Source: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Date: May 31, 2012
Summary:
An immune-system receptor plays an unexpected but crucially important role in keeping stem cells from differentiating and in helping blood cancer cells grow, researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center report today in the journal Nature.
The researchers found that the human immune-inhibitory receptor LILRB2 and a corresponding receptor on the surface of mouse cells bind to several of the angiopoetic-like proteins. Further studies, Dr. Zhang said, showed that two of the seven family members bind particularly well to the LILRB2 receptor and that binding exerts an inhibitory effect on the cell, similar to a car’s brakes.
In the case of stem cells, inhibition keeps them in their stem state. They retain their potential to mature into all kinds of blood cells as needed but they don’t use up their energy differentiating into mature cells. That inhibition helps stem cells maintain their potential to create new stem cells because in addition to differentiation, self-renewal is the cells’ other major activity, Dr. Zhang said. He stressed that the inhibition doesn’t cause them to create new stem cells but does preserve their potential to do so.
In future research, the scientists hope to find subtle differences between stem cells and leukemia cells that will identify treatments to block the receptors’ action only in leukemia.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
New Finding on Nerve Repair
Source: Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
Date: 30 May 2012
Summary:
Researchers from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, in collaboration with colleagues from Rutgers University, Newark and University College London, have furthered understanding of the mechanism by which the cells that insulate the nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells, protect and repair damage caused by trauma and disease.
The findings of the study, published on-line by the Journal of Neuroscience and supported by the Wellcome Trust, are exciting in that they point to future therapies for the repair and improvement of damage to the peripheral nervous system.
The research team believes that its work to understand the ability of Schwann cells to revert back to an immature state and stimulate repair will lead to therapies to improve damage from severe trauma and break the cycle of damage caused by CMT. They also believe that there may also be potential to improve repair in cases of diabetic neuropathy.
They have identified a DNA binding protein, cJun, as a key player in the plasticity that allows a Schwann cell to revert back to the active repair state. cJun may be activated by a number of pathways that convey signals from the surface of the Schwann cell to the nucleus. One such pathway, the p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Pathway, appears to play a vital role: it is activated after PNS damage and may promote the process of repair; conversely it may be abnormally activated in demyelinating diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.
Date: 30 May 2012
Summary:
Researchers from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, in collaboration with colleagues from Rutgers University, Newark and University College London, have furthered understanding of the mechanism by which the cells that insulate the nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells, protect and repair damage caused by trauma and disease.
The findings of the study, published on-line by the Journal of Neuroscience and supported by the Wellcome Trust, are exciting in that they point to future therapies for the repair and improvement of damage to the peripheral nervous system.
The research team believes that its work to understand the ability of Schwann cells to revert back to an immature state and stimulate repair will lead to therapies to improve damage from severe trauma and break the cycle of damage caused by CMT. They also believe that there may also be potential to improve repair in cases of diabetic neuropathy.
They have identified a DNA binding protein, cJun, as a key player in the plasticity that allows a Schwann cell to revert back to the active repair state. cJun may be activated by a number of pathways that convey signals from the surface of the Schwann cell to the nucleus. One such pathway, the p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Pathway, appears to play a vital role: it is activated after PNS damage and may promote the process of repair; conversely it may be abnormally activated in demyelinating diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Researchers Restore Neuron Function to Brains Damaged by Huntington's Disease
Source: Van Andel Institute
Date: May 29, 2012
Summary:
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Researchers from South Korea, Sweden, and the United States have collaborated on a project to restore neuron function to parts of the brain damaged by Huntington’s disease (HD) by successfully transplanting HD-induced pluripotent stem cells into animal models. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be genetically engineered from human somatic cells such as skin, and can be used to model numerous human diseases. They may also serve as sources of transplantable cells that can be used in novel cell therapies. In the latter case, the patient provides a sample of his or her own skin to the laboratory.
In the current study, experimental animals with damage to a deep brain structure called the striatum (an experimental model of HD) exhibited significant behavioral recovery after receiving transplanted iPS cells. The researchers hope that this approach eventually could be tested in patients for the treatment of HD.
