Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date: December 28, 2008
Summary:
Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in reversing brain birth defects in animal models, using stem cells to replace defective brain cells. The work involved using mouse embryonic neural stem cells, which migrate in the brain, search for the deficiency that caused the defect, and then differentiate into becoming the cells needed to repair the damage.
In the researchers’ animal model, they were able to reverse learning deficits in the offspring of pregnant mice who were exposed to organophosphate (a pesticide) and heroin. This was done by direct neural stem cell transplantation into the brains of the offspring. The recovery was almost one hundred percent, as proved in behavioral tests in which the treated animals improved to normal behavior and learning scores after the transplantation. On the molecular level, brain chemistry of the treated animals was also restored to normal.
The researchers went one step further. Puzzled by the stem cells’ ability to work even in those cases where most of them died out in the host brain, the scientists went on to discover that the neural stem cells succeed before they die in inducing the host brain itself to produce large number of stem cells which repair the damage. This discovery, finally settling a major question in stem cell research, evoked great interest and was published earlier this year in one of the leading journals in the field, Molecular Psychiatry. The scientists are now in the midst of developing procedures for the least invasive method for administering the neural stem cells, which is probably via blood vessels, thus making the therapy practical and clinically feasible.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Recipe For Capturing Authentic Embryonic Stem Cells May Apply To Any Mammal, Study Suggests
Source: Cell Press
Date: December 26, 2008
Summary:
Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in the December 26th issue of the journal Cell show that a cocktail first demonstrated to work in mice earlier this year, which includes inhibitory chemicals, also can be used to successfully isolate embryonic stem cells from rats.
Date: December 26, 2008
Summary:
Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in the December 26th issue of the journal Cell show that a cocktail first demonstrated to work in mice earlier this year, which includes inhibitory chemicals, also can be used to successfully isolate embryonic stem cells from rats.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Scientists reveal mechanism that triggers differentiation of embryo cells
Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date: December 24, 2008
Summary:
The mechanism whereby embryonic cells stop being flexible and turn into more mature cells that can develop into specific tissues has been discovered by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The discovery has significant consequences towards furthering research that will eventually make possible medical cell replacement therapy based on the use of embryonic cells. In a recent paper, published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Professors Yehudit Bergman and Howard Cedar of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School have deciphered the mechanism whereby embryonic cells stop being flexible and turn into more mature cells that can differentiate into specific tissues. Bergman is the Morley Goldblatt professor of Cancer Research and Experimental Medicine and Cedar is the Harry and Helen L. Brenner professor of Molecular Biology at the Medical School.
Date: December 24, 2008
Summary:
The mechanism whereby embryonic cells stop being flexible and turn into more mature cells that can develop into specific tissues has been discovered by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The discovery has significant consequences towards furthering research that will eventually make possible medical cell replacement therapy based on the use of embryonic cells. In a recent paper, published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Professors Yehudit Bergman and Howard Cedar of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School have deciphered the mechanism whereby embryonic cells stop being flexible and turn into more mature cells that can differentiate into specific tissues. Bergman is the Morley Goldblatt professor of Cancer Research and Experimental Medicine and Cedar is the Harry and Helen L. Brenner professor of Molecular Biology at the Medical School.
Researchers Derive First Embryonic Stem Cells From Rats
Source: University of Southern California
Date: December 24, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases. The research will be published in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Cell. The finding brings scientists much closer to creating “knockout” rats – animals that are genetically modified to lack one or more genes – for biomedical research. By observing what happens to animals when specific genes are removed, researchers can identify the function of the gene and whether it is linked to a specific disease.
Date: December 24, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases. The research will be published in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Cell. The finding brings scientists much closer to creating “knockout” rats – animals that are genetically modified to lack one or more genes – for biomedical research. By observing what happens to animals when specific genes are removed, researchers can identify the function of the gene and whether it is linked to a specific disease.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Reprogrammed skin cells provide testing ground for new drugs
Source: Nature
Published online 22 December 2008
Summary:
Nature reports skin cells from a spinal muscular atrophy have been reprogrammed into stem cells that can be used as a model of the disease.
