Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
August 24, 2009
Summary:
MADISON — A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells — suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient's own skin.
Even sooner, the discovery will lead to laboratory models for studying genetically linked eye conditions, screening new drugs to treat those conditions and understanding the development of the human eye. A Waisman Center research team led by David Gamm, an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and Jason Meyer, a research scientist, announced their discovery in the Aug. 24 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Monday, August 24, 2009
'Glow-in-the-dark' red blood cells made from human stem cells
Source: Monash University
Date: August 24, 2009
Summary:
Victorian stem cell scientists from Monash University have modified a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells. The modified hESC line, ErythRED, represents a major step forward to the eventual aim of generating mature, fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells. The research, conducted by a team led by Professors Andrew Elefanty and Ed Stanley at the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories that included scientists at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, was published in today's issue of the prestigious journal, Nature Methods.
Date: August 24, 2009
Summary:
Victorian stem cell scientists from Monash University have modified a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells. The modified hESC line, ErythRED, represents a major step forward to the eventual aim of generating mature, fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells. The research, conducted by a team led by Professors Andrew Elefanty and Ed Stanley at the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories that included scientists at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, was published in today's issue of the prestigious journal, Nature Methods.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
New insight into how stems cells develop into other types of cells
Source: University of Cambridge
Date: August 20, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have uncovered a vital link in the chain of events that gives stem cells their remarkable properties. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of Cambridge have pinpointed the final step in a complex process that gives embryonic stem cells their unique ability to develop into any of the different types of cells in the body (from liver cells to skin cells). Their findings, published today in the journal Cell, have important implications for efforts to harness the power of stem cells for medical applications.
Date: August 20, 2009
Summary:
Scientists have uncovered a vital link in the chain of events that gives stem cells their remarkable properties. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of Cambridge have pinpointed the final step in a complex process that gives embryonic stem cells their unique ability to develop into any of the different types of cells in the body (from liver cells to skin cells). Their findings, published today in the journal Cell, have important implications for efforts to harness the power of stem cells for medical applications.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Watching stem cells repair the human brain
Source: Tel Aviv University
Date: August 19, 2009
Summary:
There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Yoram Cohen of TAU's School of Chemistry has recently proven the viability of these innovative stem cells, called mesenchymal stem cells, using in-vivo MRI. Dr. Cohen has been able to track their progress within the brain, and initial studies indicate they can identify unhealthy or damaged tissues, migrate to them, and potentially repair or halt cell degeneration. His findings have been reported in the journal Stem Cells.
Date: August 19, 2009
Summary:
There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Yoram Cohen of TAU's School of Chemistry has recently proven the viability of these innovative stem cells, called mesenchymal stem cells, using in-vivo MRI. Dr. Cohen has been able to track their progress within the brain, and initial studies indicate they can identify unhealthy or damaged tissues, migrate to them, and potentially repair or halt cell degeneration. His findings have been reported in the journal Stem Cells.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Nanomagnets guide stem cells to damaged tissue
Source: University College London
Date: August 17, 2009
Summary:
Microscopic magnetic particles have been used to bring stem cells to sites of cardiovascular injury in a new method designed to increase the capacity of cells to repair damaged tissue, University College London scientists announced. The cross disciplinary research, published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions, demonstrates a technique where endothelial progenitor cells - a type of stem cell shown to be important in vascular healing processes - have been magnetically tagged with a tiny iron-containing clinical agent, then successfully targeted to a site of arterial injury using a magnet positioned outside the body. Following magnetic targeting, there was a five-fold increase in cell localisation at a site of vascular injury in rats. The team also demonstrated a six-fold increase in cell capture in an in vitro flow system (where microscopic particles are suspended in a stream of fluid and examined to see how they behave).
