Source: Gladstone Institutes
Date: July 28, 2011
Summary:
A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has discovered a novel way to convert human skin cells into brain cells, advancing medicine and human health by offering new hope for regenerative medicine and personalized drug discovery and development.
In a paper being published online today in the scientific journal Cell Stem Cell, Sheng Ding, PhD, reveals efficient and robust methods for transforming adult skin cells into neurons that are capable of transmitting brain signals, marking one of the first documented experiments for transforming an adult human's skin cells into functioning brain cells.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cystic fibrosis-associated changes in lung stem cells may contribute to disease progression
Source: University of Iowa
Date: July 25, 2011
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Iowa's Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have discovered that in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the airway glands are depleted of a specific population of airway stem cells that participate in airway repair following injury. Their results are published in the July 18 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Date: July 25, 2011
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Iowa's Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have discovered that in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the airway glands are depleted of a specific population of airway stem cells that participate in airway repair following injury. Their results are published in the July 18 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Scientists Complete First Mapping of Molecule Found in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: July 22, 2011
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have generated the first genome-wide mapping of a DNA modification called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in embryonic stem cells, and discovered that it is predominantly found in genes that are turned on, or active. The finding by researchers with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA may prove to be important in controlling diseases like cancer, where the regulation of certain genes plays a role in disease development. The study appears in the July issue of the journal Genome Biology.
Date: July 22, 2011
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have generated the first genome-wide mapping of a DNA modification called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in embryonic stem cells, and discovered that it is predominantly found in genes that are turned on, or active. The finding by researchers with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA may prove to be important in controlling diseases like cancer, where the regulation of certain genes plays a role in disease development. The study appears in the July issue of the journal Genome Biology.
Monday, July 18, 2011
USC Research: Cancer Cells and Stem Cells Share Same Origin
Source: University of Southern California
Date: July 18, 2011
Summary:
Oncogenes are generally thought to be genes that, when mutated, change healthy cells into cancerous tumor cells. Scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have proven that those genes also can change normal cells into stem-like cells, paving the way to a safer and more practical approach to treating diseases like multiple sclerosis and cancer with stem cell therapy.
Zhong and colleagues at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in California and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in New York successfully converted human skin cells into brain cells by suppressing the expression of p53, a protein encoded by a widely studied oncogene. This suggests that p53 mutation helps determine cell fate — good or bad — rather than only the outcome of cancer.
The study is slated to appear in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the week of July 18, 2011.
Date: July 18, 2011
Summary:
Oncogenes are generally thought to be genes that, when mutated, change healthy cells into cancerous tumor cells. Scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have proven that those genes also can change normal cells into stem-like cells, paving the way to a safer and more practical approach to treating diseases like multiple sclerosis and cancer with stem cell therapy.
Zhong and colleagues at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in California and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in New York successfully converted human skin cells into brain cells by suppressing the expression of p53, a protein encoded by a widely studied oncogene. This suggests that p53 mutation helps determine cell fate — good or bad — rather than only the outcome of cancer.
The study is slated to appear in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the week of July 18, 2011.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
New technique boosts efficiency of blood cell production from human stem cells
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: July 14, 2011
Summary:
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed an improved technique for generating large numbers of blood cells from a patient's own cells. The new technique will be immediately useful in further stem cell studies, and when perfected, could be used in stem cell therapies for a wide variety of conditions including cancers and immune ailments. The report is published in the July edition of the journal Stem Cells.
Date: July 14, 2011
Summary:
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed an improved technique for generating large numbers of blood cells from a patient's own cells. The new technique will be immediately useful in further stem cell studies, and when perfected, could be used in stem cell therapies for a wide variety of conditions including cancers and immune ailments. The report is published in the July edition of the journal Stem Cells.
