Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: September 6, 2011
Summary:
A somewhat mysterious soft tissue found in the fetus during early development in the womb plays a pivotal role in the formation of mature beta cells the sole source of the body’s insulin. This discovery, made by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M University, may lead to new ways of addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
As reported today in the journal PLoS Biology, during the late stages of development in mice, this fetal tissue -- called the mesenchyme -- secretes chemicals. Those chemicals enable insulin-producing beta cells to mature and expand. Remove this mesenchyme tissue, the researchers found, and the mice do not grow their full complement of beta cells.
This work provides researchers with an immediate tool for research and drug discovery. By identifying the chemicals that this tissue secretes, scientists may be able to create new beta cells in the body or in the test tube -- something currently beyond the reach of medical science.
Showing posts with label fetal cells. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fetal cells. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Monday, April 20, 2009
Human stem cells promote healing of diabetic ulcers
Source: University of Bristol
Date: April 20, 2009
Summary:
Treatment of chronic wounds is a continuing clinical problem and socio-economic burden with diabetic foot ulcers alone costing the NHS £300 million a year. Scientists in Bristol have found that human foetal stem cells can effectively be used to treat back leg ischaemic ulcers in a model of type 1 diabetes. The researchers also found the culture in which the stem cells had been grown mimicked the wound-healing ability of the cells, suggesting that they could be used as a "factory" of wound-healing substances. Alternatively, the active ingredients in the culture, once identified, could be used instead; this would avoid the ethical concerns of using human foetal stem cells. Paolo Madeddu, Professor of Experimental Cardiovascluar Medicine and colleagues at the Bristol Heart Institute, previously used stem cells in models of back leg ischaemia, showing that foetal stem cells could be more therapeutically effective than adult stem cells.
Date: April 20, 2009
Summary:
Treatment of chronic wounds is a continuing clinical problem and socio-economic burden with diabetic foot ulcers alone costing the NHS £300 million a year. Scientists in Bristol have found that human foetal stem cells can effectively be used to treat back leg ischaemic ulcers in a model of type 1 diabetes. The researchers also found the culture in which the stem cells had been grown mimicked the wound-healing ability of the cells, suggesting that they could be used as a "factory" of wound-healing substances. Alternatively, the active ingredients in the culture, once identified, could be used instead; this would avoid the ethical concerns of using human foetal stem cells. Paolo Madeddu, Professor of Experimental Cardiovascluar Medicine and colleagues at the Bristol Heart Institute, previously used stem cells in models of back leg ischaemia, showing that foetal stem cells could be more therapeutically effective than adult stem cells.
Monday, March 23, 2009
New stem cell therapy may lead to treatment for deafness
Source: Wiley - Blackwel
Date: March 23, 2009
Summary:
A new study led by Dr. Marcelo N. Rivolta of the University of Sheffield has successfully isolated human auditory stem cells from fetal cochleae (the auditory portion of the inner ear) and found they had the capacity to differentiate into sensory hair cells and neurons. The study is published in the April issue of Stem Cells. The researchers painstakingly dissected and cultured cochlear cells from 9-11 week-old human fetuses. The cells were expanded and maintained in vitro for up to one year, with continued division for the first 7 to 8 months and up to 30 population doublings, which is similar to other non-embryonic stem cell populations, such as bone marrow. Gene expression analysis showed that all cell lines expressed otic markers that lead to the development of the inner ear as well as markers expressed by pluripotent embryonic stem cells, from which all tissues and organs develop.
Date: March 23, 2009
Summary:
A new study led by Dr. Marcelo N. Rivolta of the University of Sheffield has successfully isolated human auditory stem cells from fetal cochleae (the auditory portion of the inner ear) and found they had the capacity to differentiate into sensory hair cells and neurons. The study is published in the April issue of Stem Cells. The researchers painstakingly dissected and cultured cochlear cells from 9-11 week-old human fetuses. The cells were expanded and maintained in vitro for up to one year, with continued division for the first 7 to 8 months and up to 30 population doublings, which is similar to other non-embryonic stem cell populations, such as bone marrow. Gene expression analysis showed that all cell lines expressed otic markers that lead to the development of the inner ear as well as markers expressed by pluripotent embryonic stem cells, from which all tissues and organs develop.
Monday, July 21, 2008
ReNcell® VM Neural Stem Cell Line Models: New human disease model shows function of PINK1 gene in neural degeneration
Source: Millipore Corporation
Date: July 21, 2008
Summary:
Millipore Corporation, a provider of technologies, tools and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, announced the publication of a new discovery derived from its ReNcell VM neural stem cell line. A study published in June in the journal PLoS ONE established the first functional link between the PINK1 gene and neural degeneration.
Date: July 21, 2008
Summary:
Millipore Corporation, a provider of technologies, tools and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, announced the publication of a new discovery derived from its ReNcell VM neural stem cell line. A study published in June in the journal PLoS ONE established the first functional link between the PINK1 gene and neural degeneration.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Stem cells treatment for brittle bones in the womb
Source: The University of Queensland
Date: 29 January 2008
Summary:
The extraordinary results of an in utero stem cell treatment could lead to a new treatment for babies with brittle bones, as well as a range of other disabling conditions, according to a maternal-fetal medicine researcher, now based at The University of Queensland (UQ). Action Medical Research has announced the outcomes of an Imperial College London study, conducted by a team led by Professor Nicholas Fisk, that could lead to a stem cell treatment for babies with brittle bones - before they are even born.
Date: 29 January 2008
Summary:
The extraordinary results of an in utero stem cell treatment could lead to a new treatment for babies with brittle bones, as well as a range of other disabling conditions, according to a maternal-fetal medicine researcher, now based at The University of Queensland (UQ). Action Medical Research has announced the outcomes of an Imperial College London study, conducted by a team led by Professor Nicholas Fisk, that could lead to a stem cell treatment for babies with brittle bones - before they are even born.
