Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Date: April 30, 2012
Summary:
A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Human Genome Research Institute has evaluated the whole genomic sequence of stem cells derived from human bone marrow cells -- so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- and found that relatively few genetic changes occur during stem cell conversion by an improved method. The findings, reported in the March issue of Cell Stem Cell, the official journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), will be presented at the annual ISSCR meeting in June.
Each time a cell divides, it has the chance to make errors and incorporate new genetic changes in its DNA, Cheng explains. Some genetic changes can be harmless, but others can lead to changes in cell behavior that may lead to disease and, in the worst case, to cancer. In the new study, the researchers showed that iPS cells derived from adult bone marrow cells contain random genetic changes that do not specifically predispose the cells to form cancer.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Growing up a neural stem cell: The importance of clinging together and then letting go
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have identified new components of the genetic pathway that controls the adhesive properties and proliferation of neural stem cells and the formation of neurons in early development.
The finding by scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA could be important because errors in this pathway can lead to a variety of birth defects that affect the structure of the nervous system, as well as more subtle changes that impair cognitive and motor functions associated with disorders such as autism.
The results of the four-year study are published April 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Neuron.
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have identified new components of the genetic pathway that controls the adhesive properties and proliferation of neural stem cells and the formation of neurons in early development.
The finding by scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA could be important because errors in this pathway can lead to a variety of birth defects that affect the structure of the nervous system, as well as more subtle changes that impair cognitive and motor functions associated with disorders such as autism.
The results of the four-year study are published April 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Neuron.
Stem cell researchers map new knowledge about insulin production
Source: University of Copenhagen
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
Scientists from The Danish Stem Cell Center (DanStem) at the University of Copenhagen and Hagedorn Research Institute have gained new insight into the signaling paths that control the body's insulin production. This is important knowledge with respect to their final goal: the conversion of stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells that can be implanted into patients who need them. The research results have just been published in the well-respected journal PNAS.
Insulin is a hormone produced by beta cells in the pancreas. If these beta cells are defective, the body develops diabetes. Insulin is vital to life and therefore today the people who cannot produce their own in sufficient quantities, or at all, receive carefully measured doses – often via several daily injections. Scientists hope that in the not-so-distant future it will be possible to treat diabetes more effectively and prevent secondary diseases such as cardiac disease, blindness and nerve and kidney complications by offering diabetes patients implants of new, well-functioning, stem-cell-based beta cells.
This new knowledge about the characteristics of the Notch signaling mechanism will enable scientists to design new experimental ways to cultivate stem cells so that they can be more effectively converted into insulin-producing beta cells.
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
Scientists from The Danish Stem Cell Center (DanStem) at the University of Copenhagen and Hagedorn Research Institute have gained new insight into the signaling paths that control the body's insulin production. This is important knowledge with respect to their final goal: the conversion of stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells that can be implanted into patients who need them. The research results have just been published in the well-respected journal PNAS.
Insulin is a hormone produced by beta cells in the pancreas. If these beta cells are defective, the body develops diabetes. Insulin is vital to life and therefore today the people who cannot produce their own in sufficient quantities, or at all, receive carefully measured doses – often via several daily injections. Scientists hope that in the not-so-distant future it will be possible to treat diabetes more effectively and prevent secondary diseases such as cardiac disease, blindness and nerve and kidney complications by offering diabetes patients implants of new, well-functioning, stem-cell-based beta cells.
This new knowledge about the characteristics of the Notch signaling mechanism will enable scientists to design new experimental ways to cultivate stem cells so that they can be more effectively converted into insulin-producing beta cells.
How Stem Cell Therapy Can Keep the Immune System Under Control
Source: University of Southern California
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
A new study, appearing in Cell Stem Cell and led by researchers at the University of Southern California, outlines the specifics of how autoimmune disorders can be controlled by infusions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Highly versatile MSC originate from the mesoderm, or middle layer of tissue, in a developing embryo. MSC can be isolated from several kinds of human tissue, including bone marrow and the umbilical cord.
