Source: Scripps Research Institute
Date: December 29, 2009
Summary:
An international team of scientists led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute has developed a straightforward technique to determine the ethnic origin of stem cells. The Scripps Research scientists initiated the study—published in the January 2010 edition of the prestigious journal Nature Methods—because the availability of genetically diverse cell lines for cell replacement therapy and drug development could have important medical consequences. Research has shown that discordance between the ethnic origin of organ donors and recipients can influence medical outcomes for tissue transplantation, and that the safety and effectiveness of specific drugs can vary widely depending on ethnic background.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Chemotherapy-induced heart damage reversed in rats
Source: American Heart Association
Date: December 28, 2009
Summary:
DALLAS, — Heart tissue damage from chemotherapy drugs was reversed in rats by using their own cardiac stem cells (CSCs) that weren’t exposed to the cancer treatment. These cells reversed heart failure, according to a new study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The early-stage research will lead to studying humans exposed to a class of chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines, which is very effective in treating certain types of cancers.
Date: December 28, 2009
Summary:
DALLAS, — Heart tissue damage from chemotherapy drugs was reversed in rats by using their own cardiac stem cells (CSCs) that weren’t exposed to the cancer treatment. These cells reversed heart failure, according to a new study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The early-stage research will lead to studying humans exposed to a class of chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines, which is very effective in treating certain types of cancers.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Vitamin C boosts the reprogramming of adult cells into stem cells
Source: Cell Press
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, a study published online on December 24th by Cell Press in the journal Cell Stem Cell uncovers an unexpected new role for this natural compound: facilitating the generation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells.
Below is additional coverage of this finding:
HealthDay News
Daily Telegraph
Press Association
Scientific American
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, a study published online on December 24th by Cell Press in the journal Cell Stem Cell uncovers an unexpected new role for this natural compound: facilitating the generation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells.
Below is additional coverage of this finding:
HealthDay News
Daily Telegraph
Press Association
Scientific American
Tandem Autologous-Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants Highly Effective for Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma
Source: Cancer Consultants
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from Canada have reported that autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) followed by a sibling reduced-intensity allogeneic SCT results in progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of 96% at three and five years in patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma (FL). The details of this study were presented at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans in the first week of December.[1]
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from Canada have reported that autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) followed by a sibling reduced-intensity allogeneic SCT results in progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of 96% at three and five years in patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma (FL). The details of this study were presented at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans in the first week of December.[1]
Stanford scientists identify protein that keeps stem cells poised for action
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Like a child awaiting the arrival of Christmas, embryonic stem cells exist in a state of permanent anticipation. They must balance the ability to quickly become more specialized cell types with the cellular chaos that could occur should they act too early (stop shaking those presents, kids!). Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now identified a critical component, called Jarid2, of this delicate balancing act — one that both recruits other regulatory proteins to genes important in differentiation and also modulates their activity to keep them in a state of ongoing readiness.
"Understanding how only the relevant genes are targeted and remain poised for action is a hot topic in embryonic stem cell research," said Joanna Wysocka, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of chemical and systems biology. "Our results shed light on both these questions." Wysocka is the lead author of the research, which will be published in the Dec. 24 issue of Cell.
Date: December 24, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Like a child awaiting the arrival of Christmas, embryonic stem cells exist in a state of permanent anticipation. They must balance the ability to quickly become more specialized cell types with the cellular chaos that could occur should they act too early (stop shaking those presents, kids!). Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now identified a critical component, called Jarid2, of this delicate balancing act — one that both recruits other regulatory proteins to genes important in differentiation and also modulates their activity to keep them in a state of ongoing readiness.
"Understanding how only the relevant genes are targeted and remain poised for action is a hot topic in embryonic stem cell research," said Joanna Wysocka, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of chemical and systems biology. "Our results shed light on both these questions." Wysocka is the lead author of the research, which will be published in the Dec. 24 issue of Cell.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Study shows immune system protein involved in reprogramming adult cells to express stem cell genes
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: December 22, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have discovered a protein required to quickly and efficiently reprogram human skin cells to express embryonic stem cell genes. Scientists believe there is much promise for induced pluripotent stem cells: normal adult cells that have been manipulated to develop the stem-cell-like ability to differentiate into other types of cells, potentially to be used to repair damaged tissue and treat the ravages of disease.
But making these so-called iPS cells is both time-consuming and inefficient. Now researchers at Stanford’s School of Medicine have discovered a protein required to quickly and efficiently reprogram human skin cells to express embryonic stem cell genes. The finding could eliminate a major bottleneck in the generation of iPS and embryonic stem cells — that of removing molecular tags called methyl groups from specific regions of cellular DNA. Without this process of demethylation, the stem cell genes are silent in adult, or differentiated, cells. The research is published online in the Dec. 21 issue of Nature.
Date: December 22, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have discovered a protein required to quickly and efficiently reprogram human skin cells to express embryonic stem cell genes. Scientists believe there is much promise for induced pluripotent stem cells: normal adult cells that have been manipulated to develop the stem-cell-like ability to differentiate into other types of cells, potentially to be used to repair damaged tissue and treat the ravages of disease.
But making these so-called iPS cells is both time-consuming and inefficient. Now researchers at Stanford’s School of Medicine have discovered a protein required to quickly and efficiently reprogram human skin cells to express embryonic stem cell genes. The finding could eliminate a major bottleneck in the generation of iPS and embryonic stem cells — that of removing molecular tags called methyl groups from specific regions of cellular DNA. Without this process of demethylation, the stem cell genes are silent in adult, or differentiated, cells. The research is published online in the Dec. 21 issue of Nature.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Growing Blood Vessels: Bioengineered Materials Promote the Growth of Functional Vasculature, New Study Shows
Source: Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Date: December 21, 2009
Summary:
Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.
Details of the research were published in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 21, 2009. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) through the Georgia Tech/Emory Center (GTEC) for the Engineering of Living Tissues, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Heart Association.
Date: December 21, 2009
Summary:
Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.
Details of the research were published in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 21, 2009. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) through the Georgia Tech/Emory Center (GTEC) for the Engineering of Living Tissues, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Heart Association.
Friday, December 18, 2009
NEURALSTEM RECEIVES APPROVAL TO COMMENCE FIRST ALS STEM CELL TRIAL AT EMORY ALS CENTER
Source: Neuralstem, Inc.
Date: December 18, 2009
Summary:
ROCKVILLE, Maryland -- Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that its Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) with its spinal cord stem cells has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The trial, which was approved by the FDA in September, will take place at the Emory ALS Center, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Glass M.D., Director of the Emory ALS Center, who will serve as the site Principal Investigator (PI). The trial will study the safety of Neuralstem’s cells and the surgical procedures and devices required for multiple injections of Neuralstem’s cells directly into the grey matter of the spinal cord. The Emory ALS Center has posted the relevant trial information for patients on its website.
Date: December 18, 2009
Summary:
ROCKVILLE, Maryland -- Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that its Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) with its spinal cord stem cells has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The trial, which was approved by the FDA in September, will take place at the Emory ALS Center, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Glass M.D., Director of the Emory ALS Center, who will serve as the site Principal Investigator (PI). The trial will study the safety of Neuralstem’s cells and the surgical procedures and devices required for multiple injections of Neuralstem’s cells directly into the grey matter of the spinal cord. The Emory ALS Center has posted the relevant trial information for patients on its website.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Umbilical Cord Could Be New Source of Plentiful Stem Cells
Source: University of Pittsburgh
Date: December 17, 2009
Summary:
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 17, 2009 – Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat some blood disorders, said University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in the online version of the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.
Date: December 17, 2009
Summary:
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 17, 2009 – Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat some blood disorders, said University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in the online version of the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Stem-cell activators switch function, repress mature cells
Source: Ohio State University Medical Center
Date: December 16, 2009
Summary:
In a developing animal, stem cells proliferate and differentiate to form the organs needed for life. A new study shows how a crucial step in this process happens and how a reversal of that step contributes to cancer. The study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, shows for the first time that three proteins, called E2f1, E2f2 and E2f3, play a key role in the transition stem cells make to their final, differentiated, state.
These proteins help stimulate stem cells to grow and proliferate. But once stem cells begin to differentiate into their final cell type - a cell in the retina or in the lining of the intestine, for example - the same three proteins switch function and stop them from dividing any more. The research also shows how these proteins can switch course yet again in cells that have mutations in the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene. Mutated Rb genes occur in many types of cancer, suggesting that these E2f proteins might offer a safe and novel therapeutic target in these tumors. The findings are published in back-to-back papers in the Dec. 17 issue of the journal Nature.
Date: December 16, 2009
Summary:
In a developing animal, stem cells proliferate and differentiate to form the organs needed for life. A new study shows how a crucial step in this process happens and how a reversal of that step contributes to cancer. The study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, shows for the first time that three proteins, called E2f1, E2f2 and E2f3, play a key role in the transition stem cells make to their final, differentiated, state.
These proteins help stimulate stem cells to grow and proliferate. But once stem cells begin to differentiate into their final cell type - a cell in the retina or in the lining of the intestine, for example - the same three proteins switch function and stop them from dividing any more. The research also shows how these proteins can switch course yet again in cells that have mutations in the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene. Mutated Rb genes occur in many types of cancer, suggesting that these E2f proteins might offer a safe and novel therapeutic target in these tumors. The findings are published in back-to-back papers in the Dec. 17 issue of the journal Nature.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Marking Tissue-Specific Genes in Embryonic Stem Cells Crucial to Ensure Proper Function
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: December 15, 2009
Summary:
Tissue-specific genes, thought to be dormant or not marked for activation in embryonic stem cells, are indeed marked by transcription factors, with proper marking potentially crucial for the function of tissues derived from stem cells.
The finding in the study by researchers at the Broad Stem Cell Research Center involves a class of genes whose properties previously were thought to be unimportant for stem cell function. Most research has instead focused on genes that regulate a pluripotency network and genes that regulate differentiation of embryonic stem cells into other cell lineages.
The Broad center researchers focused on a third class of genes, those expressed only in defined cell types or tissues, which generally remain silent until long after embryonic stem cells have differentiated into specific cell lineages. The study is published in the Dec. 15, 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Genes and Development.
Date: December 15, 2009
Summary:
Tissue-specific genes, thought to be dormant or not marked for activation in embryonic stem cells, are indeed marked by transcription factors, with proper marking potentially crucial for the function of tissues derived from stem cells.
The finding in the study by researchers at the Broad Stem Cell Research Center involves a class of genes whose properties previously were thought to be unimportant for stem cell function. Most research has instead focused on genes that regulate a pluripotency network and genes that regulate differentiation of embryonic stem cells into other cell lineages.
The Broad center researchers focused on a third class of genes, those expressed only in defined cell types or tissues, which generally remain silent until long after embryonic stem cells have differentiated into specific cell lineages. The study is published in the Dec. 15, 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Genes and Development.
How Do Salamanders Grow a New Leg? Protein Mechanisms Behind Limb Regeneration
Source: Indiana University School of Medicine
Date:December 15, 2009
Summary:
The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans. Researchers at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues investigated over three hundred proteins in the amputated limbs of axolotls, a type of salamander that has the unique natural ability to regenerate appendages from any level of amputation, with the hope that this knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow limbs to regenerate. Findings were published online in the journal Biomedical Central Biology on November 30 (BMC Biology 7:83, 2009).
Date:December 15, 2009
Summary:
The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans. Researchers at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues investigated over three hundred proteins in the amputated limbs of axolotls, a type of salamander that has the unique natural ability to regenerate appendages from any level of amputation, with the hope that this knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow limbs to regenerate. Findings were published online in the journal Biomedical Central Biology on November 30 (BMC Biology 7:83, 2009).