"Skin cells from a patient with a genetic disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been reprogrammed into stem cells that can be used as a model of the disease. The research marks an important milestone in creating and using stem cells to understand disease processes and screen drugs. To build an improved model, researchers first took tissue-forming fibroblast cells from the skin of a deceased SMA patient. Then they reprogrammed these cells to become so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which behave just like the embryonic stem cells that are the progenitors of all the body's different cell types. Finally, the scientists developed a new method to turn those iPS cells into large numbers of motor neurons, the cell type affected in SMA."
Published online 22 December 2008
Summary:
Nature reports skin cells from a spinal muscular atrophy have been reprogrammed into stem cells that can be used as a model of the disease.
"Skin cells from a patient with a genetic disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been reprogrammed into stem cells that can be used as a model of the disease. The research marks an important milestone in creating and using stem cells to understand disease processes and screen drugs. To build an improved model, researchers first took tissue-forming fibroblast cells from the skin of a deceased SMA patient. Then they reprogrammed these cells to become so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which behave just like the embryonic stem cells that are the progenitors of all the body's different cell types. Finally, the scientists developed a new method to turn those iPS cells into large numbers of motor neurons, the cell type affected in SMA."
University of Wisconsin-Madison stem-cell team replicates disease in lab dish
Below is a summary of media coverage from various sources of recent studies by University of Wisconsin-Madison in which researchers successfully replicated a disease in a lab dish:
Wisconsin State Journal, December 22, 2008: "University of Wisconsin-Madison stem-cell team replicates disease in lab dish":
A year after University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist James Thomson announced a new type of human embryonic stem cells, campus researchers have realized a major promise of the new cells: replicating a disease in a lab dish. A team led by neuroscientist Clive Svendsen used the new stem cells to create a model of spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of infant mortality. Researchers at Harvard University and elsewhere have used the cells to simulate other diseases, but Svendsen is the first to do so and show how a disease process works, said a prominent scientist in the field."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 21, 2008: "Stem cells give scientists a window on diseases":
"Using a simple skin biopsy from a young boy with a deadly genetic illness, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided the first demonstration that reprogramming can offer researchers an unprecedented view of human disease. The skin cells came from a boy with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, an illness that is similar to Lou Gehrig's disease, but afflicts children. The disease kills motor neurons until muscles stop working. Children become immobile, dependent on respirators and feeding tubes, and eventually die. The boy, whose biopsy the scientists used, ultimately died of SMA at age 3. The UW scientists used the reprogramming technique pioneered last year by their UW colleague James Thomson and by Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University in Japan, and sent the boy's skin cells back to the embryonic state. They then grew the reprogrammed cells into motor neurons, the type damaged by the disease."
The Capital Times, December 21, 2008: "UW researchers watch disease unfold in lab dish":
"University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have re-created the key traits of a devastating neurological disease in the lab using stem cells derived from an afflicted patient, a breakthrough that will allow scientists the opportunity to better study the ailment and develop new treatments for it. The findings, to be reported this week in the journal Nature, came out of UW-Madison stem cell biologist Clive Svendsen's lab and relate to spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. The team at UW-Madison and a group at the University of Missouri-Columbia created these disease-specific stem cells by genetically reprogramming skin cells from a patient with spinal muscular atrophy."
Wisconsin State Journal, December 22, 2008: "University of Wisconsin-Madison stem-cell team replicates disease in lab dish":
A year after University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist James Thomson announced a new type of human embryonic stem cells, campus researchers have realized a major promise of the new cells: replicating a disease in a lab dish. A team led by neuroscientist Clive Svendsen used the new stem cells to create a model of spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of infant mortality. Researchers at Harvard University and elsewhere have used the cells to simulate other diseases, but Svendsen is the first to do so and show how a disease process works, said a prominent scientist in the field."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 21, 2008: "Stem cells give scientists a window on diseases":
"Using a simple skin biopsy from a young boy with a deadly genetic illness, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided the first demonstration that reprogramming can offer researchers an unprecedented view of human disease. The skin cells came from a boy with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, an illness that is similar to Lou Gehrig's disease, but afflicts children. The disease kills motor neurons until muscles stop working. Children become immobile, dependent on respirators and feeding tubes, and eventually die. The boy, whose biopsy the scientists used, ultimately died of SMA at age 3. The UW scientists used the reprogramming technique pioneered last year by their UW colleague James Thomson and by Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University in Japan, and sent the boy's skin cells back to the embryonic state. They then grew the reprogrammed cells into motor neurons, the type damaged by the disease."