The study, published online this week in Stem Cells, found that transplanted iPSCs initially formed neurons producing GABA, the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, which plays a critical role in regulating neuronal excitability and acts at inhibitory synapses in the brain. GABAergic neurons, located in the striatum, are the cell type most susceptible to degeneration in HD.
Another key point in the study involves the new disease models for HD presented by this method, allowing researchers to study the underlying disease process in detail. Being able to control disease development from such an early stage, using iPS cells, may provide important clues about the very start of disease development in HD. An animal model that closely imitates the real conditions of HD also opens up new and improved opportunities for drug screening.
Date: May 29, 2012
Summary:
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Researchers from South Korea, Sweden, and the United States have collaborated on a project to restore neuron function to parts of the brain damaged by Huntington’s disease (HD) by successfully transplanting HD-induced pluripotent stem cells into animal models. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be genetically engineered from human somatic cells such as skin, and can be used to model numerous human diseases. They may also serve as sources of transplantable cells that can be used in novel cell therapies. In the latter case, the patient provides a sample of his or her own skin to the laboratory.
In the current study, experimental animals with damage to a deep brain structure called the striatum (an experimental model of HD) exhibited significant behavioral recovery after receiving transplanted iPS cells. The researchers hope that this approach eventually could be tested in patients for the treatment of HD.
The study, published online this week in Stem Cells, found that transplanted iPSCs initially formed neurons producing GABA, the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, which plays a critical role in regulating neuronal excitability and acts at inhibitory synapses in the brain. GABAergic neurons, located in the striatum, are the cell type most susceptible to degeneration in HD.
Another key point in the study involves the new disease models for HD presented by this method, allowing researchers to study the underlying disease process in detail. Being able to control disease development from such an early stage, using iPS cells, may provide important clues about the very start of disease development in HD. An animal model that closely imitates the real conditions of HD also opens up new and improved opportunities for drug screening.
Monday, May 28, 2012
New Stem Cell Technique Promises Abundance of Key Heart Cells
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Date: May 28, 2012
Summary:
A team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison describes a way to transform human stem cells -- both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells -- into the critical heart muscle cells by simple manipulation of one key developmental pathway. The technique promises a uniform, inexpensive and far more efficient alternative to the complex bath of serum or growth factors now used to nudge blank slate stem cells to become specialized heart cells. in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The capacity to make the heart cells using induced pluripotent stem cells, which can come from adult patients with diseased hearts, means scientists will be able to more readily model those diseases in the laboratory. Such cells contain the genetic profile of the patient, and so can be used to recreate the disease in the lab dish for study. Cardiomyocytes are difficult or impossible to obtain directly from the hearts of patients and, when obtained, survive only briefly in the lab. Scientists also have high hopes that one day healthy lab-grown heart cells can be used to replace the cardiomyocytes that die as a result of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
Date: May 28, 2012
Summary:
A team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison describes a way to transform human stem cells -- both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells -- into the critical heart muscle cells by simple manipulation of one key developmental pathway. The technique promises a uniform, inexpensive and far more efficient alternative to the complex bath of serum or growth factors now used to nudge blank slate stem cells to become specialized heart cells. in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The capacity to make the heart cells using induced pluripotent stem cells, which can come from adult patients with diseased hearts, means scientists will be able to more readily model those diseases in the laboratory. Such cells contain the genetic profile of the patient, and so can be used to recreate the disease in the lab dish for study. Cardiomyocytes are difficult or impossible to obtain directly from the hearts of patients and, when obtained, survive only briefly in the lab. Scientists also have high hopes that one day healthy lab-grown heart cells can be used to replace the cardiomyocytes that die as a result of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Researchers Discover Drug Destroys Human Cancer Stem Cells But Not Healthy Ones
Source: McMaster University
Date: May 24, 2012
Summary:
Hamilton, Ont. —A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, thioridazine appears to have no effect on normal stem cells.
The research, published today in the science journal Cell, holds the promise of a new strategy and discovery pipeline for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. The research team has identified another dozen drugs that have good potential for the same response.