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Hebrew University, American researchers identify genetic ‘trigger’ for stem cell differentiation
Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date: 9 December 2009
Summary:
A gene which is essential for stem cells’ capabilities to become any cell type has been identified by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California, San Francisco. The discovery represents a further step in the ever-expanding field of understanding the ways in which stem cells develop into specific cells, a necessary prelude towards the use of stem cell therapy as a means to reverse the consequences of disease and disability.
In their current study, which was published recently in the journal Nature, the researchers from the Hebrew University and UCSF showed, using mouse ES cells, that Chd1 regulates open chromatin in ES cells. The open chromatin conformation, maintained by Chd1, enabled the expression of a wide variety of genes, leading to proper differentiation into all types of specific cells. Depletion of Chd1 in embryonic stem cells led to formation of heterochromatin (closed chromatin) and prevented the ability of the cells to generate all types of tissues.
Date: 9 December 2009
Summary:
A gene which is essential for stem cells’ capabilities to become any cell type has been identified by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California, San Francisco. The discovery represents a further step in the ever-expanding field of understanding the ways in which stem cells develop into specific cells, a necessary prelude towards the use of stem cell therapy as a means to reverse the consequences of disease and disability.
In their current study, which was published recently in the journal Nature, the researchers from the Hebrew University and UCSF showed, using mouse ES cells, that Chd1 regulates open chromatin in ES cells. The open chromatin conformation, maintained by Chd1, enabled the expression of a wide variety of genes, leading to proper differentiation into all types of specific cells. Depletion of Chd1 in embryonic stem cells led to formation of heterochromatin (closed chromatin) and prevented the ability of the cells to generate all types of tissues.
Newly Discovered Mechanism Allows Cells to Change State
Source: Brown University
Date: December 9, 2009
Summary:
Cells are not static. They can transform themselves over time — but change can have dangerous implications. Benign cells, for example, can suddenly change into cancerous ones. That’s one reason why scientists are trying to figure out why and how cells can shed their old identity and take on a new one. If they can figure out how this happens, researchers may better understand why many different cells — such as stem cells or cells that become cancerous — transform. That, in turn, could someday allow scientists to control the transformative process in a way that might help treat a wide range of diseases.
Jeffrey Laney, assistant professor of biology at Brown University, has identified one way this change takes place by looking at Saccharomyces cerevisae, a common yeast used to make beer and bread. Laney found that a cellular “machine” removes a regulatory “lid” from genes in the cell, so the cell can change its state. Details are published online in Nature Cell Biology, with a print version to come.
Date: December 9, 2009
Summary:
Cells are not static. They can transform themselves over time — but change can have dangerous implications. Benign cells, for example, can suddenly change into cancerous ones. That’s one reason why scientists are trying to figure out why and how cells can shed their old identity and take on a new one. If they can figure out how this happens, researchers may better understand why many different cells — such as stem cells or cells that become cancerous — transform. That, in turn, could someday allow scientists to control the transformative process in a way that might help treat a wide range of diseases.
Jeffrey Laney, assistant professor of biology at Brown University, has identified one way this change takes place by looking at Saccharomyces cerevisae, a common yeast used to make beer and bread. Laney found that a cellular “machine” removes a regulatory “lid” from genes in the cell, so the cell can change its state. Details are published online in Nature Cell Biology, with a print version to come.
Mini Transplant May Reverse Severe Sickle Cell Disease
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Date: December 9, 2009
Summary:
Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults. The phase I/II study to establish safety of the procedure, published Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, describes 10 patients with severe sickle cell disease who received intravenous transplants of blood-forming stem cells. The transplanted stem cells came from the peripheral blood of healthy related donors matched to the patients' tissue types. Using this procedure, nine of 10 patients treated have normal red blood cells and reversal of organ damage caused by the disease.
Date: December 9, 2009
Summary:
Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults. The phase I/II study to establish safety of the procedure, published Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, describes 10 patients with severe sickle cell disease who received intravenous transplants of blood-forming stem cells. The transplanted stem cells came from the peripheral blood of healthy related donors matched to the patients' tissue types. Using this procedure, nine of 10 patients treated have normal red blood cells and reversal of organ damage caused by the disease.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Umbilical Stem Cells May Help Recover Lost Vision for Those With Corneal Disease
Source: University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center
December 8, 2009
Summary:
New research from the University of Cincinnati may help in the recovery of lost vision for patients with corneal scarring. Winston Whei-Yang Kao, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, along with other researchers in UC’s ophthalmology department found that transplanting human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells into mouse models that lack the protein lumican restored the transparency of cloudy and thin corneas. Mesenchymal stem cells are “multi-potent” stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. These findings are being presented Dec. 8 in San Diego at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cell Biology.
December 8, 2009
Summary:
New research from the University of Cincinnati may help in the recovery of lost vision for patients with corneal scarring. Winston Whei-Yang Kao, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, along with other researchers in UC’s ophthalmology department found that transplanting human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells into mouse models that lack the protein lumican restored the transparency of cloudy and thin corneas. Mesenchymal stem cells are “multi-potent” stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. These findings are being presented Dec. 8 in San Diego at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cell Biology.
New Skin Stem Cells Surprisingly Similar to Those Found in Embryos
Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Date: December 8, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the skin that acts surprisingly like certain stem cells found in embryos: both can generate fat, bone, cartilage, and even nerve cells. These newly-described dermal stem cells may one day prove useful for treating neurological disorders and persistent wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, says Freda Miller, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute international research scholar.
Miller and her colleagues first saw the cells several years ago in both rodents and people, but only now confirmed that the cells are stem cells. Like other stem cells, these cell scan self-renew and, under the right conditions, they can grow into the cell types that constitute the skin’s dermal layer, which lies under the surface epidermal layer. “We showed that these cells are, in fact, the real thing,” says Miller, a professor at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist in the department of developmental biology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The dermal stem cells also appear tohelp form the basis for hair growth.The new work was published December 4, 2009, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Date: December 8, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the skin that acts surprisingly like certain stem cells found in embryos: both can generate fat, bone, cartilage, and even nerve cells. These newly-described dermal stem cells may one day prove useful for treating neurological disorders and persistent wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, says Freda Miller, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute international research scholar.
Miller and her colleagues first saw the cells several years ago in both rodents and people, but only now confirmed that the cells are stem cells. Like other stem cells, these cell scan self-renew and, under the right conditions, they can grow into the cell types that constitute the skin’s dermal layer, which lies under the surface epidermal layer. “We showed that these cells are, in fact, the real thing,” says Miller, a professor at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist in the department of developmental biology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The dermal stem cells also appear tohelp form the basis for hair growth.The new work was published December 4, 2009, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Researchers demonstrate that stem cells can be engineered to kill HIV
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: December 7, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from the UCLA AIDS Institute and colleagues have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered into cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells — a process that potentially could be used against a range of chronic viral diseases. The study, published Dec. 7 in the-peer reviewed online journal PLoS ONE, provides proof-of-principle — that is, a demonstration of feasibility — that human stem cells can be engineered into the equivalent of a genetic vaccine.
Date: December 7, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from the UCLA AIDS Institute and colleagues have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered into cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells — a process that potentially could be used against a range of chronic viral diseases. The study, published Dec. 7 in the-peer reviewed online journal PLoS ONE, provides proof-of-principle — that is, a demonstration of feasibility — that human stem cells can be engineered into the equivalent of a genetic vaccine.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Bortezomib shows promise in reducing graft-versus-host disease and reconstituting immune system in some stem cell transplant patients
Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Date: December 6, 2009
Summary:
A drug that has become a mainstay of multiple myeloma treatment may outperform alternative therapies in re-establishing the immune system of patients who have received stem cell transplants from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to early clinical trial results from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators. The trial was designed to determine whether the drug bortezomib (trade name Velcade®), when added to routine agents (tacrolimus, methotrexate), can improve control of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and improve immune system recovery following a transplant from a mismatched-unrelated dono
Date: December 6, 2009
Summary:
A drug that has become a mainstay of multiple myeloma treatment may outperform alternative therapies in re-establishing the immune system of patients who have received stem cell transplants from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to early clinical trial results from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators. The trial was designed to determine whether the drug bortezomib (trade name Velcade®), when added to routine agents (tacrolimus, methotrexate), can improve control of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and improve immune system recovery following a transplant from a mismatched-unrelated dono
Friday, December 04, 2009
Cholesterol-lowering drugs also may protect stem cell transplant patients from a potentially deadly complication
Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Date: December 4, 2009
Summary:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are among the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. Now a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center indicates that statins may protect stem cell transplant patients from one of the most serious complications of the life-saving cancer therapy: graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD. The findings are reported in the Nov. 4 first edition of the journal Blood.
In a retrospective study of 567 patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation from matched sibling donors between 2001 and 2007, patients whose donors had been taking statins at the time of stem cell donation experienced no severe acute GVHD. About 15 percent of the stem cell donors in the study were taking statins at the time of transplant.
Normally, between 10 percent and 15 percent of transplant patients would be expected to develop severe acute GVHD, according to the study's senior author Marco Mielcarek, M.D., an assistant member of the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division.
No such protection from severe acute GVHD was observed if only the patient was taking a statin, according to the study. There was some indication that protection against severe GVHD was even stronger when both patient and donor had been on statin medications, however the number of patients in this group was too small to be statistically significant.
The researchers also found that only those transplant patients with statin-treated donors who received cyclosporine-based immunosuppression therapy after transplantation were protected from severe GVHD. Patients with statin-treated donors who received a similar drug, tacrolimus, did not experience the same GVHD-protection. The study also found that the greatest statin protection occurred against severe GVHD of the gastrointestinal tract.
Date: December 4, 2009
Summary:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are among the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. Now a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center indicates that statins may protect stem cell transplant patients from one of the most serious complications of the life-saving cancer therapy: graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD. The findings are reported in the Nov. 4 first edition of the journal Blood.
In a retrospective study of 567 patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation from matched sibling donors between 2001 and 2007, patients whose donors had been taking statins at the time of stem cell donation experienced no severe acute GVHD. About 15 percent of the stem cell donors in the study were taking statins at the time of transplant.
Normally, between 10 percent and 15 percent of transplant patients would be expected to develop severe acute GVHD, according to the study's senior author Marco Mielcarek, M.D., an assistant member of the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division.
No such protection from severe acute GVHD was observed if only the patient was taking a statin, according to the study. There was some indication that protection against severe GVHD was even stronger when both patient and donor had been on statin medications, however the number of patients in this group was too small to be statistically significant.
The researchers also found that only those transplant patients with statin-treated donors who received cyclosporine-based immunosuppression therapy after transplantation were protected from severe GVHD. Patients with statin-treated donors who received a similar drug, tacrolimus, did not experience the same GVHD-protection. The study also found that the greatest statin protection occurred against severe GVHD of the gastrointestinal tract.
Coverage Summary: Rush University Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cell Heart Attack Treatment Trial
Below is additional media coverage of recent findings by researchers at Rush University that adult bone marrow stem cells helped recovery in heart attack patients by growing new blood vessels:
HealthDay News, December 4, 2009: "Adult stem cells appear to help repair heart attack damage, a new study shows: Small study found they spurred blood vessel growth after heart attack":
The phase 1 study of 53 patients found that stem cells from donor bone marrow promoted the growth of new blood vessels in heart tissue damaged by heart attack. The patients received the stem cell injections within 10 days of having a heart attack. During follow-up, they were compared to patients who had received a placebo injection.