The Capital Times, December 21, 2008: "UW researchers watch disease unfold in lab dish":
"University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have re-created the key traits of a devastating neurological disease in the lab using stem cells derived from an afflicted patient, a breakthrough that will allow scientists the opportunity to better study the ailment and develop new treatments for it. The findings, to be reported this week in the journal Nature, came out of UW-Madison stem cell biologist Clive Svendsen's lab and relate to spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. The team at UW-Madison and a group at the University of Missouri-Columbia created these disease-specific stem cells by genetically reprogramming skin cells from a patient with spinal muscular atrophy."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Patient-derived Induced Stem Cells Retain Disease Traits
Source: University of Wisconsin- Madison
Date: December 18, 2008
Summary:
When neurons started dying in Clive Svendsen's lab dishes, he couldn't have been more pleased.The dying cells – the same type lost in patients with the devastating neurological disease spinal muscular atrophy – confirmed that the University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell biologist had recreated the hallmarks of a genetic disorder in the lab, using stem cells derived from a patient. By allowing scientists the unparalleled opportunity to watch the course of a disease unfold in a lab dish, the work marks an enormous step forward in being able to study and develop new therapies for genetic diseases. As reported this week in the journal Nature, Svendsen and colleagues at UW-Madison and the University of Missouri-Columbia created disease-specific stem cells by genetically reprogramming skin cells from a patient with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. In this inherited disease, the most common genetic cause of infant mortality, a mutation leads to the death of the nerves that control skeletal muscles, causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately death, usually by age two.
Date: December 18, 2008
Summary:
When neurons started dying in Clive Svendsen's lab dishes, he couldn't have been more pleased.The dying cells – the same type lost in patients with the devastating neurological disease spinal muscular atrophy – confirmed that the University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell biologist had recreated the hallmarks of a genetic disorder in the lab, using stem cells derived from a patient. By allowing scientists the unparalleled opportunity to watch the course of a disease unfold in a lab dish, the work marks an enormous step forward in being able to study and develop new therapies for genetic diseases. As reported this week in the journal Nature, Svendsen and colleagues at UW-Madison and the University of Missouri-Columbia created disease-specific stem cells by genetically reprogramming skin cells from a patient with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. In this inherited disease, the most common genetic cause of infant mortality, a mutation leads to the death of the nerves that control skeletal muscles, causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately death, usually by age two.
Scientists Develop Method For Generating Novel Types Of Stem Cells
Source: Scripps Research Institute
Date: December 18, 2008
Summary:
A team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has for the first time developed a technique for generating novel types of rat and human stem cells with characteristics similar to mouse embryonic stem cells, currently the predominant type of stem cells used for creating animal models of human diseases in research. The technique potentially provides scientists with new sources of stem cells to develop drugs and treatments for human diseases. The study, which appears in the December 18 online version of Cell Stem Cell and the January 2009 print edition of the journal, provides proof of principle that alternative sources of stem cells can be created. The team, which included scientists from Scripps Research, Peking University, and the University of California, San Diego, conducted the studies to establish novel rat induced pluripotent stem cell lines (riPSCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cell lines (hiPSCs) by using a specific cocktail of chemicals combined with genetic reprogramming, a process whereby an adult cell is returned to its early embryonic state. Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into each of the more than 200 cell types of the adult body.
