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.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
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.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Newly Identified Stem Cells May Hold Clues to Colon Cancer
Source: Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Date: March 29, 2012
Summary:
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have identified a new population of intestinal stem cells that may hold clues to the origin of colorectal cancer. This new stem cell population, reported March 30 in the journal Cell, appears to be relatively quiescent (inactive) – in contrast to the recent discovery of intestinal stem cells that multiply rapidly – and is marked by a protein, Lrig1, that may act as a “brake” on cell growth and proliferation. The researchers have also developed a new and clinically relevant mouse model of colorectal cancer that investigators can now use to better understand where and how the disease arises, as well as for probing new therapeutic targets.
Date: March 29, 2012
Summary:
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have identified a new population of intestinal stem cells that may hold clues to the origin of colorectal cancer. This new stem cell population, reported March 30 in the journal Cell, appears to be relatively quiescent (inactive) – in contrast to the recent discovery of intestinal stem cells that multiply rapidly – and is marked by a protein, Lrig1, that may act as a “brake” on cell growth and proliferation. The researchers have also developed a new and clinically relevant mouse model of colorectal cancer that investigators can now use to better understand where and how the disease arises, as well as for probing new therapeutic targets.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Single antibody shrinks variety of human tumors transplanted into mice, study shows
Source: Stanford University School of Medicine
Date: March 26, 2012
Summary:
Human tumors transplanted into laboratory mice disappeared or shrank when scientists treated the animals with a single antibody, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The antibody works by masking a protein flag on cancer cells that protects them from macrophages and other cells in the immune system. The scientists achieved the findings with human breast, ovarian, colon, bladder, brain, liver and prostate cancer samples.
It is the first antibody treatment shown to be broadly effective against a variety of human solid tumors, and the dramatic response — including some overt cures in the laboratory animals — has the investigators eager to begin phase-1 and –2 human clinical trials within the next two years. The antibody treatment also significantly inhibited the ability of the tumors to metastasize throughout the animals’ bodies. The research was published online March 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: March 26, 2012
Summary:
Human tumors transplanted into laboratory mice disappeared or shrank when scientists treated the animals with a single antibody, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The antibody works by masking a protein flag on cancer cells that protects them from macrophages and other cells in the immune system. The scientists achieved the findings with human breast, ovarian, colon, bladder, brain, liver and prostate cancer samples.
It is the first antibody treatment shown to be broadly effective against a variety of human solid tumors, and the dramatic response — including some overt cures in the laboratory animals — has the investigators eager to begin phase-1 and –2 human clinical trials within the next two years. The antibody treatment also significantly inhibited the ability of the tumors to metastasize throughout the animals’ bodies. The research was published online March 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Bone Marrow Stem Cells Can Improve Heart Function, Study Suggests
Source: Mayo Clinic
Date: March 24, 2012
Summary:
CHICAGO — A research network led by a Mayo Clinic physician found that stem cells derived from heart failure patients' own bone marrow and injected into their hearts improved the function of the left ventricle, the heart's pumping chamber. Researchers also found that certain types of the stem cells were associated with the largest improvement and warrant further study. The results were presented today at the 2012 American College of Cardiology Meeting in Chicago. They will also be published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Date: March 24, 2012
Summary:
CHICAGO — A research network led by a Mayo Clinic physician found that stem cells derived from heart failure patients' own bone marrow and injected into their hearts improved the function of the left ventricle, the heart's pumping chamber. Researchers also found that certain types of the stem cells were associated with the largest improvement and warrant further study. The results were presented today at the 2012 American College of Cardiology Meeting in Chicago. They will also be published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Embryonic Stem Cells Shift Metabolism in Cancer-Like Way Upon Implanting in Uterus
Source: University of Washington
Date: March 23, 2012
Summary:
Shortly after a mouse embryo starts to form, some of its stem cells undergo a dramatic metabolic shift to enter the next stage of development, University of Washington researchers have reported. These stem cells start using and producing energy like cancer cells. This discovery is recently published in EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization journal.
The metabolic transition they discovered occurs very early as the mouse embryo, barely more than a speck of dividing cells, implants in the mother's uterus. The change is driven by low oxygen conditions, Ruohola-Baker explained.
The researchers also saw a specific type of biochemical slowdown in the stem cells' mitochondria -- the cells' powerhouses. The phenomenon previously was associated with aging and disease. This was the first example of the same downshift controlling normal early embryonic development.
Date: March 23, 2012
Summary:
Shortly after a mouse embryo starts to form, some of its stem cells undergo a dramatic metabolic shift to enter the next stage of development, University of Washington researchers have reported. These stem cells start using and producing energy like cancer cells. This discovery is recently published in EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization journal.