United Press International, Published: December 3, 2009, 11:28 AM: "Stem cells may repair damaged heart tissue"
HealthDay News, December 4, 2009: "Adult stem cells appear to help repair heart attack damage, a new study shows: Small study found they spurred blood vessel growth after heart attack":
The phase 1 study of 53 patients found that stem cells from donor bone marrow promoted the growth of new blood vessels in heart tissue damaged by heart attack. The patients received the stem cell injections within 10 days of having a heart attack. During follow-up, they were compared to patients who had received a placebo injection.
After six months, those who got the stem cells were four times more likely to be better off overall, pumped more blood with each heartbeat, and had one-quarter as many irregular heartbeats, when compared to the placebo group. There also were no serious side effects with the stem cell treatment, according to the report published in the Dec. 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
United Press International, Published: December 3, 2009, 11:28 AM: "Stem cells may repair damaged heart tissue"
CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Chicago heart researchers say they've determined adult stem cells might help repair heart tissues damaged by a heart attack.
Rush University Medical Center scientist said the results from a Phase I study show stem cells from donor bone marrow appear to help heart attack patients recover better by growing new blood vessels to bring more oxygen to the heart.
The medical center was one of 10 U.S. cardiac centers that participated in the 53-patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial. Rush is now enrolling patients for a Phase II trial.
Researchers said the Phase I finding is the strongest evidence yet that indicates adult stem cells can differentiate, or turn into heart cells to repair damage. Until now, it has been believed only embryonic stem cells could differentiate into heart or other organ cells, the scientists said.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
UCSB, UCL scientists rescue visual function in rats using induced pluripotent stem cells
Source: University of California - Santa Barbara
Date: December 3, 2009
Summary:
An international team of scientists has rescued visual function in laboratory rats with eye disease by using cells similar to stem cells. The research shows the potential for stem cell-based therapies to treat age-related macular degeneration in humans. A team led by Dennis Clegg, of UC Santa Barbara, and Pete Coffey, of University College London (UCL), published their work in two papers, including one published this week in the journal PloS One. The first paper was published in the October 27 issue of the journal Stem Cells.
The scientists worked with rats that have a mutation which causes a defect in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and leads to photoreceptor death and subsequent blindness. Human RPE cells were derived from induced pluripotent stem cells –– embryonic stem cell-like cells that can be made from virtually any cell in the body, thus avoiding the controversy involved in using stem cells derived from embryos. Pluripotent means that the cells can become almost any cell in the body.
In experiments spearheaded by UCL's Amanda Carr, the team found that by surgically inserting stem cell-derived RPE into the retinas of the rats before photoreceptor degeneration, vision was retained. They found that the rats receiving the transplant tracked their visual focus in the direction of moving patterns more efficiently than control groups that did not receive a transplant.
Date: December 3, 2009
Summary:
An international team of scientists has rescued visual function in laboratory rats with eye disease by using cells similar to stem cells. The research shows the potential for stem cell-based therapies to treat age-related macular degeneration in humans. A team led by Dennis Clegg, of UC Santa Barbara, and Pete Coffey, of University College London (UCL), published their work in two papers, including one published this week in the journal PloS One. The first paper was published in the October 27 issue of the journal Stem Cells.
The scientists worked with rats that have a mutation which causes a defect in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and leads to photoreceptor death and subsequent blindness. Human RPE cells were derived from induced pluripotent stem cells –– embryonic stem cell-like cells that can be made from virtually any cell in the body, thus avoiding the controversy involved in using stem cells derived from embryos. Pluripotent means that the cells can become almost any cell in the body.
In experiments spearheaded by UCL's Amanda Carr, the team found that by surgically inserting stem cell-derived RPE into the retinas of the rats before photoreceptor degeneration, vision was retained. They found that the rats receiving the transplant tracked their visual focus in the direction of moving patterns more efficiently than control groups that did not receive a transplant.
UF scientists use virus to kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact
Source: University of Florida
December 3, 2009
Summary:
GAINESVILLE — A virus that in nature infects only rabbits could become a cancer-fighting tool for humans. Myxoma virus kills cancerous blood-precursor cells in human bone marrow while sparing normal blood stem cells, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Florida College of Medicine has found. The findings are now online and will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Leukemia. The discovery could help make more cancer patients eligible for bone marrow self-transplant therapy and reduce disease relapse rates after transplantation. The major therapeutic applications will likely be for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and bone marrow cancers, the researchers say.
December 3, 2009
Summary:
GAINESVILLE — A virus that in nature infects only rabbits could become a cancer-fighting tool for humans. Myxoma virus kills cancerous blood-precursor cells in human bone marrow while sparing normal blood stem cells, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Florida College of Medicine has found. The findings are now online and will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Leukemia. The discovery could help make more cancer patients eligible for bone marrow self-transplant therapy and reduce disease relapse rates after transplantation. The major therapeutic applications will likely be for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and bone marrow cancers, the researchers say.
Scientists identify strategies to protect new brain cells against Alzheimer's disease
Source: Gladstone Institutes
Date: December 3, 2009
Summary:
Stimulating the growth of new neurons to replace those lost in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an intriguing therapeutic possibility. But will the factors that cause AD allow the new neurons to thrive and function normally? Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have discovered that two main causes of AD amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides and apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) impair the growth of new neurons born in adult brains. What is more, they have identified drug treatments that can normalize the development of these cells even in the presence of Aβ or apoE4. The findings are described in two separate papers published in the current issue of Cell Stem Cell. GIND investigator Li Gan, PhD, and her collaborators studied the development of neurons born in the hippocampus of adult mice genetically engineered to produce high levels of human Aβ in the brain. Surprisingly, Aβ initially accelerated the development of newborn neurons but then profoundly impaired their maturation at later stages of development.
Date: December 3, 2009
Summary:
Stimulating the growth of new neurons to replace those lost in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an intriguing therapeutic possibility. But will the factors that cause AD allow the new neurons to thrive and function normally? Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have discovered that two main causes of AD amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides and apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) impair the growth of new neurons born in adult brains. What is more, they have identified drug treatments that can normalize the development of these cells even in the presence of Aβ or apoE4. The findings are described in two separate papers published in the current issue of Cell Stem Cell. GIND investigator Li Gan, PhD, and her collaborators studied the development of neurons born in the hippocampus of adult mice genetically engineered to produce high levels of human Aβ in the brain. Surprisingly, Aβ initially accelerated the development of newborn neurons but then profoundly impaired their maturation at later stages of development.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Adult Stem Cells May Help Repair Hearts Damaged by Heart Attack, Study Suggests
Source: Rush University Medical Center
Date: December 2, 2009
Summary:
Adult stem cells may help repair heart tissue damaged by heart attack according to the findings of a new study to be published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Results from the Phase I study show stem cells from donor bone marrow appear to help heart attack patients recover better by growing new blood vessels to bring more oxygen to the heart.
Rush University Medical Center was the only Illinois site and one of 10 cardiac centers across the country that participated in the 53-patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase I trial. Rush is now currently enrolling patients for the second phase of the study. Researchers say it is the strongest evidence thus far indicating that adult stem cells can actually differentiate, or turn into heart cells to repair damage. Until now, it has been believed that only embryonic stem cells could differentiate into heart or other organ cells.
Date: December 2, 2009
Summary:
Adult stem cells may help repair heart tissue damaged by heart attack according to the findings of a new study to be published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Results from the Phase I study show stem cells from donor bone marrow appear to help heart attack patients recover better by growing new blood vessels to bring more oxygen to the heart.
Rush University Medical Center was the only Illinois site and one of 10 cardiac centers across the country that participated in the 53-patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase I trial. Rush is now currently enrolling patients for the second phase of the study. Researchers say it is the strongest evidence thus far indicating that adult stem cells can actually differentiate, or turn into heart cells to repair damage. Until now, it has been believed that only embryonic stem cells could differentiate into heart or other organ cells.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Stem cell research suggests hope for spinal injuries
Source: Northwestern University
Date: December 1, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Northwestern's Institute for Cell Engineering are hoping to save damaged spines. Chian-Yu Peng, a research assistant professor, is focusing on Bone Morphogenetic Proteins. These proteins play an integral part in repairing major spinal injuries. The complexity of BMP makes the research evolve in new and often useful ways, he said.
After a spinal injury, Peng explained, the spine is deeply resistant to the growth and utilization of nerves, and becomes a kind of barren wasteland - inflammation, and, for reasons not yet completely understood, a resistance to neuron growth sets in. But the presence of these BMPs regulates the production of astrocytes, which proliferate at spinal injuries and increase the inflammation, blocking the regeneration of nerve axons which are crucial for the spine to recover from the trauma. The removal of the astrocyte conundrum could be the first step towards regenerating connections to muscles. In short: the researchers want the BMP to tell the astrocytes to stop, which could prevent scarring and reduce damage.
Date: December 1, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Northwestern's Institute for Cell Engineering are hoping to save damaged spines. Chian-Yu Peng, a research assistant professor, is focusing on Bone Morphogenetic Proteins. These proteins play an integral part in repairing major spinal injuries. The complexity of BMP makes the research evolve in new and often useful ways, he said.
After a spinal injury, Peng explained, the spine is deeply resistant to the growth and utilization of nerves, and becomes a kind of barren wasteland - inflammation, and, for reasons not yet completely understood, a resistance to neuron growth sets in. But the presence of these BMPs regulates the production of astrocytes, which proliferate at spinal injuries and increase the inflammation, blocking the regeneration of nerve axons which are crucial for the spine to recover from the trauma. The removal of the astrocyte conundrum could be the first step towards regenerating connections to muscles. In short: the researchers want the BMP to tell the astrocytes to stop, which could prevent scarring and reduce damage.
Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Prevent Chronic Lung Disease
Source: Children's Hospital Boston
Date: December 1, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a possible way to protect the fragile lungs of premature babies by using stem cells harvested from bone marrow. In experiments on laboratory mice, they found that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), a type of stem cell with the potential to form lung cells, were able to reduce inflammation in lung tissue. Inflammation is the key factor that leads to chronic lung disease in premature babies. Surprisingly, even the fluid in which the cells were grown was able to protect the lungs - in fact, better than the stem cells themselves. Findings were published in the December 1 issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Date: December 1, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a possible way to protect the fragile lungs of premature babies by using stem cells harvested from bone marrow. In experiments on laboratory mice, they found that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), a type of stem cell with the potential to form lung cells, were able to reduce inflammation in lung tissue. Inflammation is the key factor that leads to chronic lung disease in premature babies. Surprisingly, even the fluid in which the cells were grown was able to protect the lungs - in fact, better than the stem cells themselves. Findings were published in the December 1 issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Coverage Summary: University of Miami Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cell Heart Attack Treatment Trial
Below is a summary of media coverage of a recent finding by researchers at the University of Miami that adult stem cell therapy for heart patients have been proven to be safe:
WebMD, December 1, 2009: "Stem Cells Repair Heart Attack Damage: 'Off-the-Shelf' Stem Cell Product Safe, May Mend Hearts":
South Florida Business Journal, November 30, 2009, 5:00pm EST | Modified: Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 12:00am: "UM study: Stem cells help heart patients":
Miami Herald, November 30, 2009: "Damaged hearts may heal with adult stem cells":
WebMD, December 1, 2009: "Stem Cells Repair Heart Attack Damage: 'Off-the-Shelf' Stem Cell Product Safe, May Mend Hearts":
Can stem cells safely repair heart attack damage? Yes, a clinical trial suggests. Bone marrow stem cells are supposed to home in on damaged parts of the heart. Once there, they send out signals that help the body repair the injury. There's also evidence, from animal studies, that the stem cells themselves engraft to the heart and help repopulate dead cells with new, living cells.
Now there's evidence from actual patients who suffered heart attacks. It comes from a study led by cardiologist Joshua M. Hare, director of the stem cell institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and colleagues at nine other medical centers.