Date: December 18, 2008
Summary:
A team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has for the first time developed a technique for generating novel types of rat and human stem cells with characteristics similar to mouse embryonic stem cells, currently the predominant type of stem cells used for creating animal models of human diseases in research. The technique potentially provides scientists with new sources of stem cells to develop drugs and treatments for human diseases. The study, which appears in the December 18 online version of Cell Stem Cell and the January 2009 print edition of the journal, provides proof of principle that alternative sources of stem cells can be created. The team, which included scientists from Scripps Research, Peking University, and the University of California, San Diego, conducted the studies to establish novel rat induced pluripotent stem cell lines (riPSCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cell lines (hiPSCs) by using a specific cocktail of chemicals combined with genetic reprogramming, a process whereby an adult cell is returned to its early embryonic state. Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into each of the more than 200 cell types of the adult body.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Single virus used to convert adult cells to embryonic stem cell-like cells
Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Date: December 15, 2008
Summary:
Whitehead Institute researchers have greatly simplified the creation of so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, cutting the number of viruses used in the reprogramming process from four to one. Scientists hope that these embryonic stem-cell-like cells could eventually be used to treat such ailments as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. The earliest reprogramming efforts relied on four separate viruses to transfer genes into the cells’ DNA--one virus for each reprogramming gene (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4). Once activated, these genes convert the cells from their adult, differentiated status to an embryonic-like state.
However, this method poses significant risks for potential use in humans. The viruses used in reprogramming are associated with cancer because they may insert DNA anywhere in a cell’s genome, thereby potentially triggering the expression of cancer-causing genes, or oncogenes. For iPS cells to be employed to treat human diseases, researchers must find safe alternatives to reprogramming with such viruses. This latest technique represents a significant advance in the quest to eliminate the potentially harmful viruses.
Date: December 15, 2008
Summary:
Whitehead Institute researchers have greatly simplified the creation of so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, cutting the number of viruses used in the reprogramming process from four to one. Scientists hope that these embryonic stem-cell-like cells could eventually be used to treat such ailments as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. The earliest reprogramming efforts relied on four separate viruses to transfer genes into the cells’ DNA--one virus for each reprogramming gene (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4). Once activated, these genes convert the cells from their adult, differentiated status to an embryonic-like state.
However, this method poses significant risks for potential use in humans. The viruses used in reprogramming are associated with cancer because they may insert DNA anywhere in a cell’s genome, thereby potentially triggering the expression of cancer-causing genes, or oncogenes. For iPS cells to be employed to treat human diseases, researchers must find safe alternatives to reprogramming with such viruses. This latest technique represents a significant advance in the quest to eliminate the potentially harmful viruses.
Newly Discovered Esophagus Stem Cells Grow Into Transplantable Tissue, Penn Study Finds
Source: University of Pennsylvania
Date: December 15, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered stem cells in the esophagus of mice that were able to grow into tissue-like structures and when placed into immune-deficient mice were able to form parts of an esophagus lining. The investigators report their findings online this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Date: December 15, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered stem cells in the esophagus of mice that were able to grow into tissue-like structures and when placed into immune-deficient mice were able to form parts of an esophagus lining. The investigators report their findings online this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Single adult stem cell can self renew, repair tissue damage in live mammal
Source: Source: American Society for Cell Biology
Date: December 14, 2008
Summary:
The first demonstration that a single adult stem cell can self-renew in a mammal was reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco. The transplanted adult stem cell and its differentiated descendants restored lost function to mice with hind limb muscle tissue damage.
Date: December 14, 2008
Summary:
The first demonstration that a single adult stem cell can self-renew in a mammal was reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco. The transplanted adult stem cell and its differentiated descendants restored lost function to mice with hind limb muscle tissue damage.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Transplanted Fat Cells Restore Function After Spinal Cord Injury
Source: Cell Transplantation
December 11, 2008
Summary:
Fat cells, plentiful and easily obtained from adipose tissues without discomfort and grown under culture conditions as de-differentiated fat cells (DFAT), have been for the first time shown to successfully differentiate into neuronal cells in in vivo tests. According to the study's lead researcher, Dr. Yuki Ohta of the Institute of Medical Science, St. Mariana University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan, adipose-derived stem/stromal cells have in the past been shown to differentiate into neuronal cells in an in vitro setting. In their study, for the first time fat cells have been shown to successfully differentiate into neuronal cells in in vivo tests. The fat cells are grown under culture conditions that result in them becoming de-differentiated fat (DFAT) cells. This study was published in Cell Transplantation (Vol.17, No. 8.)