Date: August 17, 2009
Summary:
Microscopic magnetic particles have been used to bring stem cells to sites of cardiovascular injury in a new method designed to increase the capacity of cells to repair damaged tissue, University College London scientists announced. The cross disciplinary research, published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions, demonstrates a technique where endothelial progenitor cells - a type of stem cell shown to be important in vascular healing processes - have been magnetically tagged with a tiny iron-containing clinical agent, then successfully targeted to a site of arterial injury using a magnet positioned outside the body. Following magnetic targeting, there was a five-fold increase in cell localisation at a site of vascular injury in rats. The team also demonstrated a six-fold increase in cell capture in an in vitro flow system (where microscopic particles are suspended in a stream of fluid and examined to see how they behave).
How to Make a Lung: Cell-Regeneration Molecules Essential Signals for Early Lung Development, Penn Study Finds
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Date: August 17, 2009
Summary:
A tissue-repair-and-regeneration pathway in the human body, including wound healing, is essential for the early lung to develop properly. Genetically engineered mice fail to develop lungs when two molecules in this pathway, Wnt2 and Wnt2b, are knocked out. The findings are described by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine this week in Developmental Cell. Several molecular signals are important for proper lung development but not much is known about the early signals that turn on the genes needed to specify the lung at the right place and time in the embryo. Clinically, understanding how a lung develops is important in treating or preventing a host of lung and pulmonary diseases in children.
Date: August 17, 2009
Summary:
A tissue-repair-and-regeneration pathway in the human body, including wound healing, is essential for the early lung to develop properly. Genetically engineered mice fail to develop lungs when two molecules in this pathway, Wnt2 and Wnt2b, are knocked out. The findings are described by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine this week in Developmental Cell. Several molecular signals are important for proper lung development but not much is known about the early signals that turn on the genes needed to specify the lung at the right place and time in the embryo. Clinically, understanding how a lung develops is important in treating or preventing a host of lung and pulmonary diseases in children.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Researchers discover chemical that kills cancer stem cells
Source; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Date: August 13, 2009
Summary:
A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors. These cells, known as cancer stem cells, are thought to enable cancers to spread — and to reemerge after seemingly successful treatment. Although further work is needed to determine whether this specific chemical holds therapeutic promise for humans, the study shows that it is possible to find chemicals that selectively kill cancer stem cells. The findings appear in today's advance online edition of Cell.
Date: August 13, 2009
Summary:
A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors. These cells, known as cancer stem cells, are thought to enable cancers to spread — and to reemerge after seemingly successful treatment. Although further work is needed to determine whether this specific chemical holds therapeutic promise for humans, the study shows that it is possible to find chemicals that selectively kill cancer stem cells. The findings appear in today's advance online edition of Cell.
New method takes aim at aggressive cancer cells
Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Date: August 13, 2009
Summary:
A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors. These cells, known as cancer stem cells, are thought to enable cancers to spread — and to reemerge after seemingly successful treatment. Although further work is needed to determine whether this specific chemical holds therapeutic promise for humans, the study shows that it is possible to find chemicals that selectively kill cancer stem cells. The scientists’ findings appear in the August 13 advance online issue of Cell.
Date: August 13, 2009
Summary:
A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors. These cells, known as cancer stem cells, are thought to enable cancers to spread — and to reemerge after seemingly successful treatment. Although further work is needed to determine whether this specific chemical holds therapeutic promise for humans, the study shows that it is possible to find chemicals that selectively kill cancer stem cells. The scientists’ findings appear in the August 13 advance online issue of Cell.