South Florida Business Journal, November 30, 2009, 5:00pm EST | Modified: Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 12:00am: "UM study: Stem cells help heart patients":
A study led by the University of Miami may cause a sea change in cardiac care as it shows stem cells from bone marrow appear to help heart attack patients recover better. Columbia, Md.-based Osiris Therapeutics commissioned the Phase I study of its product – a stem cell derived from bone marrow – in 53 patients at 10 hospitals nationwide. The study was led by Dr. Joshua M. Hare, a cardiologist and director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at UM’s Miller School of Medicine. The results are published in the Dec. 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Miami Herald, November 30, 2009: "Damaged hearts may heal with adult stem cells":
Adult stem cells may help repair hearts damaged by heart attack -- in part by becoming heart cells themselves. That was the finding of a new study, released Monday, that points to a promising new treatment for heart attack patients that could reduce mortality and lessen the need for heart transplants. Adult stem cells also could aid in healing damaged livers, kidneys, pancreases and other organs. If confirmed by further trials, the new therapy could be in general use within five years, estimates Dr. Joshua Hare, a University of Miami cardiologist and lead author of the national 10-university study.
Monday, November 30, 2009
New Stem Cell Technology Provides Rapid Healing from Complicated Bone Fractures
Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date: November 30, 2009
Summary:
A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures. The technology, involving isolation of the stem cells from bone marrow, was developed by Dr. Zulma Gazit, Dr. Gadi Pelled, Prof. Dan Gazit and their research team at the Skeletal Biotechnology Laboratory at the Hebrew University Faculty of Dental Medicine and was given public exposure in an article that appeared in the journal Stem Cells. The technology has now successfully been used to treat complicated fractures in seven patients at the Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.
Date: November 30, 2009
Summary:
A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures. The technology, involving isolation of the stem cells from bone marrow, was developed by Dr. Zulma Gazit, Dr. Gadi Pelled, Prof. Dan Gazit and their research team at the Skeletal Biotechnology Laboratory at the Hebrew University Faculty of Dental Medicine and was given public exposure in an article that appeared in the journal Stem Cells. The technology has now successfully been used to treat complicated fractures in seven patients at the Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.
For First Time, Study Proves Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Patients Is Safe
Source: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Date: November 30, 2009
Summary:
An FDA-approved clinical trial is the first to show that treating patients with adult stem cells after a heart attack is safe and that it appears to repair damaged heart tissue. Results of the study are published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The trial, lead by Joshua M. Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, found that the stem cell-treated patients had lower rates of side effects, such as cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, "they had significant improvements in heart, lung and global function," Hare explained. "Echocardiography showed improved heart function, particularly in those patients with large amounts of cardiac damage."
The Phase I trial was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of administering Prochymal, an intravenous formulation of adult mesenchymal stem cells, in patients within days of a heart attack to lessen damage to the heart muscle. Fifty-three patients who had suffered a heart attack within one to ten days, were randomized to one of three doses of stem cells, and each dose was compared with placebo. Researchers evaluated treatment-related serious adverse affects after six months and used echocardiography to assess efficacy.
Date: November 30, 2009
Summary:
An FDA-approved clinical trial is the first to show that treating patients with adult stem cells after a heart attack is safe and that it appears to repair damaged heart tissue. Results of the study are published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The trial, lead by Joshua M. Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, found that the stem cell-treated patients had lower rates of side effects, such as cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, "they had significant improvements in heart, lung and global function," Hare explained. "Echocardiography showed improved heart function, particularly in those patients with large amounts of cardiac damage."
The Phase I trial was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of administering Prochymal, an intravenous formulation of adult mesenchymal stem cells, in patients within days of a heart attack to lessen damage to the heart muscle. Fifty-three patients who had suffered a heart attack within one to ten days, were randomized to one of three doses of stem cells, and each dose was compared with placebo. Researchers evaluated treatment-related serious adverse affects after six months and used echocardiography to assess efficacy.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
New Source Discovered for the Generation of Nerve Cells in the Brain
Source: Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
Date: November 25, 2009
Summary:
The research group of Professor Magdalena Götz of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich has made a significant advance in understanding regeneration processes in the brain. The researchers discovered progenitor cells which can form new glutamatergic neurons following injury to the cerebral cortex. Particularly in Alzheimer's disease, nerve cell degeneration plays a crucial role. In the future, new therapeutic options may possibly be derived from steering the generation and/or migration mechanism. These findings have been published in the current issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Date: November 25, 2009
Summary:
The research group of Professor Magdalena Götz of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich has made a significant advance in understanding regeneration processes in the brain. The researchers discovered progenitor cells which can form new glutamatergic neurons following injury to the cerebral cortex. Particularly in Alzheimer's disease, nerve cell degeneration plays a crucial role. In the future, new therapeutic options may possibly be derived from steering the generation and/or migration mechanism. These findings have been published in the current issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Monday, November 23, 2009
When is a stem cell really a stem cell?
Source: Children's Hospital Boston
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- adult cells reprogrammed to look and function like versatile embryonic stem cells -- are of growing interest in medicine. They may provide a way to create different kinds of patient-matched stem cells as treatments for disease, while sidestepping many of the ethical questions surrounding stem cells created from embryos. However, the production of iPS cells is often imprecise, yielding many incompletely reprogrammed cells. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a technique to help distinguish these cells from the desired pure stem cells.
Rather than relying on single markers to determine a stem cell's status, the new method uses a series of tests to identify the signature of a fully reprogrammed, completely undifferentiated pluripotent stem cell that has the potential to become any type of human cell. The series includes tests for fluorescent markers and tumor formation, as well as karyotyping (examination of the number and composition of a cell's chromosomes) and tests for other molecular characteristics of pluripotency.
The study was published Oct. 11 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- adult cells reprogrammed to look and function like versatile embryonic stem cells -- are of growing interest in medicine. They may provide a way to create different kinds of patient-matched stem cells as treatments for disease, while sidestepping many of the ethical questions surrounding stem cells created from embryos. However, the production of iPS cells is often imprecise, yielding many incompletely reprogrammed cells. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a technique to help distinguish these cells from the desired pure stem cells.
Rather than relying on single markers to determine a stem cell's status, the new method uses a series of tests to identify the signature of a fully reprogrammed, completely undifferentiated pluripotent stem cell that has the potential to become any type of human cell. The series includes tests for fluorescent markers and tumor formation, as well as karyotyping (examination of the number and composition of a cell's chromosomes) and tests for other molecular characteristics of pluripotency.
The study was published Oct. 11 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
New discovery about the formation of new brain cells
Source: University of Gothenburg
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through the brain tissue, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy published in the journal Stem Cells. Although the research has been carried out using mice and cultured cells, it could lead to a new medicine for human beings, which could be given to patients who have had a stroke or other disorders that damage or destroy the nerve cells.
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through the brain tissue, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy published in the journal Stem Cells. Although the research has been carried out using mice and cultured cells, it could lead to a new medicine for human beings, which could be given to patients who have had a stroke or other disorders that damage or destroy the nerve cells.
StemCells, Inc. Initiates Landmark Trial Targeting "Communication Highway" of the Brain
Source: StemCells, Inc.
Date: November 23, 2009
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced commencement of patient recruitment for a clinical trial to test the safety of human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease ( PMD), a pediatric neurological disorder:
Here is a video featuring Stem Cells, Inc. CEO Martin McGlynn that explains the trial in greater detail.
Date: November 23, 2009
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced commencement of patient recruitment for a clinical trial to test the safety of human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease ( PMD), a pediatric neurological disorder:
StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has commenced patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial designed to test the safety and preliminary efficacy of its HuCNS-SC® purified human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease ( PMD), a neurological disorder that primarily afflicts children. The study is being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital, one of the leading medical centers in the United States for neonatology, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.
Here is a video featuring Stem Cells, Inc. CEO Martin McGlynn that explains the trial in greater detail.
Stem Cells That “Fool” Immune System May Provide Vaccination for Cancer
Source: University of Connecticut
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
University of Connecticut Health Center researchers in collaboration with scientists from China have revealed the potential for human stem cells to provide a vaccination against colon cancer, reports a study published in October in STEM CELLS. This discovery, led by immunology experts Dr. Bei Liu and Dr. Zihai Li, builds upon a century-old theory that immunizing with embryonic materials may generate an anti-tumor response. However, this theory has never before been advanced beyond the use of animal embryonic materials, and the discovery that human stem cells are able to immunize against colon cancer is both new and unexpected.
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
University of Connecticut Health Center researchers in collaboration with scientists from China have revealed the potential for human stem cells to provide a vaccination against colon cancer, reports a study published in October in STEM CELLS. This discovery, led by immunology experts Dr. Bei Liu and Dr. Zihai Li, builds upon a century-old theory that immunizing with embryonic materials may generate an anti-tumor response. However, this theory has never before been advanced beyond the use of animal embryonic materials, and the discovery that human stem cells are able to immunize against colon cancer is both new and unexpected.
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
Source: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought. Reporting in Oncogene, a publication of Nature Publishing Group, the research teams of Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Markus Hengstschläger, Ph.D., from the Medical University of Vienna, have shown that these amnion stem cells can form three-dimensional aggregates of cells known as embryoid bodies (EBs). It is believed that cells at this stage of development can be directed to become virtually any cell in the human body.
Date: November 23, 2009
Summary:
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought. Reporting in Oncogene, a publication of Nature Publishing Group, the research teams of Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Markus Hengstschläger, Ph.D., from the Medical University of Vienna, have shown that these amnion stem cells can form three-dimensional aggregates of cells known as embryoid bodies (EBs). It is believed that cells at this stage of development can be directed to become virtually any cell in the human body.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
First Reconstitution of an Epidermis from Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)
Date: November 20, 2009
Summary:
In a a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM) in France, published in The Lancet on 21 November 2009, researchers have just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells. The goal is to one day be able to propose this unlimited resource of cells as an alternative treatment in particular for victims of third degree burns.
Below are links to media coverage of this development from various news sources:
Scientific American
New Scientist
The Times
HealthDay News
WebMD
BBC News
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Scotsman
Date: November 20, 2009
Summary:
In a a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM) in France, published in The Lancet on 21 November 2009, researchers have just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells. The goal is to one day be able to propose this unlimited resource of cells as an alternative treatment in particular for victims of third degree burns.
Below are links to media coverage of this development from various news sources:
Scientific American
New Scientist
The Times
HealthDay News
WebMD
BBC News
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Scotsman
Advanced Cell Technology Files IND With FDA For First Human Clinical Trial Using Embryonic Stem Cells to Treat Eye Disease
Source: Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.
Posted: November 19, 2009 10:00 AM ET
Summary:
In an official company news release, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced it has filed an application with the Food & Drug Administration to begin a study using embryonic treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD), a degenerative eye disease:
Posted: November 19, 2009 10:00 AM ET
Summary:
In an official company news release, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced it has filed an application with the Food & Drug Administration to begin a study using embryonic treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD), a degenerative eye disease:
WORCESTER, Mass.--Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that it filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (SMD). Among the most common causes of untreatable blindness in the world are degenerative diseases of the retina. As many as 10 million people in the United States have photoreceptor degenerative disease. While most of these patients have Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a smaller number of patients have Stargardt’s, an Orphan disease and one of the most common forms of juvenile macular blindness. The treatment for eye disease uses stem cells to re-create a type of cell in the retina that supports the photoreceptors needed for vision. These cells, called retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), are often the first to die off in SMD and AMD, which in turn leads to loss of vision.
Drug studied as possible treatment for spinal injuries
Source: Purdue University
Date: November 19, 2009
Summary:
Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed. The chemical compound also might be developed as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Because nerves usually are not severed in a common type of spinal cord trauma, called "compression" injuries, the drug offers hope as a possible treatment, said Riyi Shi, a professor in Purdue University's Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Center for Paralysis Research and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.
