Advances in stem-cell research could be faster with amniotic fluid than with embryos, the Italian researcher who first came up with the new alternative said Monday.
"We believe that, from a therapeutic standpoint, by using stem cells from amniotic fluid, we may reach applications faster than with embryonic stem cells," Paolo De Coppi told ANSA a day after his ground-breaking research paper was published in Nature Biotechnology.
De Coppi said he and co-author Anthony Atala of the US did not want to hinder stem-cell research using embryos - a technique that is favoured by much of the scientific community but opposed by conservatives in several countries including Italy.
While stressing that he himself opposes research with embryos, De Coppi said he and Atala "certainly do not wish to hinder other types of research".
However, he disclosed that he had the impression since 2001, when he first started presenting his work at conferences, that the scientific establishment, which has invested heavily in embryo research, was resistant to the prospect of amniotic stem cells proving useful.
"It took seven years to get our paper published...it was rejected four times.
"We had the impression that many of the criticisms raised (in rejecting the paper) were motivated by a resistance to the idea of finding an alternative to embryonic stem cells because the American scientific community fears restrictions on research with embryos.
"We could have had the discovery published sooner by opting to send our results to a less prestigious journal," De Coppi said.
"But that way we would have lost credibility with the scientific community.
"Therefore, we decided to overcome the hostility".
The publication of the paper in Britain's leading stem-cell journal has electrified the research community.
In the paper, De Coppi and Atala present evidence of amniotic cells diversifying into various kinds of bodily tissue - a result previously only thought possible by using embryos.
Conservative scientists and commentators have hailed the paper as showing that embryos need not be destroyed to provide the kind of stem cells which researchers say hold out hope of curing a raft of diseases.
Religious conservatives are against any research that harms the embryo.
De Coppi, 35, is on sabbatical from Padua University and serving as department head at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, the largest paediatric hospital in Europe.
While stating that he hopes to be back home soon, De Coppi highlighted that his work would not have been possible, because of funding restrictions, in Italy.
"When I proposed my project to Atala at Harvard, he said 'use all the funds you want' - something that is unthinkable in Italy".
De Coppi was cited as 'lead author' on the Nature Biotechnology article.
Atala, who is now at Winston-Salem's Wake Forest University, was the senior author.