Technique enables efficient gene splicing in human embryonic stem cells
Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
August 13, 2009
Summary:
A novel technique allows researchers to efficiently and precisely modify or introduce genes into the genomes of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, according to Whitehead scientists. The method uses proteins called zinc finger nucleases and is described in the August 13 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
August 13, 2009
Summary:
A novel technique allows researchers to efficiently and precisely modify or introduce genes into the genomes of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, according to Whitehead scientists. The method uses proteins called zinc finger nucleases and is described in the August 13 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Scientists make multiple types of white blood cells directly from embryonic and adult stem cells
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Date: August 10, 2009
Summary:
In an advance that could help transform embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have transformed these versatile cells into progenitors of white blood cells and into six types of mature white blood and immune cells. While clinical use is some years away, the new technique could produce cells with enormous potential for studying the development and treatment of disease. The technique works equally well with stem cells grown from an embryo and with adult pluripotent stem cells, which are derived from adult cells that have been converted until they resemble embryonic stem cells. Eventually they found a recipe that would cause the cells to move through a process of progressive specialization into a variety of adult cells. Slukvin's study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Date: August 10, 2009
Summary:
In an advance that could help transform embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have transformed these versatile cells into progenitors of white blood cells and into six types of mature white blood and immune cells. While clinical use is some years away, the new technique could produce cells with enormous potential for studying the development and treatment of disease. The technique works equally well with stem cells grown from an embryo and with adult pluripotent stem cells, which are derived from adult cells that have been converted until they resemble embryonic stem cells. Eventually they found a recipe that would cause the cells to move through a process of progressive specialization into a variety of adult cells. Slukvin's study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
STAT3 Gene Regulates Cancer Stem Cells in Brain Cancer
Source: Tufts University
Date: August 10, 2009
Summary:
In a study published online in advance of print in Stem Cells, Tufts researchers report that the STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer. Cancer stem cells have many characteristics of stem cells and are thought to be the cells that drive tumor formation. The researchers report that STAT3 could become a target for cancer therapy, specifically in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of malignant and aggressive brain tumor.
Date: August 10, 2009
Summary:
In a study published online in advance of print in Stem Cells, Tufts researchers report that the STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer. Cancer stem cells have many characteristics of stem cells and are thought to be the cells that drive tumor formation. The researchers report that STAT3 could become a target for cancer therapy, specifically in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of malignant and aggressive brain tumor.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
New steps forward in cell reprogramming
Source: Harvard University
Date: August 9, 2009
Summary:
Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have substantially improved the odds of successfully reprogramming differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by blocking the activity of the gene that instructs the cells to stop dividing.
Konrad Hochedlinger and colleagues at the MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine also found that reprogramming efforts are more likely to be successful if they target immature cells rather than their more mature counterparts for reprogramming.
Induced pluripotent cells are adult cells that have been reprogrammed back to an embryo-like state in which they have regained the potential to turn into any of the 220 cell types in the body, such as liver cells, skin cells, or heart cells. “This has been a main question and main interest in the field for a long time,” says Hochedlinger. “When you work with mature cells, for some reason only a few of them actually reprogram into an iPS cell: Why is the reprogramming process so inefficient?”
The team has devised two solutions for the problem of inefficiency, one of which involves selecting only certain cell types for reprogramming. The work is being published in two separate reports, one in the journal Nature, and the other in Nature Genetics.
Date: August 9, 2009
Summary:
Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have substantially improved the odds of successfully reprogramming differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by blocking the activity of the gene that instructs the cells to stop dividing.
Konrad Hochedlinger and colleagues at the MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine also found that reprogramming efforts are more likely to be successful if they target immature cells rather than their more mature counterparts for reprogramming.
Induced pluripotent cells are adult cells that have been reprogrammed back to an embryo-like state in which they have regained the potential to turn into any of the 220 cell types in the body, such as liver cells, skin cells, or heart cells. “This has been a main question and main interest in the field for a long time,” says Hochedlinger. “When you work with mature cells, for some reason only a few of them actually reprogram into an iPS cell: Why is the reprogramming process so inefficient?”
The team has devised two solutions for the problem of inefficiency, one of which involves selecting only certain cell types for reprogramming. The work is being published in two separate reports, one in the journal Nature, and the other in Nature Genetics.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Pancreas cells can be stimulated to produce insulin
Source: Max Planck Institute
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
If the insulin-producing cells of our body based, it can develop diabetes - one of the most common metabolic disease of western industrialized nations. Through the body's own insulin-producing cells to replace, has long been a dream of diabetes researchers. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) this goal are now one step closer to. Turns the researchers in diabetic mice, a single gene in the pancreatic cells, it turned them into insulin-producing cells. Could this conversion in humans selectively regulate the future, this could open up new therapeutic pathways to diabetes successfully treated. The study is published in the journal Cell
Below is additional coverage of this development from various sources:
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, August 6, 2009: "Researchers Show Non-Insulin-Producing Alpha Cells in the Pancreas Can Be Converted To Insulin-Producing Beta Cells":
"In findings that add to the prospects of regenerating insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers in Europe -- co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation -- have shown that insulin-producing beta cells can be derived from non-insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."
Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2009: "Scientists alter pancreatic cells to treat Type 1 diabetes":
"... a team of European and American researchers showed that pancreatic cells in diabetic mice could be reprogrammed into beta cells by turning on just one gene, called Pax4. The scientists gave the mice a chemical called streptozotocin that killed off their beta cells while preserving other types of pancreatic cells. Then they activated the Pax4 gene, which does most of its work during fetal development."
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
If the insulin-producing cells of our body based, it can develop diabetes - one of the most common metabolic disease of western industrialized nations. Through the body's own insulin-producing cells to replace, has long been a dream of diabetes researchers. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) this goal are now one step closer to. Turns the researchers in diabetic mice, a single gene in the pancreatic cells, it turned them into insulin-producing cells. Could this conversion in humans selectively regulate the future, this could open up new therapeutic pathways to diabetes successfully treated. The study is published in the journal Cell
Below is additional coverage of this development from various sources:
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, August 6, 2009: "Researchers Show Non-Insulin-Producing Alpha Cells in the Pancreas Can Be Converted To Insulin-Producing Beta Cells":
"In findings that add to the prospects of regenerating insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers in Europe -- co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation -- have shown that insulin-producing beta cells can be derived from non-insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."
Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2009: "Scientists alter pancreatic cells to treat Type 1 diabetes":
"... a team of European and American researchers showed that pancreatic cells in diabetic mice could be reprogrammed into beta cells by turning on just one gene, called Pax4. The scientists gave the mice a chemical called streptozotocin that killed off their beta cells while preserving other types of pancreatic cells. Then they activated the Pax4 gene, which does most of its work during fetal development."
What Makes Stem Cells Tick? Researchers Identify Phosphorylated Signaling Proteins in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, Calif., -- Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made the first comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated derivatives. The data may help stem cell researchers understand the mechanisms that determine whether stem cells divide or differentiate, what types of cells they become and how to control those complex mechanisms to facilitate development of new therapies. The study was published in the August 6 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
LA JOLLA, Calif., -- Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made the first comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated derivatives. The data may help stem cell researchers understand the mechanisms that determine whether stem cells divide or differentiate, what types of cells they become and how to control those complex mechanisms to facilitate development of new therapies. The study was published in the August 6 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Scientists Find Key to Strengthening Immune Response to Chronic Infection
Source: Wistar Institute
Date: August 6, 2009
A team of researchers from The Wistar Institute has identified a protein that could serve as a target for reprogramming immune system cells exhausted by exposure to chronic viral infection into more effective “soldiers” against certain viruses like HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B, as well as some cancers, such as melanoma.
Effective response by key immune cells in the body, called T cells, is crucial for control of many widespread chronic viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis B and C. Virus-specific CD8 T cells, also known as “killer” T cells, often lose their ability to control viral replication and become less effective over time, a process known as T cell exhaustion. Understanding how optimal antiviral T cell responses are suppressed in these circumstances is crucial to developing strategies to prevent and treat such persisting infections.
In the August 6 on-line issue of Immunity, the research team led by Wistar assistant professor E. John Wherry, Ph.D., describes how the protein Blimp-1 (B-lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1) represses the normal differentiation of CD8 T cells into memory T cells, which recognize disease-causing agents from previous infections and enable the body to mount faster, stronger immune responses. The team also reports that Blimp-1 causes exhausted CD8 T cells to express inhibitory receptors, which prevent recognition of specific antigens, further weakening immune response.