Date: November 19, 2009
Summary:
Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed. The chemical compound also might be developed as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Because nerves usually are not severed in a common type of spinal cord trauma, called "compression" injuries, the drug offers hope as a possible treatment, said Riyi Shi, a professor in Purdue University's Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Center for Paralysis Research and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Stem cells alleviate tumor treatment side effects
Source: University of California- Irvine
Date: November 17, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study. Research with rats found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiotherapy. In contrast, irradiated rats that didn't receive stem cells experienced a more than 50 percent drop in cognitive function.
"Our findings provide the first evidence that such cells can be used to ameliorate radiation-induced damage of healthy tissue in the brain," says Charles Limoli, UCI radiation oncology associate professor and senior author of the study, appearing online the week of Nov. 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: November 17, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study. Research with rats found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiotherapy. In contrast, irradiated rats that didn't receive stem cells experienced a more than 50 percent drop in cognitive function.
"Our findings provide the first evidence that such cells can be used to ameliorate radiation-induced damage of healthy tissue in the brain," says Charles Limoli, UCI radiation oncology associate professor and senior author of the study, appearing online the week of Nov. 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Your own stem cells can treat heart disease: Transplanting people’s own stem cells into heart lessens pain, improves ability to walk
Source: Northwestern University
Date: November 18, 2009
Summary:
CHICAGO ---The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. They also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells. The stem cells were injected in an effort to spur the growth of small blood vessels in the heart muscle.
Here is a story from HealthDay News about this development.
Date: November 18, 2009
Summary:
CHICAGO ---The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. They also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells. The stem cells were injected in an effort to spur the growth of small blood vessels in the heart muscle.
Here is a story from HealthDay News about this development.
On your last nerve: Researchers advance understanding of stem cells
Source: North Carolina State University
Date: November 17, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
Date: November 17, 2009
Summary:
Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease
Source: Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Date: November 15, 2009
Summary:
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.
In contrast, excessive extrasynaptic activity (aberrant electrical activity in the brain, usually not associated with communication between nerve cells) enhances the misfolded proteins' deadly effects. Researchers also found that the drug Memantine, which is approved to treat Alzheimer's disease, successfully treated Huntington's disease in a mouse model by preserving normal synaptic electrical activity and suppressing excessive extrasynaptic electrical activity. The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine on November 15.
Date: November 15, 2009
Summary:
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.
In contrast, excessive extrasynaptic activity (aberrant electrical activity in the brain, usually not associated with communication between nerve cells) enhances the misfolded proteins' deadly effects. Researchers also found that the drug Memantine, which is approved to treat Alzheimer's disease, successfully treated Huntington's disease in a mouse model by preserving normal synaptic electrical activity and suppressing excessive extrasynaptic electrical activity. The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine on November 15.
Friday, November 13, 2009
How Does The Pancreas In An Embryo ‘Know’ Which Cells Are To Produce Insulin?
Source: Lund University
Date: November 13, 2009
Summary:
How does the developing pancreas in an embryo 'know' which cells are to produce insulin and which cells are to have other assignments? Researchers need to understand this if they want to be able to treat type-1 diabetes with stem cells developed into insulin-producing beta cells. At Lund University scientists have uncovered pioneering new knowledge, and are publishing it in the journal Cell.
Date: November 13, 2009
Summary:
How does the developing pancreas in an embryo 'know' which cells are to produce insulin and which cells are to have other assignments? Researchers need to understand this if they want to be able to treat type-1 diabetes with stem cells developed into insulin-producing beta cells. At Lund University scientists have uncovered pioneering new knowledge, and are publishing it in the journal Cell.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Coverage Summary: UC Irvine Embryonic Stem Cell Cognitive Function Restoration Study
Below is a summary of news coverage of the recent announcement by researchers at University of California, Irvine that embryonic stem cells restored cognitive function in brains damaged by radiation:
Ivanhoe Newswire, November 12, 2009: "Stem Cells Restore Brain Function":
Los Angeles Times Health, November 10, 2009: "Embryonic stem cells may restore brains damaged by radiation":
Scientists at UC Irvine and UC San Francisco have found a potential new use for human embryonic stem cells – helping cancer patients recover the cognitive function lost when their brains are treated with radiation. People with tumors in their head or neck often undergo radiation therapy after the cancer is surgically removed. That radiation helps kill off any malignant cells left behind. But it can also debilitate the region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning, memory and processing of spatial information. It is also one of only two areas in the brain known to produce new neurons.
Agence France Presse (AFP), November 10, 2009: "Stems cells repair brain function in irradiated rats":
WASHINGTON — Human embryonic stem cells may one day be used to help people recover abilities to learn and remember that are lost after radiation treatment for brain tumors, experiments on rats suggest. In a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that transplanted stem cells in rats restored learning and memory within four months of radiotherapy.
Ivanhoe Newswire, November 12, 2009: "Stem Cells Restore Brain Function":
Human embryonic stem cells could reverse learning and memory deficits people experience after undergoing radiation treatment for brain tumors. Research with rats found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiation therapy. In contrast, irradiated rats that didn't receive stem cells experienced a more than 50 percent drop in cognitive function.
Los Angeles Times Health, November 10, 2009: "Embryonic stem cells may restore brains damaged by radiation":
Scientists at UC Irvine and UC San Francisco have found a potential new use for human embryonic stem cells – helping cancer patients recover the cognitive function lost when their brains are treated with radiation. People with tumors in their head or neck often undergo radiation therapy after the cancer is surgically removed. That radiation helps kill off any malignant cells left behind. But it can also debilitate the region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning, memory and processing of spatial information. It is also one of only two areas in the brain known to produce new neurons.
Agence France Presse (AFP), November 10, 2009: "Stems cells repair brain function in irradiated rats":
WASHINGTON — Human embryonic stem cells may one day be used to help people recover abilities to learn and remember that are lost after radiation treatment for brain tumors, experiments on rats suggest. In a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that transplanted stem cells in rats restored learning and memory within four months of radiotherapy.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Mouse Gene Suppresses Alzheimer’s Plaques and Tangles
Source: Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Date: November 11, 2009
Summary:
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and colleagues have identified a novel mouse gene (Rps23r1) that reduces the accumulation of two toxic proteins that are major players in Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid beta and tau. The amyloid and tau lowering functions of this gene were demonstrated in both human and mouse cells. Amyloid beta is responsible for the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Tau causes the tangles found within patients’ brain cells. The study was published in the journal Neuron on November 12. These findings could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Date: November 11, 2009
Summary:
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and colleagues have identified a novel mouse gene (Rps23r1) that reduces the accumulation of two toxic proteins that are major players in Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid beta and tau. The amyloid and tau lowering functions of this gene were demonstrated in both human and mouse cells. Amyloid beta is responsible for the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Tau causes the tangles found within patients’ brain cells. The study was published in the journal Neuron on November 12. These findings could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Longevity tied to genes that preserve tips of chromosomes
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
November 11, 2009
Summary:
A team led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found a clear link between living to 100 and inheriting a hyperactive version of an enzyme that rebuilds telomeres – the tip ends of chromosomes. The findings appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In investigating the role of telomeres in aging, the Einstein researchers studied Ashkenazi Jews because they are a homogeneous population that was already well studied genetically. Three groups were enrolled: 86 very old — but generally healthy —
Gil Atzmon, Ph.D.people (average age 97); 175 of their offspring; and 93 controls (offspring of parents who had lived a normal lifespan).
Researchers found that participants who have lived to a very old age have inherited mutant genes that make their telomerase-making system extra active and able to maintain telomere length more effectively. For the most part, these people were spared age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which cause most deaths among elderly people.
November 11, 2009
Summary:
A team led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found a clear link between living to 100 and inheriting a hyperactive version of an enzyme that rebuilds telomeres – the tip ends of chromosomes. The findings appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In investigating the role of telomeres in aging, the Einstein researchers studied Ashkenazi Jews because they are a homogeneous population that was already well studied genetically. Three groups were enrolled: 86 very old — but generally healthy —
Gil Atzmon, Ph.D.people (average age 97); 175 of their offspring; and 93 controls (offspring of parents who had lived a normal lifespan).
Researchers found that participants who have lived to a very old age have inherited mutant genes that make their telomerase-making system extra active and able to maintain telomere length more effectively. For the most part, these people were spared age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which cause most deaths among elderly people.
Geron Collaborators Publish Data on hESC-Derived Glial Progenitor Cell Therapy in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Source: Geron Corporation
Date: November 11, 2009
Summary:
Geron Corporation today announced the publication of data showing that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), when transplanted into a rodent model of cervical spinal cord injury, reduced tissue damage within the lesion and improved recovery of locomotor function. These data provide preclinical proof-of-concept for the use of GRNOPC1, Geron's hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor product, in patients with cervical spinal cord injuries. Over half of the 11,000 human spinal cord injuries that are sustained in the U.S. annually are in the cervical region.
The study was authored by Geron collaborator Dr. Hans S. Keirstead and colleagues at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California at Irvine. The paper was published online in advance of print in the journal Stem Cells.
Date: November 11, 2009
Summary:
Geron Corporation today announced the publication of data showing that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), when transplanted into a rodent model of cervical spinal cord injury, reduced tissue damage within the lesion and improved recovery of locomotor function. These data provide preclinical proof-of-concept for the use of GRNOPC1, Geron's hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor product, in patients with cervical spinal cord injuries. Over half of the 11,000 human spinal cord injuries that are sustained in the U.S. annually are in the cervical region.
The study was authored by Geron collaborator Dr. Hans S. Keirstead and colleagues at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California at Irvine. The paper was published online in advance of print in the journal Stem Cells.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Stem cells restore cognitive abilities impaired by brain tumor treatment, UCI study finds
Source: University of California - Irvine
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study appearing online the week of Nov. 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Research with rats found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiotherapy. In contrast, irradiated rats that didn't receive stem cells experienced a more than 50 percent drop in cognitive function. In the UCI study, stem cells were transplanted into the heads of rats that had undergone radiation treatment. They migrated to a brain region known to support the growth of neurons, scientists observed, and developed into new brain cells.
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study appearing online the week of Nov. 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Research with rats found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiotherapy. In contrast, irradiated rats that didn't receive stem cells experienced a more than 50 percent drop in cognitive function. In the UCI study, stem cells were transplanted into the heads of rats that had undergone radiation treatment. They migrated to a brain region known to support the growth of neurons, scientists observed, and developed into new brain cells.
Researchers discover new source of brain cells. Discovery could speed progress on stem cell treatments of brain disorders
Source: University of California - Davis
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Twenty-six years after scientists first suspected their existence, UC Davis researchers provide definitive evidence that certain neural progenitor cells, which can be identified by their expression of a myelin gene promoter, are present throughout the adult brain and spinal cord, and that these cells are capable of differentiating into neurons.
Using genetic fate mapping — a technique for detailing the developmental path of cells — Pleasure and his team found that cells known as PPEPs (pronounced pee-peps) differentiate into the three main types of neural cells: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons. Neurons are the main cells of the brain, responsible for communicating with each other and responding to stimuli. The other two cell types — known as glial cells — play supporting roles in brain functions.
The findings, reported in June 2009 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, open up a new way of thinking about using multipotent progenitor cells to treat diseases of the brain and spinal cord, such as Huntington’s disease and traumatic brain injury. Now the UC Davis team and other stem cell scientists have a new class of endogenous neural progenitor cells with which to work.
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Twenty-six years after scientists first suspected their existence, UC Davis researchers provide definitive evidence that certain neural progenitor cells, which can be identified by their expression of a myelin gene promoter, are present throughout the adult brain and spinal cord, and that these cells are capable of differentiating into neurons.