The metabolic transition they discovered occurs very early as the mouse embryo, barely more than a speck of dividing cells, implants in the mother's uterus. The change is driven by low oxygen conditions, Ruohola-Baker explained.
The researchers also saw a specific type of biochemical slowdown in the stem cells' mitochondria -- the cells' powerhouses. The phenomenon previously was associated with aging and disease. This was the first example of the same downshift controlling normal early embryonic development.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Researchers Discover Protein Critical for Tissue Regeneration
Source: University of California - Merced
Date: March 20, 2012
Summary:
A flatworm known for its ability to regenerate cells is shedding more light on how cancer could be treated and how regenerative medicine could better target diseases, according to researchers at the University of California, Merced. In research published online in the Journal of Cell Science, biology Professor Néstor Oviedo has shown that signaling by a protein called Target of Rapamycin (TOR) — found in humans and most other mammals — is crucial for planaria's unique tissue regeneration. Disabling the protein prevents the flatworm’s regrowth, a sign that disabling it in abnormal cells could prevent the growth of a cancer.
Date: March 20, 2012
Summary:
A flatworm known for its ability to regenerate cells is shedding more light on how cancer could be treated and how regenerative medicine could better target diseases, according to researchers at the University of California, Merced. In research published online in the Journal of Cell Science, biology Professor Néstor Oviedo has shown that signaling by a protein called Target of Rapamycin (TOR) — found in humans and most other mammals — is crucial for planaria's unique tissue regeneration. Disabling the protein prevents the flatworm’s regrowth, a sign that disabling it in abnormal cells could prevent the growth of a cancer.
SANBIO ANNOUNCES ENROLLMENT OF FIRST COHORT OF PATIENTS IN ITS CLINICAL TRIAL OF STEM CELL THERAPY FOR CHRONIC STROKE
Source: SanBio Inc.
Date: March 20, 2012
Summary:
SanBio Inc. today announced the successful enrollment of the first dose cohort of patients in its Phase 1/2a clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a novel allogeneic stem cell therapy product, SB623, a cell therapy product consisting of cells derived from genetically engineered bone marrow stromal cells obtained from healthy adult donors, in patients suffering from chronic deficits resulting from previous stroke injuries. The first 6 patients, of a total of 18, have been successfully administered SB623. The trial is being conducted at Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh. No safety concerns have been reported. Details of this clinical trial can be found here.
Date: March 20, 2012
Summary:
SanBio Inc. today announced the successful enrollment of the first dose cohort of patients in its Phase 1/2a clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a novel allogeneic stem cell therapy product, SB623, a cell therapy product consisting of cells derived from genetically engineered bone marrow stromal cells obtained from healthy adult donors, in patients suffering from chronic deficits resulting from previous stroke injuries. The first 6 patients, of a total of 18, have been successfully administered SB623. The trial is being conducted at Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh. No safety concerns have been reported. Details of this clinical trial can be found here.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Stem Cells Hint at Potential Treatment for Huntington's Disease
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Date: March 15, 2012
Summary:
Huntington's disease, the debilitating congenital neurological disorder that progressively robs patients of muscle coordination and cognitive ability, is a condition without effective treatment, a slow death sentence. But if researchers can build on new research reported this week (March 15, 2012) in the journal Cell Stem Cell, a special type of brain cell forged from stem cells could help restore the muscle coordination deficits that cause the uncontrollable spasms characteristic of the disease.
In In the new study, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center focused on what are known as GABA neurons, cells whose degradation is responsible for disruption of a key neural circuit and loss of motor function in Huntington's patients. The researchers have learned how to make large amounts of GABA neurons from human embryonic stem cells, which they sought to test in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. The goal of the study, researchers note, was simply to see if the cells would safely integrate into the mouse brain. To their astonishment, the cells not only integrated but also project to the right target and effectively reestablished the broken communication network, restoring motor function.
Date: March 15, 2012
Summary:
Huntington's disease, the debilitating congenital neurological disorder that progressively robs patients of muscle coordination and cognitive ability, is a condition without effective treatment, a slow death sentence. But if researchers can build on new research reported this week (March 15, 2012) in the journal Cell Stem Cell, a special type of brain cell forged from stem cells could help restore the muscle coordination deficits that cause the uncontrollable spasms characteristic of the disease.
In In the new study, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center focused on what are known as GABA neurons, cells whose degradation is responsible for disruption of a key neural circuit and loss of motor function in Huntington's patients. The researchers have learned how to make large amounts of GABA neurons from human embryonic stem cells, which they sought to test in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. The goal of the study, researchers note, was simply to see if the cells would safely integrate into the mouse brain. To their astonishment, the cells not only integrated but also project to the right target and effectively reestablished the broken communication network, restoring motor function.
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