Date: April 26, 2012
Summary:
A new study, appearing in Cell Stem Cell and led by researchers at the University of Southern California, outlines the specifics of how autoimmune disorders can be controlled by infusions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Highly versatile MSC originate from the mesoderm, or middle layer of tissue, in a developing embryo. MSC can be isolated from several kinds of human tissue, including bone marrow and the umbilical cord.
Monday, April 23, 2012
New Stem Cell Found in the Brain
Source: Lund University
Date: 23 April 2012
Summary:
Researchers at Lund University have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Now the researchers hope to put the discovery to use to develop methods that can repair diseases and injury to the brain.
Analysing brain tissue from biopsies, the researchers for the first time found stem cells located around small blood vessels in the brain. The cell’s specific function is still unclear, but its plastic properties suggest great potential. A similar cell type has been identified in several other organs where it can promote regeneration of muscle, bone, cartilage and adipose tissue.
In other organs, researchers have shown clear evidence that these types of cells contribute to repair and wound healing. Scientists suggest that the curative properties may also apply to thebrain. The next step is to try to control and enhance stem cell self-healing properties with the aim of carrying out therapies targeted to a specific area of the brain.
The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is of interest to a broad spectrum of brain research. Future possible therapeutic targets range from neurodegenerative diseases to stroke.
Date: 23 April 2012
Summary:
Researchers at Lund University have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Now the researchers hope to put the discovery to use to develop methods that can repair diseases and injury to the brain.
Analysing brain tissue from biopsies, the researchers for the first time found stem cells located around small blood vessels in the brain. The cell’s specific function is still unclear, but its plastic properties suggest great potential. A similar cell type has been identified in several other organs where it can promote regeneration of muscle, bone, cartilage and adipose tissue.
In other organs, researchers have shown clear evidence that these types of cells contribute to repair and wound healing. Scientists suggest that the curative properties may also apply to thebrain. The next step is to try to control and enhance stem cell self-healing properties with the aim of carrying out therapies targeted to a specific area of the brain.
The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is of interest to a broad spectrum of brain research. Future possible therapeutic targets range from neurodegenerative diseases to stroke.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
“Housekeeping” Mechanism for Brain Stem Cells Discovered
Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Date: April 22, 2012
Summary:
New York, NY — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain’s stem cells. The discovery offers new insights into normal and abnormal neurologic development and could eventually lead to regenerative therapies for neurologic disease and injury. The findings, from a collaborative effort of the laboratories of Drs. Anna Lasorella and Antonio Iavarone, were published today in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology.
Date: April 22, 2012
Summary:
New York, NY — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain’s stem cells. The discovery offers new insights into normal and abnormal neurologic development and could eventually lead to regenerative therapies for neurologic disease and injury. The findings, from a collaborative effort of the laboratories of Drs. Anna Lasorella and Antonio Iavarone, were published today in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology.
Friday, April 20, 2012
New Technique May Help Severely Damaged Nerves Regrow and Restore Function
Source: University of Sheffield
Date: 20 April 2012
Summary:
Engineers at the University of Sheffield have developed a method of assisting nerves damaged by traumatic accidents to repair naturally, which could improve the chances of restoring sensation and movement in injured limbs. In a collaborative study with Laser Zentrum Hannover (Germany) published today (23 April 2012) in the journal Biofabrication, the team describes a new method for making medical devices called nerve guidance conduits or NGCs. The method is based on laser direct writing, which enables the fabrication of complex structures from computer files via the use of CAD/CAM (computer aided design/manufacturing), and has allowed the research team to manufacture NGCs with designs that are far more advanced than previously possible.