Using genetic fate mapping — a technique for detailing the developmental path of cells — Pleasure and his team found that cells known as PPEPs (pronounced pee-peps) differentiate into the three main types of neural cells: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons. Neurons are the main cells of the brain, responsible for communicating with each other and responding to stimuli. The other two cell types — known as glial cells — play supporting roles in brain functions.
The findings, reported in June 2009 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, open up a new way of thinking about using multipotent progenitor cells to treat diseases of the brain and spinal cord, such as Huntington’s disease and traumatic brain injury. Now the UC Davis team and other stem cell scientists have a new class of endogenous neural progenitor cells with which to work.
Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Restores Walking Ability In Rats With Neck Injuries
Source: University of California - Irvine
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries -- a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage. In January, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration gave Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., permission to test the UC Irvine treatment in individuals with thoracic spinal cord injuries, which occur below the neck. However, trying it in those with cervical damage wasn't approved because preclinical testing with rats hadn't been completed.
Results of the cervical study currently appear online in the journal Stem Cells. UCI scientist Hans Keirstead hopes the data will prompt the FDA to authorize clinical testing of the treatment in people with both types of spinal cord damage. About 52 percent of spinal cord injuries are cervical and 48 percent thoracic.
UC Irvine has produced a video that explains the results of this finding.
Date: November 9, 2009
Summary:
The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries -- a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage. In January, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration gave Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., permission to test the UC Irvine treatment in individuals with thoracic spinal cord injuries, which occur below the neck. However, trying it in those with cervical damage wasn't approved because preclinical testing with rats hadn't been completed.
Results of the cervical study currently appear online in the journal Stem Cells. UCI scientist Hans Keirstead hopes the data will prompt the FDA to authorize clinical testing of the treatment in people with both types of spinal cord damage. About 52 percent of spinal cord injuries are cervical and 48 percent thoracic.
UC Irvine has produced a video that explains the results of this finding.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Source: Purdue University
Date: November 8, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident. The synthetic "copolymer micelles" are drug-delivery spheres about 60 nanometers in diameter, or roughly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a red blood cell. Researchers have been studying how to deliver drugs for cancer treatment and other therapies using these spheres. Medications might be harbored in the cores and ferried to diseased or damaged tissue. Purdue researchers have now shown that the micelles themselves repair damaged axons, fibers that transmit electrical impulses in the spinal cord. Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing Sunday (Nov. 8) in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Date: November 8, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident. The synthetic "copolymer micelles" are drug-delivery spheres about 60 nanometers in diameter, or roughly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a red blood cell. Researchers have been studying how to deliver drugs for cancer treatment and other therapies using these spheres. Medications might be harbored in the cores and ferried to diseased or damaged tissue. Purdue researchers have now shown that the micelles themselves repair damaged axons, fibers that transmit electrical impulses in the spinal cord. Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing Sunday (Nov. 8) in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Scientists Successfully Reprogram Blood Cells to Correct Lysosomal Storage Disease
Source: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Date: November 6, 2009
Summary:
Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome. The research team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports its preclinical laboratory results this week in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study suggests a new approach to molecular gene therapy and a much-needed improved treatment option for children with Hurler's syndrome, said Dao Pan, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Hematology/Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children's and the study's principal author. It also is the first study to demonstrate that
developing red blood cells can be used to produce lysosomal enzymes.
Date: November 6, 2009
Summary:
Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome. The research team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports its preclinical laboratory results this week in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study suggests a new approach to molecular gene therapy and a much-needed improved treatment option for children with Hurler's syndrome, said Dao Pan, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Hematology/Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children's and the study's principal author. It also is the first study to demonstrate that
developing red blood cells can be used to produce lysosomal enzymes.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Gene therapy technique slows ALD brain disease
Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Date: 5 November 2009
Summary:
A strategy that combines gene therapy with blood stem cell therapy may be a useful tool for treating a fatal brain disease, French researchers have found. These findings appear in the 6 November 2009 issue of the journal Science. In a pilot study of two patients monitored for two years, an international team of researchers slowed the onset of the debilitating brain disease X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) using a lentiviral vector to introduce a therapeutic gene into patient's blood cells. Although studies with larger cohorts of patients are needed, these results suggest that gene therapy with lentiviral vectors, which are derived from disabled versions of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), could potentially become instrumental in treating a broad range of human disorders.
Date: 5 November 2009
Summary:
A strategy that combines gene therapy with blood stem cell therapy may be a useful tool for treating a fatal brain disease, French researchers have found. These findings appear in the 6 November 2009 issue of the journal Science. In a pilot study of two patients monitored for two years, an international team of researchers slowed the onset of the debilitating brain disease X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) using a lentiviral vector to introduce a therapeutic gene into patient's blood cells. Although studies with larger cohorts of patients are needed, these results suggest that gene therapy with lentiviral vectors, which are derived from disabled versions of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), could potentially become instrumental in treating a broad range of human disorders.
Study shows neural stem cells in mice affected by gene associated with longevity
Source: Stanford University School of Medicine
November 5, 2009
Summary:
A gene associated with longevity in roundworms and humans has been shown to affect the function of stem cells that generate new neurons in the adult brain, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The study in mice suggests that the gene may play an important role in maintaining cognitive function during aging.
“It’s intriguing to think that genes that regulate life span in invertebrates may have evolved to control stem cell pools in mammals,” said Anne Brunet, PhD, assistant professor of genetics. She is the senior author of the research, published Nov. 6 in Cell Stem Cell.
November 5, 2009
Summary:
A gene associated with longevity in roundworms and humans has been shown to affect the function of stem cells that generate new neurons in the adult brain, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The study in mice suggests that the gene may play an important role in maintaining cognitive function during aging.
“It’s intriguing to think that genes that regulate life span in invertebrates may have evolved to control stem cell pools in mammals,” said Anne Brunet, PhD, assistant professor of genetics. She is the senior author of the research, published Nov. 6 in Cell Stem Cell.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Date: November 5, 2009
Summary:
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
All fifty-eight patients, with a median age of 63 and all with advanced acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome - a pre-leukemic condition - saw their blood cancers go into remission using a novel combination of low-intensity chemotherapy, targeted radiation delivery by an antibody and a stem-cell transplant. Forty percent of the patients were alive a year after treatment and approximately 35 percent had survived three years, about the same rates as patients who received similar treatment but whose disease was already in remission and who had much more favorable risk for relapse when therapy began.
Results of the research appear online in the journal Blood. The principal investigator and corresponding author of the paper is John Pagel, M.D., Ph.D, a transplant oncologist and assistant member of the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division.
Date: November 5, 2009
Summary:
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
All fifty-eight patients, with a median age of 63 and all with advanced acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome - a pre-leukemic condition - saw their blood cancers go into remission using a novel combination of low-intensity chemotherapy, targeted radiation delivery by an antibody and a stem-cell transplant. Forty percent of the patients were alive a year after treatment and approximately 35 percent had survived three years, about the same rates as patients who received similar treatment but whose disease was already in remission and who had much more favorable risk for relapse when therapy began.
Results of the research appear online in the journal Blood. The principal investigator and corresponding author of the paper is John Pagel, M.D., Ph.D, a transplant oncologist and assistant member of the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Lung tissue generated from human embryonic stem cells
Source: BioMed Central
November 4, 2009
Summary:
Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research, could provide an alternative to lung transplants for patients with lung injury due to chronic pulmonary disease and inherited genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
November 4, 2009
Summary:
Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research, could provide an alternative to lung transplants for patients with lung injury due to chronic pulmonary disease and inherited genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
SCIENTISTS REVEAL HOW INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS DIFFER FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS AND TISSUE OF DERIVATION
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Date: November 4, 2009
Summary:
The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research from Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Although genetically identical to the mature body cells from which they are derived, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are notably special in their ability to self-renew and differentiate into all kinds of cells. And now scientists have detected a remarkable if subtle molecular disparity between the two: They have distinct “epigenetic” signatures; that is, they differ in what gets copied when the cell divides, even though these differences aren’t part of the DNA sequence.
Date: November 4, 2009
Summary:
The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research from Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Although genetically identical to the mature body cells from which they are derived, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are notably special in their ability to self-renew and differentiate into all kinds of cells. And now scientists have detected a remarkable if subtle molecular disparity between the two: They have distinct “epigenetic” signatures; that is, they differ in what gets copied when the cell divides, even though these differences aren’t part of the DNA sequence.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Unraveling the mechanisms behind organ regeneration in zebrafish
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: November 2, 2009
Summary:
Unlike humans, zebrafish are able to regenerate amputated appendages. The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine -- the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease -- has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.
Now researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an essential cellular pathway in zebrafish that paves the way for limb regeneration by unlocking gene expression patterns last seen during embryonic development. They found that a process known as histone demethylation switches cells at the amputation site from an inactive to an active state, which turns on the genes required to build a copy of the lost limb.
Their findings, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., help to explain how epimorphic regeneration—the regrowing of morphologically and functionally perfect copies of amputated limbs—is controlled, an important step toward understanding why certain animals can do it and we cannot.
Date: November 2, 2009
Summary:
Unlike humans, zebrafish are able to regenerate amputated appendages. The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine -- the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease -- has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.
Now researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an essential cellular pathway in zebrafish that paves the way for limb regeneration by unlocking gene expression patterns last seen during embryonic development. They found that a process known as histone demethylation switches cells at the amputation site from an inactive to an active state, which turns on the genes required to build a copy of the lost limb.
Their findings, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., help to explain how epimorphic regeneration—the regrowing of morphologically and functionally perfect copies of amputated limbs—is controlled, an important step toward understanding why certain animals can do it and we cannot.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Regeneration Can be Achieved after Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Source: University of California - San Diego
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment is delayed more than a year after the original spinal cord injury. Reporting in the October 29 issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron, the UC San Diego team demonstrated successful regeneration of adult spinal cord axons into, and then beyond, an injury site in the cervical spinal cord, the middle region of the neck. Treatment was begun at time periods ranging from six weeks to as long as 15 months after the original injury in rats.
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment is delayed more than a year after the original spinal cord injury. Reporting in the October 29 issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron, the UC San Diego team demonstrated successful regeneration of adult spinal cord axons into, and then beyond, an injury site in the cervical spinal cord, the middle region of the neck. Treatment was begun at time periods ranging from six weeks to as long as 15 months after the original injury in rats.
Stem Cell Therapy May Offer Hope for Acute Lung Injury
Source: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease. Their results are reported online in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells.
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease. Their results are reported online in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells.
Stem Cells Changed Into Precursors For Sperm, Eggs
Source: Stanford University School of Medicine
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers at the school have devised a way to efficiently coax the cells to become human germ cells -- the precursors of egg and sperm cells -- in the laboratory. Unlike previous research, which yielded primarily immature germ cells, the cells in this most-recent study functioned well enough to generate sperm cells.
Here is a link to a news story associated with this news release from the San Jose Mercury News.
Date: October 28, 2009
Summary:
Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers at the school have devised a way to efficiently coax the cells to become human germ cells -- the precursors of egg and sperm cells -- in the laboratory. Unlike previous research, which yielded primarily immature germ cells, the cells in this most-recent study functioned well enough to generate sperm cells.
Here is a link to a news story associated with this news release from the San Jose Mercury News.
Monday, October 26, 2009
New Process for Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation Discovered
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)
Date: October 26, 2009
Summary:
In a novel approach to the study of embryonic stem cells, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have discovered a potential means of controlling differentiation into desired cell types, by demonstrating that sugars play a major role in modulating stem cell differentiation into tissues. These findings appear online on October 26, 2009 in Circulation.