Date: May 24, 2012
Summary:
Hamilton, Ont. —A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, thioridazine appears to have no effect on normal stem cells.
The research, published today in the science journal Cell, holds the promise of a new strategy and discovery pipeline for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. The research team has identified another dozen drugs that have good potential for the same response.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Patients' Skin Cells Turned Into Heart Muscle Cells to Repair Their Damaged Hearts
Source: European Society of Cardiology
Date: 23 May 2012
Summary:
For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue. The research, which is published online Wednesday in the European Heart Journal [1], opens up the prospect of treating heart failure patients with their own, human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to repair their damaged hearts. As the reprogrammed cells would be derived from the patients themselves, this could avoid the problem of the patients’ immune systems rejecting the cells as “foreign”. However, the researchers warn that there are a number of obstacles to overcome before it would be possible to use hiPSCs in humans in this way, and it could take at least five to ten years before clinical trials could start.
The researchers took skin cells from two male heart failure patients (aged 51 and 61) and reprogrammed them by delivering three genes or “transcription factors” (Sox2, Klf4 and Oct4), followed by a small molecule called valproic acid, to the cell nucleus. Crucially, this reprogramming cocktail did not include a transcription factor called c-Myc, which has been used for creating stem cells but which is a known cancer-causing gene.
The researchers also used an alternative strategy that involved a virus that delivered reprogramming information to the cell nucleus but which was capable of being removed afterwards so as to avoid insertional oncogenesis. The resulting hiPSCs were able to differentiate to become heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) just as effectively as hiPSCs that had been developed from healthy, young volunteers who acted as controls for this study. Then the researchers were able to make the cardiomyocytes develop into heart muscle tissue, which they cultured together with pre-existing cardiac tissue. Within 24-48 hours the tissues were beating together.
Date: 23 May 2012
Summary:
For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue. The research, which is published online Wednesday in the European Heart Journal [1], opens up the prospect of treating heart failure patients with their own, human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to repair their damaged hearts. As the reprogrammed cells would be derived from the patients themselves, this could avoid the problem of the patients’ immune systems rejecting the cells as “foreign”. However, the researchers warn that there are a number of obstacles to overcome before it would be possible to use hiPSCs in humans in this way, and it could take at least five to ten years before clinical trials could start.
The researchers took skin cells from two male heart failure patients (aged 51 and 61) and reprogrammed them by delivering three genes or “transcription factors” (Sox2, Klf4 and Oct4), followed by a small molecule called valproic acid, to the cell nucleus. Crucially, this reprogramming cocktail did not include a transcription factor called c-Myc, which has been used for creating stem cells but which is a known cancer-causing gene.
The researchers also used an alternative strategy that involved a virus that delivered reprogramming information to the cell nucleus but which was capable of being removed afterwards so as to avoid insertional oncogenesis. The resulting hiPSCs were able to differentiate to become heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) just as effectively as hiPSCs that had been developed from healthy, young volunteers who acted as controls for this study. Then the researchers were able to make the cardiomyocytes develop into heart muscle tissue, which they cultured together with pre-existing cardiac tissue. Within 24-48 hours the tissues were beating together.
Researchers Develop Method to Delay Aging of Stem Cells
Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: May 23, 2012
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue. Therefore, they can be considered immortal, in that they recreate themselves and regenerate tissues throughout a person's lifetime, but that doesn't mean they don't age. They do, gradually losing their ability to effectively maintain tissues and organs.
Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells' surroundings, known as their "niche," as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to aging. Their findings, published May 23rd in Nature, have implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Date: May 23, 2012
Summary:
LA JOLLA, CA—Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue. Therefore, they can be considered immortal, in that they recreate themselves and regenerate tissues throughout a person's lifetime, but that doesn't mean they don't age. They do, gradually losing their ability to effectively maintain tissues and organs.
Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells' surroundings, known as their "niche," as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to aging. Their findings, published May 23rd in Nature, have implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Stem-Cell-Growing Surface Enables Bone Repair
Source: University of Michigan
Date: May 23, 2012
Summary:
University of Michigan researchers have proven that a special surface, free of biological contaminants, allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types. Their success brings stem cell therapies another step closer. To prove the cells' regenerative powers, bone cells grown on this surface were then transplanted into holes in the skulls of mice, producing four times as much new bone growth as in the mice without the extra bone cells.