Date: August 6, 2009
A team of researchers from The Wistar Institute has identified a protein that could serve as a target for reprogramming immune system cells exhausted by exposure to chronic viral infection into more effective “soldiers” against certain viruses like HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B, as well as some cancers, such as melanoma.
Effective response by key immune cells in the body, called T cells, is crucial for control of many widespread chronic viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis B and C. Virus-specific CD8 T cells, also known as “killer” T cells, often lose their ability to control viral replication and become less effective over time, a process known as T cell exhaustion. Understanding how optimal antiviral T cell responses are suppressed in these circumstances is crucial to developing strategies to prevent and treat such persisting infections.
In the August 6 on-line issue of Immunity, the research team led by Wistar assistant professor E. John Wherry, Ph.D., describes how the protein Blimp-1 (B-lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1) represses the normal differentiation of CD8 T cells into memory T cells, which recognize disease-causing agents from previous infections and enable the body to mount faster, stronger immune responses. The team also reports that Blimp-1 causes exhausted CD8 T cells to express inhibitory receptors, which prevent recognition of specific antigens, further weakening immune response.
Scientists find common trigger in cancer and normal stem cell reproduction
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves. In a paper to be published Aug. 7 in the journal Cell, Michael Clarke, MD, the Karel H. and Avice N. Beekhuis Professor in Cancer Biology, and his colleagues showed that breast cancer stem cells and normal breast stem cells turn down the creation of a specific group of cell signals when they are reproducing. Increasing the amount of one of these signals, called miR-200c, strongly suppressed the ability of both cancer stem cells and normal stem cells to divide and reproduce. The discovery of a common regulatory pathway in both kinds of stem cells supports the idea that cancer stem cells and normal stem cells share fundamental properties.
Date: August 6, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves. In a paper to be published Aug. 7 in the journal Cell, Michael Clarke, MD, the Karel H. and Avice N. Beekhuis Professor in Cancer Biology, and his colleagues showed that breast cancer stem cells and normal breast stem cells turn down the creation of a specific group of cell signals when they are reproducing. Increasing the amount of one of these signals, called miR-200c, strongly suppressed the ability of both cancer stem cells and normal stem cells to divide and reproduce. The discovery of a common regulatory pathway in both kinds of stem cells supports the idea that cancer stem cells and normal stem cells share fundamental properties.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
U of T researchers learn how blood cells 'talk'
Source: University of Toronto
Date: August 5, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new model that explains how cells communicate and specifically reveals how blood cells "talk" to each other. The result could help transform treatments for diseases such as leukemia.
The paper, published online by the journal Molecular Systems Biology, details how a team led by Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Bioengineering Professor Peter Zandstra (Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry) revealed a new mathematical model that links functional cellular assays to specific model outputs, defines cell-level kinetic parameters such as cell cycle rates and self-renewal probabilities as functions of culture variables, and simulates feedback regulation using cell-cell interaction networks.
Date: August 5, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new model that explains how cells communicate and specifically reveals how blood cells "talk" to each other. The result could help transform treatments for diseases such as leukemia.
The paper, published online by the journal Molecular Systems Biology, details how a team led by Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Bioengineering Professor Peter Zandstra (Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry) revealed a new mathematical model that links functional cellular assays to specific model outputs, defines cell-level kinetic parameters such as cell cycle rates and self-renewal probabilities as functions of culture variables, and simulates feedback regulation using cell-cell interaction networks.
Stem cell hierarchy offers potential for isolating, growing cells
Source: University of Toronto
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Toronto Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), led by U of T's Professor J.E. Davies, have made important progress in stem cell research that will allow for numerous applications of multi-faceted stem cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This research will advance the selection of specific cells to target specific diseases, ultimately enabling clinicians to "personalize" treatment for patients.