Date: October 26, 2009
Summary:
In a novel approach to the study of embryonic stem cells, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have discovered a potential means of controlling differentiation into desired cell types, by demonstrating that sugars play a major role in modulating stem cell differentiation into tissues. These findings appear online on October 26, 2009 in Circulation.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Scientists develop novel method to generate functional hepatocytes for drug testing
Source: University of Edinburgh
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have for the first time produced liver cells from adult skin cells using the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. The study, led by the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, paves the way for the creation of a stem cell library that can be used for in vitro hepatic disease models.
Presently primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) are the 'gold standard' cell type used in predictive drug toxicology. These cells are derived from dead or donor tissue. The cells can only survive for three to five days and do not have the ability to multiply. PHH cells are therefore a scarce and expensive resource. This study shows an alternative way of sourcing hepatocytes, by creating hepatic endoderm using the iPSC technology and then differentiating it into hepatocytes.
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have for the first time produced liver cells from adult skin cells using the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. The study, led by the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, paves the way for the creation of a stem cell library that can be used for in vitro hepatic disease models.
Presently primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) are the 'gold standard' cell type used in predictive drug toxicology. These cells are derived from dead or donor tissue. The cells can only survive for three to five days and do not have the ability to multiply. PHH cells are therefore a scarce and expensive resource. This study shows an alternative way of sourcing hepatocytes, by creating hepatic endoderm using the iPSC technology and then differentiating it into hepatocytes.
Growing Cartilage from Stem Cells
Source: University of California - Davis
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Damaged knee joints might one day be repaired with cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory, based on research by Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering and his colleagues. Using adult stem cells from bone marrow and skin as well as human embryonic stem cells, Athanasiou and his group have already grown cartilage tissue in the lab. Now they are experimenting with various chemical and mechanical stimuli to improve its properties.
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Damaged knee joints might one day be repaired with cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory, based on research by Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering and his colleagues. Using adult stem cells from bone marrow and skin as well as human embryonic stem cells, Athanasiou and his group have already grown cartilage tissue in the lab. Now they are experimenting with various chemical and mechanical stimuli to improve its properties.
Identifying Safe Stem Cells To Repair Spinal Cords
Source: Society for Neuroscience
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Animal research is suggesting new ways to aid recovery after spinal cord injury. New studies demonstrate that diet affects recovery rate and show how to make stem cell therapies safer for spinal injury patients. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
In other animal studies, researchers identified molecules that encourage spinal cord regeneration and ways to block molecules that discourage it. The findings may help shape therapies for the more than one million people in North America who have spinal cord injuries.
Date: October 20, 2009
Summary:
Animal research is suggesting new ways to aid recovery after spinal cord injury. New studies demonstrate that diet affects recovery rate and show how to make stem cell therapies safer for spinal injury patients. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
In other animal studies, researchers identified molecules that encourage spinal cord regeneration and ways to block molecules that discourage it. The findings may help shape therapies for the more than one million people in North America who have spinal cord injuries.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Stem Cell Transplants May Prevent Devastating Eye Diseases
Source: Oregon Health & Science University
Date: October 19, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at OHSU's Casey Eye Institute and StemCells Inc., have demonstrated that placing human neural stem cells in the back of the eye of rats protects cone photoreceptors in the eye from progressive degeneration and preserves eyesight. The results were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Chicago today and were selected from thousands of other papers to be released to the press.
Date: October 19, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at OHSU's Casey Eye Institute and StemCells Inc., have demonstrated that placing human neural stem cells in the back of the eye of rats protects cone photoreceptors in the eye from progressive degeneration and preserves eyesight. The results were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Chicago today and were selected from thousands of other papers to be released to the press.
Small mechanical force induces strong biological responses in embryonic stem cells
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Date: October 19, 2009
Summary:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine. Results suggest that small forces may indeed play critical roles in inducing strong biological responses in embryonic stem cells, and in shaping embryos during their early development. The research is published in Nature Materials.
Date: October 19, 2009
Summary:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine. Results suggest that small forces may indeed play critical roles in inducing strong biological responses in embryonic stem cells, and in shaping embryos during their early development. The research is published in Nature Materials.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
What drives our genes? Salk researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
October 14, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute provide the first detailed map of the human epigenome, the layer of genetic control beyond the regulation inherent in the sequence of the genes themselves.
Their study, published in the Oct. 14, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, compared the epigenomes of human embryonic stem cells and differentiated connective cells from the lung called fibroblasts, revealing a highly dynamic, yet tightly controlled, landscape of chemical signposts known as methyl-groups. The head-to-head comparison brought to light a novel DNA methylation pattern unique to stem cells, which may explain how stem cells establish and maintain their pluripotent state, the researchers say.
October 14, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute provide the first detailed map of the human epigenome, the layer of genetic control beyond the regulation inherent in the sequence of the genes themselves.
Their study, published in the Oct. 14, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, compared the epigenomes of human embryonic stem cells and differentiated connective cells from the lung called fibroblasts, revealing a highly dynamic, yet tightly controlled, landscape of chemical signposts known as methyl-groups. The head-to-head comparison brought to light a novel DNA methylation pattern unique to stem cells, which may explain how stem cells establish and maintain their pluripotent state, the researchers say.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Researchers find triggers in cells' transition from colitis to cancer
Source: University of Florida
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
University of Florida researchers have grown tumors in mice using cells from inflamed but noncancerous colon tissue taken from human patients, a finding that sheds new light on colon cancer and how it might be prevented. Scientists observed that cancer stem cells taken from the gastrointestinal system in patients with a chronic digestive disease called ulcerative colitis will transform into cancerous tumors in mice. The finding, now online and to be featured on the cover of the Thursday (Oct. 15) issue of Cancer Research, may help explain why patients with colitis have up to a 30-fold risk of developing colon cancer compared with people without the disease.
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
University of Florida researchers have grown tumors in mice using cells from inflamed but noncancerous colon tissue taken from human patients, a finding that sheds new light on colon cancer and how it might be prevented. Scientists observed that cancer stem cells taken from the gastrointestinal system in patients with a chronic digestive disease called ulcerative colitis will transform into cancerous tumors in mice. The finding, now online and to be featured on the cover of the Thursday (Oct. 15) issue of Cancer Research, may help explain why patients with colitis have up to a 30-fold risk of developing colon cancer compared with people without the disease.
Beating, conductive heart muscle cells grown in lab
Source: Duke University
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
DURHAM, N.C. -- By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living “heart patch” to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.
In a series of experiments using mouse embryonic stem cells, the bioengineers used a novel mold of their own design to fashion a three-dimensional “patch” made up of heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes. The new tissue exhibited the two most important attributes of heart muscle cells -– the ability to contract and to conduct electrical impulses. The mold looks much like a piece of Chex cereal in which researchers varied the shape and length of the pores to control the direction and orientation of the growing cells.
The researchers grew the cells in an environment much like that found in natural tissues. They encapsulated the cells within a gel composed of the blood-clotting protein fibrin, which provided mechanical support to the cells, allowing them to form a three-dimensional structure. They also found that the cardiomyocytes flourished only in the presence of a class of “helper” cells known as cardiac fibroblasts, which comprise as much as 60 percent of all cells present in a human heart.
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
DURHAM, N.C. -- By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living “heart patch” to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.
In a series of experiments using mouse embryonic stem cells, the bioengineers used a novel mold of their own design to fashion a three-dimensional “patch” made up of heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes. The new tissue exhibited the two most important attributes of heart muscle cells -– the ability to contract and to conduct electrical impulses. The mold looks much like a piece of Chex cereal in which researchers varied the shape and length of the pores to control the direction and orientation of the growing cells.
The researchers grew the cells in an environment much like that found in natural tissues. They encapsulated the cells within a gel composed of the blood-clotting protein fibrin, which provided mechanical support to the cells, allowing them to form a three-dimensional structure. They also found that the cardiomyocytes flourished only in the presence of a class of “helper” cells known as cardiac fibroblasts, which comprise as much as 60 percent of all cells present in a human heart.
Doctors Use Patient’s Own Stem Cells to Grow Facial Bone in Groundbreaking Procedure
Source: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
In a first-of-its kind procedure, physicians have used stem cells taken from the fat tissue of a 14-year-old boy and combined them with growth protein and donor tissue to grow viable cheek bones in the teen. The new procedure dramatically improves the options surgeons have for repairing bone deficiencies caused by traumatic injuries – such as those from car accidents or soldiers wounded in battle – or by disease and genetic conditions, according to Jesse Taylor, MD, a surgeon and researcher in the Division of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. An estimated 7 million people in the United States have defects in bone continuity so severe that repair is difficult.
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
In a first-of-its kind procedure, physicians have used stem cells taken from the fat tissue of a 14-year-old boy and combined them with growth protein and donor tissue to grow viable cheek bones in the teen. The new procedure dramatically improves the options surgeons have for repairing bone deficiencies caused by traumatic injuries – such as those from car accidents or soldiers wounded in battle – or by disease and genetic conditions, according to Jesse Taylor, MD, a surgeon and researcher in the Division of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. An estimated 7 million people in the United States have defects in bone continuity so severe that repair is difficult.
Genetics of Patterning the Cerebral Cortex: How stem cells yield functional regions in "gray matter"
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—The cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex component of the brain, is unique to mammals and alone has evolved human specializations. Although at first all stem cells in charge of building the cerebral cortex—the outermost layer of neurons commonly referred to as gray matter—are created equal, soon they irrevocably commit to forming specific cortical regions. But how the stem cells' destiny is determined has remained an open question.
In the Oct. 11 advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have identified the first genetic mechanism that determines the regional identity of progenitors tasked with generating the cerebral cortex. Their discovery reveals a critical period during which a LIM homeodomain transcription factor known as Lhx2 decides over the progenitors' regional destiny: Once the window of opportunity closes, their fate is sealed.
Date: October 12, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—The cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex component of the brain, is unique to mammals and alone has evolved human specializations. Although at first all stem cells in charge of building the cerebral cortex—the outermost layer of neurons commonly referred to as gray matter—are created equal, soon they irrevocably commit to forming specific cortical regions. But how the stem cells' destiny is determined has remained an open question.
In the Oct. 11 advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have identified the first genetic mechanism that determines the regional identity of progenitors tasked with generating the cerebral cortex. Their discovery reveals a critical period during which a LIM homeodomain transcription factor known as Lhx2 decides over the progenitors' regional destiny: Once the window of opportunity closes, their fate is sealed.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Researchers pave the way for effective liver treatments
Source: University of California - San Diego
Date: October 9, 2009
UCSD researchers have developed a novel high-throughput cellular array technology that is being used to assess the complex relationships between hepatic stellate cells and components of their microenvironment.
A combination of bioengineering and medical research at the University of California, San Diego has led to a new discovery that could pave the way for more effective treatments for liver disease.
In this work, the researchers have utilized an array system that can identify the biological components that can lead to or alleviate liver disease. The technology works by controlling the range of environments surrounding star-shaped liver cells called hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). HSCs are the major cell type involved in liver fibrosis, which is the formation of scar tissue in response to liver damage. The activated stellate cell is responsible for secreting collagen that produces a fibrous scar, which can lead to cirrhosis.
Current approaches to identify the factors affecting HSC biology typically focus on each factor individually, ignoring the complex cross-talk between the many components acting on the cells. The high-throughput cellular array technology developed by UCSD researchers systematically assesses and probes the complex relationships between hepatic stellate cells and components of their microenvironment. By doing this, they found that certain proteins are critical in regulating HSC activation and that the proteins influence one another's actions on the cells. The findings were published in a paper entitled "Investigating the role of the extracellular environment in modulating hepatic stellate cell biology with array combinatorial microenvironments" in the September 2009 issue of Integrative Biology.