The researchers had shown that these surfaces could grow embryonic stem cells. Now, Lahann has teamed up with Krebsbach’s team to show that the polymer surface can also support the growth of the more medically-promising induced stem cells, keeping them in their high-potential state. To prove that the cells could transform into different types, the team turned them into fat, cartilage, and bone cells.
They then tested whether these cells could help the body to make repairs. Specifically, they attempted to repair 5-millimeter holes in the skulls of mice. The weak immune systems of the mice didn’t attack the human bone cells, allowing the cells to help fill in the hole.
After eight weeks, the mice that had received the bone cells had 4.2 times as much new bone, as well as the beginnings of marrow cavities. The team could prove that the extra bone growth came from the added cells because it was human bone.
The paper reporting this work is titled “Derivation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Cultured on Synthetic Substrates” and it appears online as an article accepted to the journal Stem Cells, to be published in a future issue.
Date: May 23, 2012
Summary:
University of Michigan researchers have proven that a special surface, free of biological contaminants, allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types. Their success brings stem cell therapies another step closer. To prove the cells' regenerative powers, bone cells grown on this surface were then transplanted into holes in the skulls of mice, producing four times as much new bone growth as in the mice without the extra bone cells.
The researchers had shown that these surfaces could grow embryonic stem cells. Now, Lahann has teamed up with Krebsbach’s team to show that the polymer surface can also support the growth of the more medically-promising induced stem cells, keeping them in their high-potential state. To prove that the cells could transform into different types, the team turned them into fat, cartilage, and bone cells.
They then tested whether these cells could help the body to make repairs. Specifically, they attempted to repair 5-millimeter holes in the skulls of mice. The weak immune systems of the mice didn’t attack the human bone cells, allowing the cells to help fill in the hole.
After eight weeks, the mice that had received the bone cells had 4.2 times as much new bone, as well as the beginnings of marrow cavities. The team could prove that the extra bone growth came from the added cells because it was human bone.
The paper reporting this work is titled “Derivation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Cultured on Synthetic Substrates” and it appears online as an article accepted to the journal Stem Cells, to be published in a future issue.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Growth Factor in Stem Cells May Spur Recovery From MS
Source: Case Western Reserve University
Date: May 20, 2012
Summary:
CLEVELAND - A substance in human mesenchymal stem cells that promotes growth appears to spur restoration of nerves and their function in rodent models of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found. Their study is embargoed until published in the online version of Nature Neuroscience at 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, May 20. In animals injected with hepatocyte growth factor, inflammation declined and neural cells grew. Perhaps most important, the myelin sheath, which protects nerves and their ability to gather and send information, regrew, covering lesions caused by the disease. The research is published in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience.
In this study, the researchers first wanted to test whether the presence of stem cells or something cells produce promotes recovery. They injected mice with the medium in which mesenchymal stem cells, culled from bone marrow, grew. All 11 animals, which have a version of MS, showed a rapid reduction in functional deficits.
Date: May 20, 2012
Summary:
CLEVELAND - A substance in human mesenchymal stem cells that promotes growth appears to spur restoration of nerves and their function in rodent models of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found. Their study is embargoed until published in the online version of Nature Neuroscience at 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, May 20. In animals injected with hepatocyte growth factor, inflammation declined and neural cells grew. Perhaps most important, the myelin sheath, which protects nerves and their ability to gather and send information, regrew, covering lesions caused by the disease. The research is published in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience.
In this study, the researchers first wanted to test whether the presence of stem cells or something cells produce promotes recovery. They injected mice with the medium in which mesenchymal stem cells, culled from bone marrow, grew. All 11 animals, which have a version of MS, showed a rapid reduction in functional deficits.
