays. 2008 Sep;30(9):897-903. doi: 10.1002/bies.20797.
Long ago, I set out to solve a problem, but something happened along the way: I was diverted by an unexpected observation. Thereafter, the direction of my research was guided at each stage by increasing familiarity with the experimental material and what could be done with it. The result was the birth of therapy with cultured keratinocytes. Subsequent developments soon led to the formation of the company Biosurface Technology (later taken over by the Genzyme Corporation), which provided autologous cultures for burn victims in many parts of the world. Further progress by others led to new therapeutic applications of cultured keratinocytes, such as treatment of an ocular disease and gene therapy. Unfortunately, there have developed serious regulatory problems that are a danger to future progress. As described in this brief history, the initial stages of development of cell therapy for the treatment of human disease were possible only because there was no restraint by committees or governmental regulations.
很久以前，我着手解决一个问题，但在此过程中发生了一件事：我被一个意外的观察结果转移了方向。此后，随着对实验材料及其所能进行操作的熟悉程度不断增加，我研究的方向在每个阶段都受到了指引。结果就是培养角质形成细胞疗法的诞生。随后的发展很快促成了生物表面技术公司（后来被健赞公司收购）的成立，该公司为世界各地的烧伤患者提供自体培养物。其他人的进一步研究促成了培养角质形成细胞的新治疗应用，比如治疗一种眼部疾病和基因治疗。不幸的是，出现了严重的监管问题，这对未来的进展构成了威胁。如这段简史所述，用于治疗人类疾病的细胞疗法在最初阶段得以开展，仅仅是因为没有委员会或政府法规的限制。