The important research published today in the Public Library of Science journal, PloS-ONE [http://www.plosone.org/home.action], is entitled Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Self-Renew and Differentiate According to a Deterministic Hierarchy. The paper provides the experimental proof of the existence of a human MSC at the single cell level, a key step that has previously eluded the scientific community. The researchers have for the first time, defined a mesenchymal stem cell hierarchy that introduces the possibility of isolating and growing MSCs of different capacities for different clinical applications or drug discovery.This development builds on the team's previous finding that the richest source of MSCs in the body is found in umbilical cord tissue that is normally discarded at birth.
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Toronto Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), led by U of T's Professor J.E. Davies, have made important progress in stem cell research that will allow for numerous applications of multi-faceted stem cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This research will advance the selection of specific cells to target specific diseases, ultimately enabling clinicians to "personalize" treatment for patients.
The important research published today in the Public Library of Science journal, PloS-ONE [http://www.plosone.org/home.action], is entitled Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Self-Renew and Differentiate According to a Deterministic Hierarchy. The paper provides the experimental proof of the existence of a human MSC at the single cell level, a key step that has previously eluded the scientific community. The researchers have for the first time, defined a mesenchymal stem cell hierarchy that introduces the possibility of isolating and growing MSCs of different capacities for different clinical applications or drug discovery.This development builds on the team's previous finding that the richest source of MSCs in the body is found in umbilical cord tissue that is normally discarded at birth.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Gene signature for cancer stem cells may provide drug targets
Source: Baylor College of Medicine
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
A subset of tumor cells that remain after a woman with breast cancer undergoes treatment with either anti-cancer or anti-hormone therapy shows a "gene signature" that could be used to define targets for developing new drugs against the disease, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine. The report appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
A subset of tumor cells that remain after a woman with breast cancer undergoes treatment with either anti-cancer or anti-hormone therapy shows a "gene signature" that could be used to define targets for developing new drugs against the disease, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine. The report appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
New stem cell research could make lab mice redundant
Source: University of Bath
Date: 04 August 2009
Summary:
Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions such as motor neurone disease. Dr Vasanta Subramanian, from the University’s Department of Biology & Biochemistry, will be developing a technique using human stem cells to study this debilitating neurological disease, greatly reducing the number of animals used in research.
Date: 04 August 2009
Summary:
Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions such as motor neurone disease. Dr Vasanta Subramanian, from the University’s Department of Biology & Biochemistry, will be developing a technique using human stem cells to study this debilitating neurological disease, greatly reducing the number of animals used in research.
Scientists find way to coax human stem cells into becoming T cells
Source: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
Canadian researchers have developed a way to direct unspecified human stem cells into becoming progenitor (or early) T cells, which then go to the thymus and give rise to mature T cells, an essential ingredient in immune system reconstitution. This critical advance in regenerative medicine, published in the July 30 edition of Blood, makes possible new approaches to treating people with severe immune deficiencies, such as children born with little or no immune system, or people who have had chemotherapy. Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute created the human progenitor T cells from stem cells in the lab using a method that they patented. They then implanted them into immune-deficient mice, wherein the unspecified cells travelled to the thymus and produced mature T cells.
Date: August 4, 2009
Summary:
Canadian researchers have developed a way to direct unspecified human stem cells into becoming progenitor (or early) T cells, which then go to the thymus and give rise to mature T cells, an essential ingredient in immune system reconstitution. This critical advance in regenerative medicine, published in the July 30 edition of Blood, makes possible new approaches to treating people with severe immune deficiencies, such as children born with little or no immune system, or people who have had chemotherapy. Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute created the human progenitor T cells from stem cells in the lab using a method that they patented. They then implanted them into immune-deficient mice, wherein the unspecified cells travelled to the thymus and produced mature T cells.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Researchers Demonstrate How Stem Cell Line Regenerates New Cardiac Cells
Source: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
As the field of stem cell based therapies has progressed, there have been numerous questions about the exact way one of the most promising lines of adult stem cells works to repair damaged heart muscle. Although cells obtained from adult bone marrow are proving to be useful to treat heart disease, there has been a major controversy over whether they are true stem cells capable of forming new heart muscle.