December 11, 2008
Summary:
Fat cells, plentiful and easily obtained from adipose tissues without discomfort and grown under culture conditions as de-differentiated fat cells (DFAT), have been for the first time shown to successfully differentiate into neuronal cells in in vivo tests. According to the study's lead researcher, Dr. Yuki Ohta of the Institute of Medical Science, St. Mariana University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan, adipose-derived stem/stromal cells have in the past been shown to differentiate into neuronal cells in an in vitro setting. In their study, for the first time fat cells have been shown to successfully differentiate into neuronal cells in in vivo tests. The fat cells are grown under culture conditions that result in them becoming de-differentiated fat (DFAT) cells. This study was published in Cell Transplantation (Vol.17, No. 8.)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
First functional stem-cell niche model created
Source: Stanford University
Date: December 10, 2008
Summary:
Like it or not, your living room probably says a lot about you. Given a few uninterrupted moments to poke around, a stranger could probably get a pretty good idea of your likes and dislikes, and maybe even your future plans. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine employing a similar "peeping Tom" tactic to learn more about how stem cells develop have taken a significant step forward by devising a way to recreate the cells' lair — a microenvironment called a niche — in an adult animal. The research marks the first time that scientists have successfully recreated a functional stem-cell niche for further study.
Date: December 10, 2008
Summary:
Like it or not, your living room probably says a lot about you. Given a few uninterrupted moments to poke around, a stranger could probably get a pretty good idea of your likes and dislikes, and maybe even your future plans. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine employing a similar "peeping Tom" tactic to learn more about how stem cells develop have taken a significant step forward by devising a way to recreate the cells' lair — a microenvironment called a niche — in an adult animal. The research marks the first time that scientists have successfully recreated a functional stem-cell niche for further study.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Researchers Exploring Gene Therapy To Fight AIDS
Source: University of California - Davis
Date: December 5, 2008
Summary:
The apparent success of a case in which German doctors cured a man of AIDS using a bone marrow transplant comes as no surprise to Gerhard Bauer, a UC Davis stem cell researcher. Bauer has been working for more than 10 years on a similar cure for AIDS based on replacing the devastated immune system of an HIV-infected patient with stem cells that have been engineered to resist human immunodeficiency syndrome. Bauer plans to present the preliminary results of his latest research at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Hematology in San Francisco on Sunday, December 6, 2008, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Moscone Center. He and his UC Davis research team will present a poster detailing the development of a mouse model that allows pre-clinical testing of their new gene-therapy protocol, which they hope will pave the way for human clinical trials within five years.
Date: December 5, 2008
Summary:
The apparent success of a case in which German doctors cured a man of AIDS using a bone marrow transplant comes as no surprise to Gerhard Bauer, a UC Davis stem cell researcher. Bauer has been working for more than 10 years on a similar cure for AIDS based on replacing the devastated immune system of an HIV-infected patient with stem cells that have been engineered to resist human immunodeficiency syndrome. Bauer plans to present the preliminary results of his latest research at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Hematology in San Francisco on Sunday, December 6, 2008, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Moscone Center. He and his UC Davis research team will present a poster detailing the development of a mouse model that allows pre-clinical testing of their new gene-therapy protocol, which they hope will pave the way for human clinical trials within five years.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Bone marrow-derived stem cells may offer novel therapeutic option for skin disorder
Source: American Society of Hematology
Date: December 4, 2008
Summary:
Stem cells derived from bone marrow may serve as a novel therapeutic option to treat a disease called epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a disorder characterized by extraordinarily fragile skin, according to a study prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. Researchers worked with a mouse model of RDEB-infused bone marrow cells to determine if they would increase production of the col7 protein and formation of anchoring fibrils, and improve survival in the mouse recipients. The research team used bone marrow cells enriched for hematopoietic (stem cells that can develop into most blood cell types) and progenitor cells to increase the concentration of cells with the capacity to produce col7. The team tested these cells against non-enriched stem cells to determine their benefit to the treated mice. Results of the study found that when injected into mice with RDEB, these specially selected marrow-derived stem cells diminished the disease process. They traveled to the diseased skin areas, increased protein and anchoring fibrils, prevented blister formation and extended survival.