Date: 20 April 2012
Summary:
Engineers at the University of Sheffield have developed a method of assisting nerves damaged by traumatic accidents to repair naturally, which could improve the chances of restoring sensation and movement in injured limbs. In a collaborative study with Laser Zentrum Hannover (Germany) published today (23 April 2012) in the journal Biofabrication, the team describes a new method for making medical devices called nerve guidance conduits or NGCs. The method is based on laser direct writing, which enables the fabrication of complex structures from computer files via the use of CAD/CAM (computer aided design/manufacturing), and has allowed the research team to manufacture NGCs with designs that are far more advanced than previously possible.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Scientists show that lab-made heart cells can be ideal model for disease research, drug testing
Source: Stanford University School of Medicine
Date: April 18, 2012
Summary:
Heart-like cells made in the laboratory from the skin of patients with a common cardiac condition contract less strongly than similarly created cells from unaffected family members, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The cells also exhibit abnormal structure and respond only dully to the wave of calcium signals that initiate each heartbeat.
The finding used induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cell technology to create heart-muscle-like cells from the skin of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, which is one of the leading causes of heart failure and heart transplantation in the United States. It adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that iPS cells can faithfully reflect the disease status of the patients from whom they are derived. Using the newly created diseased and normal cells, the researchers were able to directly observe for the first time the effect of a common beta blocker drug, as well as validate the potential usefulness of a gene therapy approach currently in clinical trials.
The research is published April 18 in Science Translational Medicine.
Date: April 18, 2012
Summary:
Heart-like cells made in the laboratory from the skin of patients with a common cardiac condition contract less strongly than similarly created cells from unaffected family members, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The cells also exhibit abnormal structure and respond only dully to the wave of calcium signals that initiate each heartbeat.
The finding used induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cell technology to create heart-muscle-like cells from the skin of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, which is one of the leading causes of heart failure and heart transplantation in the United States. It adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that iPS cells can faithfully reflect the disease status of the patients from whom they are derived. Using the newly created diseased and normal cells, the researchers were able to directly observe for the first time the effect of a common beta blocker drug, as well as validate the potential usefulness of a gene therapy approach currently in clinical trials.
The research is published April 18 in Science Translational Medicine.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Scientists Find Neural Stem Cell Regulator
Source: University of Colorado Denver
Date: April 16, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that lack of a specific gene interrupts neural tube closure, a condition that can cause death or paralysis. The study was the cover story this week in the journal Genes & Development.
The researchers made their findings while studying neural stem cells in mice. They said the cells use distinct self-renewal programs to meet the demand of tissue growth and repair during different stages of embryonic development. The molecular mechanisms that control these programs remain largely unknown. The researchers discovered that the gene mLin41 in mice controls the extent of neural stem cell proliferation during the process of neural closure but not at the later stage of brain development.
Date: April 16, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that lack of a specific gene interrupts neural tube closure, a condition that can cause death or paralysis. The study was the cover story this week in the journal Genes & Development.
The researchers made their findings while studying neural stem cells in mice. They said the cells use distinct self-renewal programs to meet the demand of tissue growth and repair during different stages of embryonic development. The molecular mechanisms that control these programs remain largely unknown. The researchers discovered that the gene mLin41 in mice controls the extent of neural stem cell proliferation during the process of neural closure but not at the later stage of brain development.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Engineered Stem Cells Seek out and Kill HIV in Living Mice
Source: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences
Date: April 12, 2012
Summary:
Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.
The study, published April 12 in the journal PLoS Pathogens, demonstrates for the first time that engineering stem cells to form immune cells that target HIV is effective in suppressing the virus in living tissues in an animal model, said lead investigator Scott G. Kitchen, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute.
Date: April 12, 2012
Summary:
Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.
The study, published April 12 in the journal PLoS Pathogens, demonstrates for the first time that engineering stem cells to form immune cells that target HIV is effective in suppressing the virus in living tissues in an animal model, said lead investigator Scott G. Kitchen, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute.
Determining a Stem Cell's Fate: Biologists Scour Mouse Genome for Genes and Markers That Lead to T Cells
Source: California Institute of Technology
Date: April 12, 2012
Summary:
In studies that mark a major step forward in the understanding of stem cells' fates, a team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has traced the stepwise developmental process that ensures certain stem cells will become T cells -- cells of the immune system that help destroy invading pathogens. The group's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Cell.