Monday, May 14, 2012
New York Stem Cell Foundation Scientist Grows Bone From Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: New York Stem Cell Foundation
Date: May 14, 2012
Summary:
NEW YORK, NY -- Dr. Darja Marolt, an Investigator at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory, is lead author on a study showing that human embryonic stem cells can be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. Dr. Marolt conducted this research as a post-doctoral NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr. Gordana Vunjak- Novakovic.
The study, published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of May 14th, is the first example of using bone cell progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells to grow compact bone tissue in quantities large enough to repair centimeter-sized defects. When implanted in mice and studied over time, the implanted bone tissue supported blood vessel ingrowth, and continued development of normal bone structure, without demonstrating any incidence of tumor growth.
Date: May 14, 2012
Summary:
NEW YORK, NY -- Dr. Darja Marolt, an Investigator at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory, is lead author on a study showing that human embryonic stem cells can be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. Dr. Marolt conducted this research as a post-doctoral NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr. Gordana Vunjak- Novakovic.
The study, published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of May 14th, is the first example of using bone cell progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells to grow compact bone tissue in quantities large enough to repair centimeter-sized defects. When implanted in mice and studied over time, the implanted bone tissue supported blood vessel ingrowth, and continued development of normal bone structure, without demonstrating any incidence of tumor growth.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Regenerative Medicine: Could the Ways Animals Regenerate Hair and Feathers Help Restore Human Fingers and Toes?
Source: American Physiological Society
Date: May 10, 2012
Summary:
The latest issue of the journal Physiology contains a review article that looks at possible routes that unlock cellular regeneration in general, and the principles by which hair and feathers regenerate themselves in particular. The authors apply what is currently known about regenerative biology to the emerging field of regenerative medicine, which is being transformed from fantasy to reality.
Importance of the Findings
The reviewed studies suggest that while researchers are making headway in understanding how and why hair and feathers regenerate after normal loss or in response to different life stages, much still remains unknown. This missing knowledge could hold valuable clues to learning how to regenerate much more complicated and valuable structures after loss to injury, such as fingers and toes.
Date: May 10, 2012
Summary:
The latest issue of the journal Physiology contains a review article that looks at possible routes that unlock cellular regeneration in general, and the principles by which hair and feathers regenerate themselves in particular. The authors apply what is currently known about regenerative biology to the emerging field of regenerative medicine, which is being transformed from fantasy to reality.
Importance of the Findings
The reviewed studies suggest that while researchers are making headway in understanding how and why hair and feathers regenerate after normal loss or in response to different life stages, much still remains unknown. This missing knowledge could hold valuable clues to learning how to regenerate much more complicated and valuable structures after loss to injury, such as fingers and toes.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Scientists Measure Communication Between Stem Cell-Derived Motor Neurons and Muscle Cells
Source: University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Date: May 4, 2012
Summary:
In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish.
The study provides an important proof of principle that functional motor circuits can be created outside the body using these neurons and cells and that the level of communication, or synaptic activity, between them can be accurately measured by stimulating the motor neurons with an electrode and then tracking the transfer of electrical activity into the muscle cells to which the neurons are connected.
When motor neurons are stimulated, they release neurotransmitters that depolarize the membranes of muscle cells. This allows calcium and other ions to enter the cells, causing them to contract. By measuring the strength of this activity, one can get a good estimation of the overall health of motor neurons.
That estimation could shed light on a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), in which communication between motor neurons and muscle cells is thought to unravel, said the study's senior author, Bennett G. Novitch, an assistant professor of neurobiology and a scientist with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.
The findings of the study appear May 4 in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed journal of the Public Library of Science.
Date: May 4, 2012
Summary:
In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish.
The study provides an important proof of principle that functional motor circuits can be created outside the body using these neurons and cells and that the level of communication, or synaptic activity, between them can be accurately measured by stimulating the motor neurons with an electrode and then tracking the transfer of electrical activity into the muscle cells to which the neurons are connected.
When motor neurons are stimulated, they release neurotransmitters that depolarize the membranes of muscle cells. This allows calcium and other ions to enter the cells, causing them to contract. By measuring the strength of this activity, one can get a good estimation of the overall health of motor neurons.
