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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Adult stem cell prostate cancer coverage summary

Below is a summary of news coverage of the recent announcement by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center that a new type of stem cell discovered in the prostate of adult mice can be a source of prostate cancer:

Agence France Presse (AFP), September 9, 2009: "Newly found stem cell causes prostate cancer: mouse study":

PARIS — Scientists in the United States, working with mice, have found a new type of stem cell in the prostate gland and shown that mutations in it can cause cancer, a study released Wednesday says. The discovery boosts evidence that cancers can be caused by modifications in stem cells, the dynamic precursor cells that develop into and replenish the body's specific tissues, it says. It also appears to resolve a mystery about the origin of prostate cancer, and could open new pathways for treatment of the deadly disease.

Reuters, September 9, 2009 5:29pm EDT: "Researchers find prostate cancer stem cell":

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have found a stem cell, a kind of master cell, that may cause at least some types of prostate cancer. Their findings are only experimental -- the stem cells were found in mice -- but could explain at least some types of prostate cancer and eventually offer new ways to treat it, they reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

HealthDay News, September 9, 2009: "Getting Closer to the Origins of Prostate Cancer: Newly discovered stem cell, common STD could help spur tumors, studies find":

"Two studies take significant steps toward solving major mysteries about prostate cancer -- the exact spot in the gland where tumors can originate, and how to distinguish fast-growing malignancies that are life-threatening from the slower-growing kind that can safely be left alone."

"One study, reported in the Sept. 9 online edition of Nature, describes a previously unknown form of prostate stem cell that can become cancerous if genetic controls go haywire. The prostate consists of several layers of cells, with the lowest, the basal layer, playing a supporting role and the luminal layer, just above it, doing the actual work of the gland."

"The second report, published online Sept. 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, uncovered an association between infection with a sexually transmitted parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis, and an increased risk of prostate cancer, especially the virulent form of the disease."

BBC News, 10 September 2009: "Stem cell link to prostate cancer":

A newly identified type of stem cell may cause some cases of prostate cancer, research on mice suggests.
The cells, found among those which line the inner cavity of the prostate gland, can produce copies of themselves, and other, more mature cell types. But researchers showed that when the cells were deliberately mutated by switching off a tumour suppressor gene they rapidly formed tumours. The Columbia University study appears in the journal Nature.

First stem cell clinical trial for treating brain’s “communication highway” to begin

Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: September 10, 2009

Summary:

UCSF researchers are set to begin a Phase I clinical trial in collaboration with StemCells, Inc. to test the safety and preliminary effectiveness of using neural stem cells to treat children with a rare, fatal form of a brain disorder known as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD). Currently, there are no effective treatments for the fatal forms of the disease, which affects males that inherit a single defective gene.

The trial is the first neural stem cell trial in the United States designed to treat a disease resulting from a lack of “myelin,” a substance that insulates nerve cells’ communications fibers. Nerve cells communicate through axons that function much like electrical wires. Myelin is the insulating coat that surrounds the axons to prevent short circuits. Damage to the cells in the brain that make myelin, called “oligodendrocytes,” is the hallmark of multiple sclerosis and is involved in certain forms of cerebral palsy.

Coverage Summary of Conversion Of Fat Stem Cells Into Pluripotent Stem Cells

Below is a summary of news coverage of the recent announcement by researchers at Stanford University Medical Center that adult stem cells from fat were converted to pluripotent stem cells:

Medical News Today, 09 September 2009 - 2:00 PDT: "Making Stem Cells From Liposuction Leftovers Is Easier Say Researchers":

Writing in a new study, US researchers said it was easier and just as safe to make stem cells from fat cells freshly isolated from patients, for instance from cells present in liposuction "leftovers", than it was to make them from skin cells as other studies have done recently. The study was the work of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California and was published online ahead of print on 8 September in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

Scientific American, September 8, 2009: "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Created from Fat Cells":

The standard way to make induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for medical research is to scrape skin cells and mix up their internal clocks, coaxing them back into pluripotency over a matter of weeks. But now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have turned their attention to another cell type in abundant supply: fat cells. The team of cardiologists and plastic surgeons found adipose fat cells to be much more efficient than skin cells at turning back into stem cells.

Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2009: "Stem cell researchers uncover promise in fat":

That fat you've been carrying on your hips, thighs and belly can be transformed with relative ease into cells that eventually may be capable of repairing a wide range of your damaged or diseased tissues, according to a new report by Stanford University researchers. Stem cells found in fat deposits, it turns out, are more primitive than are many adult stem cells harvested from tissues such as skin and blood. With comparatively less effort than is required to make, for instance, a stem cell derived from skin return to an undifferentiated cell form, fat cells can be reprogrammed to become muscle, neuron and stomach lining cells, finds a new study slated for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Reuters, September 8, 2009, 6:48pm EDT: "Liposuction leftovers make easy stem cells: study":

Fat sucked out of chunky thighs or flabby bellies might provide an easy source of stem cells made using new and promising technology, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They found immature fat cells in the material removed during liposuction were easy to transform into cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. They were easier to work with than the skin cells usually used to make iPS cells, the team at Stanford University's School of Medicine in California reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. IPS cells are made using genes that take them back in time to a more immature and pliable state. They can then be re-directed to form heart cells, bone cells, brain cells or any other type of desired cell.

Nature, 7 September 2009: "Flab and freckles could advance stem cell research":

"Fat cells and pigment-producing skin cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells much faster and more efficiently than the skin cells that are usually used — suggesting large bellies and little black moles could provide much-needed material for deriving patient-specific stem cells."

San Jose Mercury News, September 7, 2009: "Stanford scientists turn liposuction leftovers into embryonic-like stem cells":

In medicine's version of winning the daily double, Stanford University researchers took ordinary fat cells and transformed them into what are effectively embryonic stem cells — those versatile cellular building blocks that can morph into a variety of tissues. Scientists warn it's too soon to use excess fat to cure disease. But in theory, it would allow people to grow personalized replacement parts for ailing organs. And it avoids the use of embryos, which has embroiled the field in political and ethical debates.

Bloomberg News, September 7, 2009: "Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin in Study":

Human fat, widely available and easily harvested with liposuction, morphed into stem cells more efficiently than skin cells in a study, giving scientists an alternative to the use of embryonic cells. Three years ago, Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University in Japan, showed that skin cells could be genetically manipulated to become any other cell type, much like embryonic stem cells. This process was hailed as avoiding the destruction of embryos and letting scientists create new therapies by making stem cells from patients who are ill.
Since then, researchers have sought to overcome two drawbacks to Yamanaka’s method. One is that the viruses and genes used to reprogram skin cells can trigger tumor growth. The second is that the process is inefficient, with less than 1 percent of skin cells becoming all-purpose cells. The new research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may solve the second problem.

New Type Of Adult Stem Cells Found In Prostate May Be Involved In Cancer Development

Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Date: September 9, 2009

Summary:

A new type of stem cell discovered in the prostate of adult mice can be a source of prostate cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The researchers found the rare stem cells, called CARNs (which stands for “castration-resistant Nkx3.1-expressing cells”), within the ducts inside the mouse prostate. The stem cells are involved in regenerating prostate tissue, but the researchers also found that CARNs can give rise to cancer if certain tumor suppressor genes in the cells are inactivated. The findings will be published in an advance online edition of Nature on September 9, 2009.

'Liposuction Leftovers' Easily Converted To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: September 7, 2009

Summary:

Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford’s School of Medicine. The fact that the cells can also be converted without the need for mouse-derived “feeder cells” may make them an ideal starting material for human therapies. Feeder cells are often used when growing human skin cells outside the body, but physicians worry that cross-species contamination could make them unsuitable for human use. The findings will be published online Sept. 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers identify protein controlling brain formation

Source: University of Toronto
Date: September 4, 2009

Summary:

Researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a protein which plays a key role in the development of neurons, which could enhance our understanding of how the brain works and how diseases such as Alzheimer's occur. U of T graduate student John Calarco, working in the labs of Professor Ben Blencowe (Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto) and Professor Mei Zhen (Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital), has identified a protein known as nSR100, which is only found in vertebrate species and which controls a network of "alternative splicing events" that are located in the messages of genes with critical functions in the formation of the nervous system. The findings are published in a paper in the current edition of the journal Cell.

Neurobiologists Identify an Essential Protein for Axon Regrowth in Animal Model

Source: University of California - San Diego
September 2, 2009

Summary:

Neurobiologists working with Yishi Jin at UC San Diego have shown that a protein called DLK-1 helps axons find their way and form proper connections once they reach the correct destination. DLK-1 works through a short chain of chemical signals that preserve the recipe for a particular protein. Jin and Andrew Chisholm, both biology professors at UC San Diego, and their co-authors report their finding this week in the journal Cell.

Study reveals benefit of adult stem cells for acute lung injury

Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: September 1, 2009

Summary:

UCSF scientists have demonstrated that adult human mesenchymal stem cells reverse the effects of injury in a novel human lung preparation in the lab. The finding, they say, could lead to the development of stem cell therapies for patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, conditions that presently have a high rate of mortality and no pharmacological treatments. Their study is published in the September 1 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.