The researchers studied multipotent hematopoietic precursor cells -- stem-cell-like cells that express a wide variety of genes and have the capability to differentiate into a number of different blood-cell types, including those of the immune system. Taking into consideration the entire mouse genome, the researchers pinpointed all the genes that play a role in transforming such precursor cells into committed T cells and identified when in the developmental process they each turn on. At the same time, the researchers tracked genes that could guide the precursor cells to various alternative pathways. The results showed not only when but also how the T-cell-development process turned off the genes promoting alternative fates.
Date: April 12, 2012
Summary:
In studies that mark a major step forward in the understanding of stem cells' fates, a team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has traced the stepwise developmental process that ensures certain stem cells will become T cells -- cells of the immune system that help destroy invading pathogens. The group's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Cell.
The researchers studied multipotent hematopoietic precursor cells -- stem-cell-like cells that express a wide variety of genes and have the capability to differentiate into a number of different blood-cell types, including those of the immune system. Taking into consideration the entire mouse genome, the researchers pinpointed all the genes that play a role in transforming such precursor cells into committed T cells and identified when in the developmental process they each turn on. At the same time, the researchers tracked genes that could guide the precursor cells to various alternative pathways. The results showed not only when but also how the T-cell-development process turned off the genes promoting alternative fates.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Stem Cells from Pelvic Bone May Preserve Heart Function
Source: Orlando Health
Date: April 11, 2012
Summary:
Stem cells from the pelvic bone may help hearts beat stronger. Doctors and other clinicians at the Orlando Health Heart Institute are researching the use of stem cells from pelvic bone marrow to restore tissue and improve heart function after muscle damage from heart attacks.
Date: April 11, 2012
Summary:
Stem cells from the pelvic bone may help hearts beat stronger. Doctors and other clinicians at the Orlando Health Heart Institute are researching the use of stem cells from pelvic bone marrow to restore tissue and improve heart function after muscle damage from heart attacks.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Big Advance Against Cystic Fibrosis: Stem Cell Researchers Create Lung Surface Tissue in a Dish
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Harvard stem cell researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have taken a critical step in making possible the discovery in the relatively near future of a drug to control cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal lung disease that claims about 500 lives each year, with 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
Beginning with the skin cells of patients with CF, Jayaraj Rajagopal, MD, and colleagues first created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, and then used those cells to create human disease-specific functioning lung epithelium, the tissue that lines the airways and is the site of the most lethal aspect of CF, where the genes cause irreversible lung disease and inexorable respiratory failure.
That tissue, which researchers now can grow in unlimited quantities in the laboratory, contains the delta-508 mutation, the gene responsible for about 70 percent of all CF cases and 90 percent of the ones in the United States. The tissue also contains the G551D mutation, a gene that is involved in about 2 percent of CF cases and the one cause of the disease for which there is now a drug.
The work is featured on the cover of this month's Cell Stem Cell journal. Postdoctoral fellow Hongmei Mou, PhD, is first author on the paper, and Rajagopal is the senior author.
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Harvard stem cell researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have taken a critical step in making possible the discovery in the relatively near future of a drug to control cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal lung disease that claims about 500 lives each year, with 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
Beginning with the skin cells of patients with CF, Jayaraj Rajagopal, MD, and colleagues first created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, and then used those cells to create human disease-specific functioning lung epithelium, the tissue that lines the airways and is the site of the most lethal aspect of CF, where the genes cause irreversible lung disease and inexorable respiratory failure.
That tissue, which researchers now can grow in unlimited quantities in the laboratory, contains the delta-508 mutation, the gene responsible for about 70 percent of all CF cases and 90 percent of the ones in the United States. The tissue also contains the G551D mutation, a gene that is involved in about 2 percent of CF cases and the one cause of the disease for which there is now a drug.
The work is featured on the cover of this month's Cell Stem Cell journal. Postdoctoral fellow Hongmei Mou, PhD, is first author on the paper, and Rajagopal is the senior author.