Date: October 9, 2009
UCSD researchers have developed a novel high-throughput cellular array technology that is being used to assess the complex relationships between hepatic stellate cells and components of their microenvironment.
A combination of bioengineering and medical research at the University of California, San Diego has led to a new discovery that could pave the way for more effective treatments for liver disease.
In this work, the researchers have utilized an array system that can identify the biological components that can lead to or alleviate liver disease. The technology works by controlling the range of environments surrounding star-shaped liver cells called hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). HSCs are the major cell type involved in liver fibrosis, which is the formation of scar tissue in response to liver damage. The activated stellate cell is responsible for secreting collagen that produces a fibrous scar, which can lead to cirrhosis.
Current approaches to identify the factors affecting HSC biology typically focus on each factor individually, ignoring the complex cross-talk between the many components acting on the cells. The high-throughput cellular array technology developed by UCSD researchers systematically assesses and probes the complex relationships between hepatic stellate cells and components of their microenvironment. By doing this, they found that certain proteins are critical in regulating HSC activation and that the proteins influence one another's actions on the cells. The findings were published in a paper entitled "Investigating the role of the extracellular environment in modulating hepatic stellate cell biology with array combinatorial microenvironments" in the September 2009 issue of Integrative Biology.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Liver cells grown from patients' skin cells
Source: Medical College of Wisconsin
Date: October 8, 2009
Summary:
Scientists at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have successfully produced liver cells from patients' skin cells opening the possibility of treating a wide range of diseases that affect liver function. The study was led by Stephen A. Duncan, D. Phil., Marcus Professor in Human and Molecular Genetics, and professor of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy, along with postdoctoral fellow Karim Si-Tayeb, Ph.D., and graduate student Ms. Fallon Noto.
Date: October 8, 2009
Summary:
Scientists at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have successfully produced liver cells from patients' skin cells opening the possibility of treating a wide range of diseases that affect liver function. The study was led by Stephen A. Duncan, D. Phil., Marcus Professor in Human and Molecular Genetics, and professor of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy, along with postdoctoral fellow Karim Si-Tayeb, Ph.D., and graduate student Ms. Fallon Noto.
Major step forward in cell reprogramming
Source: Harvard University
Date: October 8, 2009
Summary:
A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases in patients. The chemical that the team used is a small molecule that members named RepSox in honor of another Boston team. It replaces Sox2 and cMyc, two of the four genes currently being used to reprogram adult skin cells into an embryonic-like state.
“This demonstrates that we’re halfway home, and remarkably we got halfway home with just one chemical,” said Kevin Eggan, an HSCI principal faculty member who is the senior author of the paper being published online today by the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Date: October 8, 2009
Summary:
A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases in patients. The chemical that the team used is a small molecule that members named RepSox in honor of another Boston team. It replaces Sox2 and cMyc, two of the four genes currently being used to reprogram adult skin cells into an embryonic-like state.
“This demonstrates that we’re halfway home, and remarkably we got halfway home with just one chemical,” said Kevin Eggan, an HSCI principal faculty member who is the senior author of the paper being published online today by the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Major improvements made in engineering heart repair patches from stem cells
Source: University of Washington
Date: October 7, 2009
Summary:
University of Washington (UW) researchers have succeeded in engineering human tissue patches free of some problems that have stymied stem-cell repair for damaged hearts.
The disk-shaped patches can be fabricated in sizes ranging from less than a millimeter to a half-inch in diameter. Until now, engineering tissue for heart repair has been hampered by cells dying at the transplant core, because nutrients and oxygen reached the edges of the patch but not the center. To make matters worse, the scaffolding materials to position the cells often proved to be harmful.
Heart tissue patches composed only of heart muscle cells couldn't grow big enough or survive long enough to take hold after they were implanted in rodents, the researchers noted in their article, published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers decided to look at the possibility of building new tissue with supply lines for the oxygen and nutrients that living cells require.
Date: October 7, 2009
Summary:
University of Washington (UW) researchers have succeeded in engineering human tissue patches free of some problems that have stymied stem-cell repair for damaged hearts.
The disk-shaped patches can be fabricated in sizes ranging from less than a millimeter to a half-inch in diameter. Until now, engineering tissue for heart repair has been hampered by cells dying at the transplant core, because nutrients and oxygen reached the edges of the patch but not the center. To make matters worse, the scaffolding materials to position the cells often proved to be harmful.
Heart tissue patches composed only of heart muscle cells couldn't grow big enough or survive long enough to take hold after they were implanted in rodents, the researchers noted in their article, published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers decided to look at the possibility of building new tissue with supply lines for the oxygen and nutrients that living cells require.
World’s first engineered T cell receptor trial opens with new cellular therapy for HIV
Source: Adaptimmune Ltd. / University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Date: 7 October 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Adaptimmune Limited and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, today announced the approval of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and opening for enrolment of the first ever study using patients’ cells carrying an engineered T cell receptor to treat HIV (SL9 HA-GAG-TCR). The trial may have important implications in the development of new treatments for HIV potentially slowing – or even preventing – the onset of AIDS.
Date: 7 October 2009
Summary:
Researchers at Adaptimmune Limited and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, today announced the approval of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and opening for enrolment of the first ever study using patients’ cells carrying an engineered T cell receptor to treat HIV (SL9 HA-GAG-TCR). The trial may have important implications in the development of new treatments for HIV potentially slowing – or even preventing – the onset of AIDS.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Enhanced stem cells promote tissue regeneration
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: October 5, 2009
Summary:
MIT engineers have boosted stem cells’ ability to regenerate vascular tissue (such as blood vessels) by equipping them with genes that produce extra growth factors (naturally occurring compounds that stimulate tissue growth). In a study in mice, the researchers found that the stem cells successfully generated blood vessels near the site of an injury, allowing damaged tissue to survive.
After removing stem cells from mouse bone marrow, the researchers used specially developed nanoparticles to deliver the gene for the growth factor VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). The stem cells were then implanted into damaged tissue areas. These nanoparticles, which the MIT team has also tested to deliver cancer treatments, are believed to be safer than the viruses often used for gene delivery.
The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, week of Oct. 5, 2009.
Date: October 5, 2009
Summary:
MIT engineers have boosted stem cells’ ability to regenerate vascular tissue (such as blood vessels) by equipping them with genes that produce extra growth factors (naturally occurring compounds that stimulate tissue growth). In a study in mice, the researchers found that the stem cells successfully generated blood vessels near the site of an injury, allowing damaged tissue to survive.
After removing stem cells from mouse bone marrow, the researchers used specially developed nanoparticles to deliver the gene for the growth factor VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). The stem cells were then implanted into damaged tissue areas. These nanoparticles, which the MIT team has also tested to deliver cancer treatments, are believed to be safer than the viruses often used for gene delivery.
The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, week of Oct. 5, 2009.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Umbilical cord blood as a readily available source for off-the-shelf, patient-specific stem cells
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: October 1, 2009
Summary:
Umbilical cord blood cells can successfully be reprogrammed to function like embryonic stem cells, setting the basis for the creation of a comprehensive bank of tissue-matched, cord blood-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for off-the-shelf applications, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, Spain.
"Cord blood stem cells could serve as a safe, "ready-to-use" source for the generation of iPS cells, since they are easily accessible, immunologically immature and quick to return to an embryonic stem cell-like state," says Juan-Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory, who led the study published in the October issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Date: October 1, 2009
Summary:
Umbilical cord blood cells can successfully be reprogrammed to function like embryonic stem cells, setting the basis for the creation of a comprehensive bank of tissue-matched, cord blood-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for off-the-shelf applications, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, Spain.
"Cord blood stem cells could serve as a safe, "ready-to-use" source for the generation of iPS cells, since they are easily accessible, immunologically immature and quick to return to an embryonic stem cell-like state," says Juan-Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory, who led the study published in the October issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Scientists discover clues to what makes human muscle age
Source: University of California - Berkeley
Date: September 30, 2009
Summary:
A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself. The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Date: September 30, 2009
Summary:
A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself. The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Clues To Reversing Aging Of Human Muscle Discovered
Source: University of California - Berkeley
Date: September 30, 2009
Summary:
A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself. The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Date: September 30, 2009
Summary:
A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself. The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
ANTIOXIDANT CONTROLS SPINAL CORD DEVELOPMENT
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Date: September 17, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered how one antioxidant protein controls the activity of another protein, critical for the development of spinal cord neurons. The research, publishing this week in Cell, describes a never-before known mechanism of protein control. Previous research had shown that the GDE2 protein can cause immature cells in the spinal cord to differentiate into motor neurons, the nerve cells that connect to and control muscle contraction. Too little GDE2 causes motor neurons to not develop, while too much GDE2 causes them to develop too quickly, depleting progenitor pools.
Date: September 17, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered how one antioxidant protein controls the activity of another protein, critical for the development of spinal cord neurons. The research, publishing this week in Cell, describes a never-before known mechanism of protein control. Previous research had shown that the GDE2 protein can cause immature cells in the spinal cord to differentiate into motor neurons, the nerve cells that connect to and control muscle contraction. Too little GDE2 causes motor neurons to not develop, while too much GDE2 causes them to develop too quickly, depleting progenitor pools.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Master gene that switches on disease-fighting cells identified by scientists
Source: Imperial College London
Date: 15 September 2009
Summary:
The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer. The researchers have 'knocked out' the gene in question, known as E4bp4, in a mouse model, creating the world's first animal model entirely lacking NK cells, but with all other blood cells and immune cells intact. This breakthrough model should help solve the mystery of the role that Natural Killer cells play in autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Some scientists think that these diseases are caused by malfunctioning NK cells that turn on the body and attack healthy cells, causing disease instead of fighting it. Clarifying NK cells' role could lead to new ways of treating these conditions. The study was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London, UCL and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research.
Date: 15 September 2009
Summary:
The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer. The researchers have 'knocked out' the gene in question, known as E4bp4, in a mouse model, creating the world's first animal model entirely lacking NK cells, but with all other blood cells and immune cells intact. This breakthrough model should help solve the mystery of the role that Natural Killer cells play in autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Some scientists think that these diseases are caused by malfunctioning NK cells that turn on the body and attack healthy cells, causing disease instead of fighting it. Clarifying NK cells' role could lead to new ways of treating these conditions. The study was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London, UCL and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Discovered key gene for the formation of new neurons
Source: Ciência Viva
Date: 13 September 2009
Summary:
Scientists discovered a gene - called AP2gamma - crucial for the neural development of the visual cortex, in a discovery that can have implications for the therapeutics of neural regeneration as well as provide new clues about how the brain evolved into higher sophistication in mammals. The article will come out in the journal Nature Neuroscience today.
Date: 13 September 2009
Summary:
Scientists discovered a gene - called AP2gamma - crucial for the neural development of the visual cortex, in a discovery that can have implications for the therapeutics of neural regeneration as well as provide new clues about how the brain evolved into higher sophistication in mammals. The article will come out in the journal Nature Neuroscience today.
How stem cells make skin: scientists come a step closer to understanding skin, breast and other cancers
Source: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Date: September 13, 2009
Summary:
Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin contains stem cells that can develop into the specialised cells in the layers above. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, in collaboration with colleagues at the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT) in Madrid, have discovered two proteins that control when and how these stem cells switch to being skin cells. The findings, published online today in Nature Cell Biology, shed light on the basic mechanisms involved not only in formation of skin, but also on skin cancer and other epithelial cancers.
Date: September 13, 2009
Summary:
Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin contains stem cells that can develop into the specialised cells in the layers above. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, in collaboration with colleagues at the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT) in Madrid, have discovered two proteins that control when and how these stem cells switch to being skin cells. The findings, published online today in Nature Cell Biology, shed light on the basic mechanisms involved not only in formation of skin, but also on skin cancer and other epithelial cancers.
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