First patients treated in new human embryonic stem cell study
Source: Washington Post
Posted: July 14, 2011 08:30 AM ET
Summary:
The Washington Post reports researchers have treated the first two patients in the second government-authorized attempt to evaluate a therapy created using human embryonic stem cells to treat Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness:
Posted: July 14, 2011 08:30 AM ET
Summary:
The Washington Post reports researchers have treated the first two patients in the second government-authorized attempt to evaluate a therapy created using human embryonic stem cells to treat Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness:
Researchers have treated the first two patients in the second government-authorized attempt to evaluate a therapy created using human embryonic stem cells in the United States. A team led by Steven Schwartz at UCLA administered about 50,000 cells Tuesday into one eye of a volunteer suffering from Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness that usually begins in childhood, and another with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, Advanced Cell Technology, which is sponsoring the study, announced Thursday.
ACT Announces First Patients Undergo Embryonic Stem Cell Transplantation Treatment for Stargardt's Disease and Macular Degeneration
Source: Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.
Date: July 14, 2011
Summary:
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. -- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced the dosing of the first patients in each of its two Phase 1/2 clinical trials for Stargardt's macular dystrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The patients were treated Tuesday (July 12) by Steven Schwartz, M.D., Ahmanson Professor of Ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and retina division chief at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. Robert Lanza, M.D., chief scientific officer of ACT, attended the procedures. Both patients successfully underwent the outpatient transplantation surgeries and are recovering uneventfully.
Date: July 14, 2011
Summary:
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. -- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced the dosing of the first patients in each of its two Phase 1/2 clinical trials for Stargardt's macular dystrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The patients were treated Tuesday (July 12) by Steven Schwartz, M.D., Ahmanson Professor of Ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and retina division chief at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. Robert Lanza, M.D., chief scientific officer of ACT, attended the procedures. Both patients successfully underwent the outpatient transplantation surgeries and are recovering uneventfully.
Hope for millions of Alzheimer's sufferers as scientists make brain cells from human skin
Source: The Independent
Date: 14 July 2011
The Independent reports researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have converted adult skin cells directly into mature nerve cells:
Date: 14 July 2011
The Independent reports researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have converted adult skin cells directly into mature nerve cells:
Skin cells from a 30-year-old woman have been turned directly into mature nerve cells similar to those found in the brain using a procedure that promises to revolutionise the emerging field of regenerative medicine. Scientists said they were astonished to discover that they could convert a person's skin tissue into functioning nerve cells – bypassing an intermediate stem-cell stage – by the relatively simple procedure of adding a few short strands of RNA, a genetic molecule similar to DNA. The breakthrough could soon lead to the generation of different types of human brain cells in a test tube which could be used to study a range of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Efficient process using microRNA converts human skin cells into neurons, study shows
Source: Stanford University
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
The addition of two particular gene snippets to a skin cell’s usual genetic material is enough to turn that cell into a fully functional neuron, report researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding, published online July 13 in Nature, is one of just a few recent reports of ways to create human neurons in a lab dish. The new capability to essentially grow neurons from scratch is a big step for neuroscience research, which has been stymied by the lack of human neurons for study.
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
The addition of two particular gene snippets to a skin cell’s usual genetic material is enough to turn that cell into a fully functional neuron, report researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding, published online July 13 in Nature, is one of just a few recent reports of ways to create human neurons in a lab dish. The new capability to essentially grow neurons from scratch is a big step for neuroscience research, which has been stymied by the lack of human neurons for study.
Stem cells restore cognitive abilities impaired by brain cancer treatment
Source: University of California - Irvine
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
— Irvine, Calif. — Human neural stem cells are capable of helping people regain learning and memory abilities lost due to radiation treatment for brain tumors, a UC Irvine study suggests. Research with rats found that stem cells transplanted two days after cranial irradiation restored cognitive function, as measured in one- and four-month assessments. In contrast, irradiated rats not treated with stem cells showed no cognitive improvement. Study results appear in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The Orange County Register published a news story about this finding today.
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
— Irvine, Calif. — Human neural stem cells are capable of helping people regain learning and memory abilities lost due to radiation treatment for brain tumors, a UC Irvine study suggests. Research with rats found that stem cells transplanted two days after cranial irradiation restored cognitive function, as measured in one- and four-month assessments. In contrast, irradiated rats not treated with stem cells showed no cognitive improvement. Study results appear in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The Orange County Register published a news story about this finding today.