Date: December 4, 2008
Summary:
Stem cells derived from bone marrow may serve as a novel therapeutic option to treat a disease called epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a disorder characterized by extraordinarily fragile skin, according to a study prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. Researchers worked with a mouse model of RDEB-infused bone marrow cells to determine if they would increase production of the col7 protein and formation of anchoring fibrils, and improve survival in the mouse recipients. The research team used bone marrow cells enriched for hematopoietic (stem cells that can develop into most blood cell types) and progenitor cells to increase the concentration of cells with the capacity to produce col7. The team tested these cells against non-enriched stem cells to determine their benefit to the treated mice. Results of the study found that when injected into mice with RDEB, these specially selected marrow-derived stem cells diminished the disease process. They traveled to the diseased skin areas, increased protein and anchoring fibrils, prevented blister formation and extended survival.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Researchers provide definitive proof of where, how blood stem cells are created
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. While the anatomic location in the embryo where blood stem cells originate has been well documented, the cell type from which they spring was less understood. The UCLA finding, published in the Dec. 4, 2008 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, puts to rest a long-standing controversy over whether blood stem cells were created, or born, in the endothelium or originated from another cell type in a nearby location.
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. While the anatomic location in the embryo where blood stem cells originate has been well documented, the cell type from which they spring was less understood. The UCLA finding, published in the Dec. 4, 2008 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, puts to rest a long-standing controversy over whether blood stem cells were created, or born, in the endothelium or originated from another cell type in a nearby location.
A Novel Human Stem Cell-based Model of ALS Opens Doors for Rapid Drug Screening
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements. In fact, defective astrocytes can lay waste to motor neurons and are the main suspects in the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To get to the root of this complicated relationship, researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for the very first time established a human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based system for modeling ALS. Their study confirmed that dysfunctional human astrocytes turn against their charges and kill off healthy motor neurons. But more importantly, treating the cultured cells with apocynin, a powerful anti-oxidant, staved off motor neuron death caused by malfunctioning astrocytes. Their findings, which appear in the Dec. 4 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provide new insight into the toxic pathways that contribute to the demise of motor neurons in ALS and open up new possibilities for drug-screening experiments using human ALS in vitro models, as well as clinical interventions using astrocyte-based cell therapies.
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements. In fact, defective astrocytes can lay waste to motor neurons and are the main suspects in the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To get to the root of this complicated relationship, researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for the very first time established a human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based system for modeling ALS. Their study confirmed that dysfunctional human astrocytes turn against their charges and kill off healthy motor neurons. But more importantly, treating the cultured cells with apocynin, a powerful anti-oxidant, staved off motor neuron death caused by malfunctioning astrocytes. Their findings, which appear in the Dec. 4 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provide new insight into the toxic pathways that contribute to the demise of motor neurons in ALS and open up new possibilities for drug-screening experiments using human ALS in vitro models, as well as clinical interventions using astrocyte-based cell therapies.
New 'control knobs' for stem cells identified
Source: Tufts University
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells are a powerful controlling factor in the process by which these stem cells differentiate, according to research published by Tufts University scientists in the November 17, 2008, issue of PLoS ONE. The Tufts researchers studied the changes in membrane potential (voltage across the membrane) shown by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) obtained from donor bone marrow as the hMSCs were differentiating into fat and bone cells. They found that hyperpolarization (increased difference between the voltage in the interior and exterior of a cell) was characteristic of differentiated cells compared with undifferentiated cells and that hMSCs show different membrane potential profiles during bone vs. fat differentiation.
Date: December 3, 2008
Summary:
Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells are a powerful controlling factor in the process by which these stem cells differentiate, according to research published by Tufts University scientists in the November 17, 2008, issue of PLoS ONE. The Tufts researchers studied the changes in membrane potential (voltage across the membrane) shown by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) obtained from donor bone marrow as the hMSCs were differentiating into fat and bone cells. They found that hyperpolarization (increased difference between the voltage in the interior and exterior of a cell) was characteristic of differentiated cells compared with undifferentiated cells and that hMSCs show different membrane potential profiles during bone vs. fat differentiation.
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