New Stem Cell Line Provides Safe, Prolific Source for Disease Modeling and Transplant Studies
Source: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have generated a new type of human stem cell that can develop into numerous types of specialized cells, including functioning pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Called endodermal progenitor (EP) cells, the new cells show two important advantages over embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells: they do not form tumors when transplanted into animals, and they can form functional pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory. The study is published April 6 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have generated a new type of human stem cell that can develop into numerous types of specialized cells, including functioning pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Called endodermal progenitor (EP) cells, the new cells show two important advantages over embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells: they do not form tumors when transplanted into animals, and they can form functional pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory. The study is published April 6 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
To Prevent Leukemia's Dreaded Return, Go for the Stem Cells
Source: Cell Press
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers reporting in the April Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press publication, have found a way to stop leukemia stem cells in their tracks. The advance in mice suggests that a combination approach to therapy might stamp out chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for good.
The Cell Stem Cell study focused on a pathway known to be important in blood stem cells during development but not in adulthood. The new findings in mice suggest that leukemia stem cells revert back to their dependence on that early developmental pathway.
That leaves leukemia stem cells vulnerable to treatments aimed at the so-called β-catenin pathway in a way that normal blood stem cells aren't. The evidence shows that imatinib plus the loss of β-catenin can help to prevent recurrence of the disease. β-catenin inhibitors given to mice also helped to eliminate leukemia stem cells, as did a pain-relieving drug already in use that lowers β-catenin levels, if indirectly.
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers reporting in the April Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press publication, have found a way to stop leukemia stem cells in their tracks. The advance in mice suggests that a combination approach to therapy might stamp out chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for good.
The Cell Stem Cell study focused on a pathway known to be important in blood stem cells during development but not in adulthood. The new findings in mice suggest that leukemia stem cells revert back to their dependence on that early developmental pathway.
That leaves leukemia stem cells vulnerable to treatments aimed at the so-called β-catenin pathway in a way that normal blood stem cells aren't. The evidence shows that imatinib plus the loss of β-catenin can help to prevent recurrence of the disease. β-catenin inhibitors given to mice also helped to eliminate leukemia stem cells, as did a pain-relieving drug already in use that lowers β-catenin levels, if indirectly.
Researchers Derive Purified Lung and Thyroid Progenitors from Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: Boston University Medical Center
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation. The research, which will be published in the April 6 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, identifies factors necessary for embryonic stem cells to differentiate into lung progenitor cells and provides key information about how the tissue engineering technology can be used to develop new gene and cell-based therapies to treat lung diseases.
Date: April 5, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation. The research, which will be published in the April 6 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, identifies factors necessary for embryonic stem cells to differentiate into lung progenitor cells and provides key information about how the tissue engineering technology can be used to develop new gene and cell-based therapies to treat lung diseases.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Arsenic Turns Stem Cells Cancerous, Spurring Tumor Growth
Source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
April 4, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health have discovered how exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. Inorganic arsenic, which affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen. A growing body of evidence suggests that cancer is a stem-cell based disease. Normal stem cells are essential to normal tissue regeneration, and to the stability of organisms and processes. But cancer stem cells are thought to be the driving force for the formation, growth, and spread of tumors.
The researchers had shown previously that normal cells become cancerous when they are treated with inorganic arsenic. This new study shows that when these cancer cells are placed near, but not in contact with normal stem cells, the normal stem cells very rapidly acquire the characteristics of cancer stem cells. It demonstrates that malignant cells are able to send molecular signals through a semi-permeable membrane, where cells can’t normally pass, and turn the normal stem cells into cancer stem cells.
This reveals a potentially important aspect of arsenic carcinogenesis and may help explain observances by researchers working with arsenic that arsenic often causes multiple tumors of many types to form on the skin or inside the body. The paper is online in Environmental Health Perspectives.
April 4, 2012
Summary:
Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health have discovered how exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. Inorganic arsenic, which affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen. A growing body of evidence suggests that cancer is a stem-cell based disease. Normal stem cells are essential to normal tissue regeneration, and to the stability of organisms and processes. But cancer stem cells are thought to be the driving force for the formation, growth, and spread of tumors.