Cardiologists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have definitively shown that mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow do in fact form new heart muscle and blood vessels, leading to major degrees of tissue repair in hearts damaged by a heart attack. Their findings have been published in the August 3 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
As the field of stem cell based therapies has progressed, there have been numerous questions about the exact way one of the most promising lines of adult stem cells works to repair damaged heart muscle. Although cells obtained from adult bone marrow are proving to be useful to treat heart disease, there has been a major controversy over whether they are true stem cells capable of forming new heart muscle.
Cardiologists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have definitively shown that mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow do in fact form new heart muscle and blood vessels, leading to major degrees of tissue repair in hearts damaged by a heart attack. Their findings have been published in the August 3 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Finding the Right Connection after Spinal Cord Injury
Source: University of California - San Diego
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
In a major step in spinal cord injury research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets and re-form connections after spinal cord injury. Their findings will be published in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience on August 2.
The UC San Diego study looked at regenerating sensory axons in rat models of spinal cord injury. Sensory systems of the body send axons – long, slender projections of the neuron – into the spinal cord to convey information regarding touch, position, and pain. Many sensory axons are covered by an insulating myelin sheath which helps these impulses travel efficiently to the brain.
The UC San Diego scientists showed that regenerating axons can be guided to correct targets using a type of chemical hormone called a growth factor. The team utilized a type of chemical hormone, a nervous system growth factor called neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), to guide regenerating sensory axons to the appropriate target and support synapse formation. Regeneration required two other treatments at the same time: placing a cell bridge in the spinal cord injury site to support axon growth, and a “conditioning” stimulus to the injured neuron that turned on regeneration genes for new growth.
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
In a major step in spinal cord injury research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets and re-form connections after spinal cord injury. Their findings will be published in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience on August 2.
The UC San Diego study looked at regenerating sensory axons in rat models of spinal cord injury. Sensory systems of the body send axons – long, slender projections of the neuron – into the spinal cord to convey information regarding touch, position, and pain. Many sensory axons are covered by an insulating myelin sheath which helps these impulses travel efficiently to the brain.
The UC San Diego scientists showed that regenerating axons can be guided to correct targets using a type of chemical hormone called a growth factor. The team utilized a type of chemical hormone, a nervous system growth factor called neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), to guide regenerating sensory axons to the appropriate target and support synapse formation. Regeneration required two other treatments at the same time: placing a cell bridge in the spinal cord injury site to support axon growth, and a “conditioning” stimulus to the injured neuron that turned on regeneration genes for new growth.
Stem cell ‘daughters’ lead to breast cancer
Source: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Date: 3 August 2009
Summary:
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
BRCA1 gene mutations are found in 10-20 per cent of women with hereditary breast cancer. Women with BRCA1 mutations often develop 'basal-like' breast cancer, which is a particularly aggressive form of the disease.
A team led by Associate Professors Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman from the institute's Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium Laboratory have discovered that luminal progenitor cells – the 'daughters' of breast stem cells – are the likely source of basal-like breast tumours. Their finding, published in today's issue of the international journal Nature Medicine, represents a major shift in the way scientists think breast cancer develops.
Date: 3 August 2009
Summary:
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
BRCA1 gene mutations are found in 10-20 per cent of women with hereditary breast cancer. Women with BRCA1 mutations often develop 'basal-like' breast cancer, which is a particularly aggressive form of the disease.
A team led by Associate Professors Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman from the institute's Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium Laboratory have discovered that luminal progenitor cells – the 'daughters' of breast stem cells – are the likely source of basal-like breast tumours. Their finding, published in today's issue of the international journal Nature Medicine, represents a major shift in the way scientists think breast cancer develops.
Scientists discover bladder cancer stem cell
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford's School of Medicine have identified the first human bladder cancer stem cell and revealed how it works to escape the body's natural defenses. The study will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Aug. 3.
Date: August 3, 2009
Summary:
STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford's School of Medicine have identified the first human bladder cancer stem cell and revealed how it works to escape the body's natural defenses. The study will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Aug. 3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)