That estimation could shed light on a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), in which communication between motor neurons and muscle cells is thought to unravel, said the study's senior author, Bennett G. Novitch, an assistant professor of neurobiology and a scientist with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.
The findings of the study appear May 4 in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed journal of the Public Library of Science.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Aged Hematopoietic Stem Cells Rejuvenated to Be Functionally Younger
Source: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Date: May 3, 2012
Summary:
Researchers have rejuvenated aged hematopoietic stem cells to be functionally younger, offering intriguing clues into how medicine might one day fend off some ailments of old age. Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Ulm University Medicine in Germany report their findings online May 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper brings new perspective to what has been a life science controversy – countering what used to be broad consensus that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was locked in by nature and not reversible by therapeutic intervention.
The findings are early and involve laboratory manipulation of mouse cells, so it remains to be seen what direct application they may have for humans. Still, the study expands what is known about the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging -- a necessary step to one day designing rational approaches to aiding a healthy aging process.
One reason the research team focused on Cdc42 is that previous studies have reported elevated activity of the protein in various tissue types of older mice -- which have a natural life span of around two years. Also, elevated expression of Cdc42 has been found in immune system white blood cells in older humans.
In the current study, researchers found elevated activity of Cdc42 in the HSCs of older mice. They also were able to induce premature aging of HSCs in mice by genetically increasing Cdc42 activity in the cells. The aged cells lost structural organization and polarity, resulting in improper placement and spacing of components inside the cells. This disorganization contributed to the cells' decreased functional efficiency.
Date: May 3, 2012
Summary:
Researchers have rejuvenated aged hematopoietic stem cells to be functionally younger, offering intriguing clues into how medicine might one day fend off some ailments of old age. Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Ulm University Medicine in Germany report their findings online May 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper brings new perspective to what has been a life science controversy – countering what used to be broad consensus that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was locked in by nature and not reversible by therapeutic intervention.
The findings are early and involve laboratory manipulation of mouse cells, so it remains to be seen what direct application they may have for humans. Still, the study expands what is known about the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging -- a necessary step to one day designing rational approaches to aiding a healthy aging process.
One reason the research team focused on Cdc42 is that previous studies have reported elevated activity of the protein in various tissue types of older mice -- which have a natural life span of around two years. Also, elevated expression of Cdc42 has been found in immune system white blood cells in older humans.
In the current study, researchers found elevated activity of Cdc42 in the HSCs of older mice. They also were able to induce premature aging of HSCs in mice by genetically increasing Cdc42 activity in the cells. The aged cells lost structural organization and polarity, resulting in improper placement and spacing of components inside the cells. This disorganization contributed to the cells' decreased functional efficiency.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Genetically Modified T Cell Therapy Shown to be Safe, Lasting in Decade-Long Penn Medicine Study of HIV Patients
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Date: May 2, 2012
Summary:
HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases.
Date: May 2, 2012
Summary:
HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
STUDY USING STEM CELL THERAPY SHOWS PROMISE IN FIGHT AGAINST HIV
Source: University of California - Davis Health System
Date: May 1, 2012
Summary:
(SACRAMENTO, Calif. — UC Davis Health System researchers are a step closer to launching human clinical trials involving the use of an innovative stem cell therapy to fight the virus that causes AIDS. In a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, the UC Davis HIV team demonstrated both the safety and efficacy of transplanting anti-HIV stem cells into mice that represent models of infected patients. The technique, which involves replacing the immune system with stem cells engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes, proved capable of replicating a normally functioning human immune system by protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells. The cells thrived and self-renewed even when challenged with an HIV viral load.
Date: May 1, 2012
Summary:
(SACRAMENTO, Calif. — UC Davis Health System researchers are a step closer to launching human clinical trials involving the use of an innovative stem cell therapy to fight the virus that causes AIDS. In a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, the UC Davis HIV team demonstrated both the safety and efficacy of transplanting anti-HIV stem cells into mice that represent models of infected patients. The technique, which involves replacing the immune system with stem cells engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes, proved capable of replicating a normally functioning human immune system by protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells. The cells thrived and self-renewed even when challenged with an HIV viral load.
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