Researchers Demystify a Fountain of Youth in the Adult Brain
Source: Duke University Medical Center
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that a “fountain of youth” that sustains the production of new neurons in the brains of rodents is also believed to be present in the human brain. The existence of a vital support system of cells around stem cells in the brain explains why stem cells by themselves can’t generate neurons in a lab dish, a major roadblock in using these stem cells for injury repair. The study is the cover story in the July issue of Neuron, published online July 14.
Date: July 13, 2011
Summary:
Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that a “fountain of youth” that sustains the production of new neurons in the brains of rodents is also believed to be present in the human brain. The existence of a vital support system of cells around stem cells in the brain explains why stem cells by themselves can’t generate neurons in a lab dish, a major roadblock in using these stem cells for injury repair. The study is the cover story in the July issue of Neuron, published online July 14.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Protein Switch Controls How Stem Cells Turn Into New Heart Tissue
Source: University of Oxford
Date: 12 July 2011
Summary:
Oxford University researchers have identified a protein that can direct stem cells to become either new heart muscle or blood vessels. The research, which was carried out in zebrafish, offers insight into how it might be possible one day to generate tissues to repair the human heart after damage inflicted by a heart attack.
The scientists, based at the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the University of Oxford, identified a protein called 'fibroblast growth factor' (Fgf) as the controlling factor which determines whether developing heart cells become heart muscle or blood vessels. They showed that manipulating levels of Fgf in zebrafish embryos could determine how much of each cell type was made.
The research, funded by the Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation, is published in the journal Development.
Date: 12 July 2011
Summary:
Oxford University researchers have identified a protein that can direct stem cells to become either new heart muscle or blood vessels. The research, which was carried out in zebrafish, offers insight into how it might be possible one day to generate tissues to repair the human heart after damage inflicted by a heart attack.
The scientists, based at the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the University of Oxford, identified a protein called 'fibroblast growth factor' (Fgf) as the controlling factor which determines whether developing heart cells become heart muscle or blood vessels. They showed that manipulating levels of Fgf in zebrafish embryos could determine how much of each cell type was made.
The research, funded by the Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation, is published in the journal Development.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Hutchinson Center to lead a $20 million research project to explore a potential cure for HIV infection
Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Date: July 11, 2011
Summary:
SEATTLE — Whether a stem cell transplant using an HIV-infected person’s own genetically modified immune cells can become a cure for the disease is the focus of a new $20 million, five-year research grant award announced today by the National Institutes of Health to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Hutchinson Center researchers will use the grant to lead a multifaceted team of scientists and institutions to study whether a person’s own stem cells can be engineered to deny HIV entry into the body’s blood cells. The researchers also will work to develop tools to eradicate existing reservoirs of infection in the body.
Date: July 11, 2011
Summary:
SEATTLE — Whether a stem cell transplant using an HIV-infected person’s own genetically modified immune cells can become a cure for the disease is the focus of a new $20 million, five-year research grant award announced today by the National Institutes of Health to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Hutchinson Center researchers will use the grant to lead a multifaceted team of scientists and institutions to study whether a person’s own stem cells can be engineered to deny HIV entry into the body’s blood cells. The researchers also will work to develop tools to eradicate existing reservoirs of infection in the body.
Key Protein Reveals Secret of Stem Cell Pluripotency
Source: RIKEN
Date: July 11, 2011
Summary:
A protein that helps maintain mouse stem cell pluripotency has been identified by researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center. The finding, published in the August issue of Stem Cells (first published online July 26, 2011), points the way to advances in regenerative medicine and more effective culturing techniques for human pluripotent stem cells.
Date: July 11, 2011
Summary:
A protein that helps maintain mouse stem cell pluripotency has been identified by researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center. The finding, published in the August issue of Stem Cells (first published online July 26, 2011), points the way to advances in regenerative medicine and more effective culturing techniques for human pluripotent stem cells.