The researchers had shown previously that normal cells become cancerous when they are treated with inorganic arsenic. This new study shows that when these cancer cells are placed near, but not in contact with normal stem cells, the normal stem cells very rapidly acquire the characteristics of cancer stem cells. It demonstrates that malignant cells are able to send molecular signals through a semi-permeable membrane, where cells can’t normally pass, and turn the normal stem cells into cancer stem cells.
This reveals a potentially important aspect of arsenic carcinogenesis and may help explain observances by researchers working with arsenic that arsenic often causes multiple tumors of many types to form on the skin or inside the body. The paper is online in Environmental Health Perspectives.
New Method Yields Insulin-Producing Pancreatic Cell Clusters
Source: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers
Date: 04 April 2012
Summary:
Three-dimensional clusters of pancreatic beta-cells that live much longer and secrete more insulin than single cells grown in the laboratory are valuable new tools for studying pancreatic diseases such as diabetes and for testing novel therapies. This cutting-edge advance is described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C, Methods.
Date: 04 April 2012
Summary:
Three-dimensional clusters of pancreatic beta-cells that live much longer and secrete more insulin than single cells grown in the laboratory are valuable new tools for studying pancreatic diseases such as diabetes and for testing novel therapies. This cutting-edge advance is described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C, Methods.
Monday, April 02, 2012
StemCells, Inc's Milestone Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease Clinical Trial Shows Evidence of Myelination Following Human Neural Stem Cell Transplantation
Source: StemCells, Inc.
Date: April 2, 2012
Summary:
NEWARK, Calif. -- StemCells, Inc. today announced preliminary evidence of progressive and durable donor-cell derived myelination in all four patients who underwent transplantation with the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC® cells (purified human neural stem cells) in its clinical trial for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a rare hypo-myelination disorder in children. In addition, clinical assessment revealed small but measureable gains in motor and/or cognitive function in three of the four patients; the fourth patient remained clinically stable. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Here's a link to a conference call held by Stem Cells, Inc. today discussing the results of the trial.
Date: April 2, 2012
Summary:
NEWARK, Calif. -- StemCells, Inc. today announced preliminary evidence of progressive and durable donor-cell derived myelination in all four patients who underwent transplantation with the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC® cells (purified human neural stem cells) in its clinical trial for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a rare hypo-myelination disorder in children. In addition, clinical assessment revealed small but measureable gains in motor and/or cognitive function in three of the four patients; the fourth patient remained clinically stable. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Here's a link to a conference call held by Stem Cells, Inc. today discussing the results of the trial.
Cancer Stem Cell Vaccine in Development Shows Antitumor Effect
Source: American Association for Cancer Research
Date: April 2, 2012
Summary:
PHILADELPHIA — Scientists may have discovered a new paradigm for immunotherapy against cancer by priming antibodies and T cells with cancer stem cells, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
In the study, the researchers extracted cancer stem cells from two immunocompetent mouse models and used them to prepare the vaccine. They discovered that the enriched cancer stem cells were immunogenic and much for effective more effective as an antigen source compared with the unselected tumor cells normally used in previous immunotherapy trials. The researchers also found that cytotoxic T lymphocytes harvested from cancer stem cell-vaccinated hosts were capable of killing cancer stem cells in vitro.
Date: April 2, 2012
Summary:
PHILADELPHIA — Scientists may have discovered a new paradigm for immunotherapy against cancer by priming antibodies and T cells with cancer stem cells, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
In the study, the researchers extracted cancer stem cells from two immunocompetent mouse models and used them to prepare the vaccine. They discovered that the enriched cancer stem cells were immunogenic and much for effective more effective as an antigen source compared with the unselected tumor cells normally used in previous immunotherapy trials. The researchers also found that cytotoxic T lymphocytes harvested from cancer stem cell-vaccinated hosts were capable of killing cancer stem cells in vitro.
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