Friday, July 08, 2011
A Change of Heart: Researchers Reprogram Brain Cells to Become Heart Cells
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Date: July 8, 2011
Summary:
PHILADELPHIA — For the past decade, researchers have tried to reprogram the identity of all kinds of cell types. Heart cells are one of the most sought-after cells in regenerative medicine because researchers anticipate that they may help to repair injured hearts by replacing lost tissue. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first to demonstrate the direct conversion of a non-heart cell type into a heart cell by RNA transfer. Working on the idea that the signature of a cell is defined by molecules called messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which contain the chemical blueprint for how to make a protein, the investigators changed two different cell types, an astrocyte (a star-shaped brain cell) and a fibroblast (a skin cell), into a heart cell, using mRNAs. The researchers reported the findings online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This approach offers the possibility for cell-based therapy for cardiovascular diseases.
Date: July 8, 2011
Summary:
PHILADELPHIA — For the past decade, researchers have tried to reprogram the identity of all kinds of cell types. Heart cells are one of the most sought-after cells in regenerative medicine because researchers anticipate that they may help to repair injured hearts by replacing lost tissue. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first to demonstrate the direct conversion of a non-heart cell type into a heart cell by RNA transfer. Working on the idea that the signature of a cell is defined by molecules called messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which contain the chemical blueprint for how to make a protein, the investigators changed two different cell types, an astrocyte (a star-shaped brain cell) and a fibroblast (a skin cell), into a heart cell, using mRNAs. The researchers reported the findings online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This approach offers the possibility for cell-based therapy for cardiovascular diseases.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
First Successful Transplantation of a Synthetic Tissue Engineered Windpipe
Source: Karolinska University Hospital
Date: July 7, 2011
Summary:
For the first time in history, a patient has been given a new trachea made from a synthetic scaffold seeded with his own stem cells. The operation was performed on June 9th 2011 at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, Stockholm, by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, of Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, and colleagues.
The patient, a 36-year old man, is well on the way to full recovery from the recent operation in Sweden and is now being discharged from the hospital. Researchers produced a specifically designed bioreactor used to seed the scaffold with the patient's own stem cells. The cells were grown on the scaffold inside the bioreactor for two days before transplantation to the patient. Because the cells used to regenerate the trachea were the patient's own, there has been no rejection of the transplant and the patient is not taking immunosuppressive drugs.
The successful transplantation of tissue engineered synthetic organs, referred to as regenerative medicine, could open new and very promising therapeutic possibilities for the thousands of patients who suffer from tracheal cancer or other conditions that destroy, block or constrict the airway.
Date: July 7, 2011
Summary:
For the first time in history, a patient has been given a new trachea made from a synthetic scaffold seeded with his own stem cells. The operation was performed on June 9th 2011 at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, Stockholm, by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, of Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, and colleagues.
The patient, a 36-year old man, is well on the way to full recovery from the recent operation in Sweden and is now being discharged from the hospital. Researchers produced a specifically designed bioreactor used to seed the scaffold with the patient's own stem cells. The cells were grown on the scaffold inside the bioreactor for two days before transplantation to the patient. Because the cells used to regenerate the trachea were the patient's own, there has been no rejection of the transplant and the patient is not taking immunosuppressive drugs.
The successful transplantation of tissue engineered synthetic organs, referred to as regenerative medicine, could open new and very promising therapeutic possibilities for the thousands of patients who suffer from tracheal cancer or other conditions that destroy, block or constrict the airway.
'Pure' human blood stem-cell discovery opens door to expanding cells for more clinical use
Source: University Health Network
Date: July 7, 2011
Summary:
For the first time since stem cells were discovered here 50 years ago, University Health Network scientists have isolated a human blood stem cell in its purest form – as a single stem cell capable of regenerating the entire blood system. This breakthrough opens the door to harnessing the power of these life-producing cells to treat cancer and other debilitating diseases more effectively. The research is published today in Science.
Date: July 7, 2011
Summary:
For the first time since stem cells were discovered here 50 years ago, University Health Network scientists have isolated a human blood stem cell in its purest form – as a single stem cell capable of regenerating the entire blood system. This breakthrough opens the door to harnessing the power of these life-producing cells to treat cancer and other debilitating diseases more effectively. The research is published today in Science.
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