Friday, November 30, 2007
First Patient Completes StemCells, Inc.'s Phase I Clinical Trial
Source: StemCells, Inc.
Date: November 30, 2007
Summary:
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced that the first patient to receive a transplant of purified human neural stem cells in the Company's Phase I clinical trial has completed the trial. The patient, who was transplanted in November 2006, has finished the twelve-month period of immunosuppression and follow-up, and undergone the last of the tests and observations required by the trial protocol. As planned, the patient has subsequently been enrolled in a separate long-term follow-up study, designed to monitor the patients over a four-year period.
Date: November 30, 2007
Summary:
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced that the first patient to receive a transplant of purified human neural stem cells in the Company's Phase I clinical trial has completed the trial. The patient, who was transplanted in November 2006, has finished the twelve-month period of immunosuppression and follow-up, and undergone the last of the tests and observations required by the trial protocol. As planned, the patient has subsequently been enrolled in a separate long-term follow-up study, designed to monitor the patients over a four-year period.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Hi-ho stem cells
Source: Stanford Medicine Magazine
Date: Fall 2007
Summary:
Stanford University Medical school researchers have found that human neural stem cells transplanted into the brains of rats and mice successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke. The discovery and the new technique the researchers used to make it add up to encouraging news for researchers hoping to use stem cells to treat human neural disorders such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease or radiation damage.
Date: Fall 2007
Summary:
Stanford University Medical school researchers have found that human neural stem cells transplanted into the brains of rats and mice successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke. The discovery and the new technique the researchers used to make it add up to encouraging news for researchers hoping to use stem cells to treat human neural disorders such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease or radiation damage.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Fetal Neurons Still Operate in Adult Brain. The question is: Why?
Source: Scientific American
Date: September 13, 2007
Summary:
A population of nerve cells crucial for proper brain wiring may serve a completely different function in adult and fetal brains, according to a new study in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Date: September 13, 2007
Summary:
A population of nerve cells crucial for proper brain wiring may serve a completely different function in adult and fetal brains, according to a new study in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Fetal tissue shows promise for ALS in study
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted: August 1, 2007
Summary:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a new study that could hasten treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease:
"A University of Wisconsin-Madison study could be an important development in finding new treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science (PloS) One, found that genetically engineered fetal stem cells implanted in rats with ALS provided substantial protection for motor neurons, the nerve cells that die in ALS."
Posted: August 1, 2007
Summary:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a new study that could hasten treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease:
"A University of Wisconsin-Madison study could be an important development in finding new treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science (PloS) One, found that genetically engineered fetal stem cells implanted in rats with ALS provided substantial protection for motor neurons, the nerve cells that die in ALS."
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Stem cell therapy rescues motor neurons in ALS model
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Date: July 31, 2007
Summary:
MADISON -- In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is possible to rescue the dying neurons characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The new work, conducted in a rat model and reported July 31 in the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science, PLoS ONE, shows that stem cells engineered to secrete a key growth factor can protect the motor neurons that waste away as a result of ALS. An important caveat, however, is that while the motor neurons within the spinal cord are protected by the growth factor, their ability to maintain connections with the muscles they control was not observed.
Date: July 31, 2007
Summary:
MADISON -- In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is possible to rescue the dying neurons characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The new work, conducted in a rat model and reported July 31 in the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science, PLoS ONE, shows that stem cells engineered to secrete a key growth factor can protect the motor neurons that waste away as a result of ALS. An important caveat, however, is that while the motor neurons within the spinal cord are protected by the growth factor, their ability to maintain connections with the muscles they control was not observed.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Protein Distinguishes Fetal and Adult Stem Cells
Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Date: July 26, 2007
Summary:
In a discovery that fills a critical gap in the understanding of stem cells, researchers have discovered a protein that fetal, but not adult, blood-forming stem cells need to replenish themselves. Finding regulatory pathways specific to fetal blood-forming cells could help scientists understand childhood leukemias and generate blood-forming cells for bone marrow transplants, said the researchers.
Date: July 26, 2007
Summary:
In a discovery that fills a critical gap in the understanding of stem cells, researchers have discovered a protein that fetal, but not adult, blood-forming stem cells need to replenish themselves. Finding regulatory pathways specific to fetal blood-forming cells could help scientists understand childhood leukemias and generate blood-forming cells for bone marrow transplants, said the researchers.
U-M team identifies gene that regulates blood-forming fetal stem cells
Source: University of Michigan
Date: July 26, 2007
Summary:
In the rancorous public debate over federal research funding, stem cells are generally assigned to one of two categories: embryonic or adult. But that's a false dichotomy and an oversimplification. A new University of Michigan study adds to mounting evidence that stem cells in the developing fetus are distinct from both embryonic and adult stem cells.
Date: July 26, 2007
Summary:
In the rancorous public debate over federal research funding, stem cells are generally assigned to one of two categories: embryonic or adult. But that's a false dichotomy and an oversimplification. A new University of Michigan study adds to mounting evidence that stem cells in the developing fetus are distinct from both embryonic and adult stem cells.
Gene Holds Key to Blood Stem Cells
Source: HealthDay News
Posted: July 26, 2007; 12:00 AM
Summary:
A gene named Sox17 appears to regulate the development of blood-forming stem cells in fetal mice, new research shows.
Posted: July 26, 2007; 12:00 AM
Summary:
A gene named Sox17 appears to regulate the development of blood-forming stem cells in fetal mice, new research shows.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Stem cells toughen up fetus's brittle bones
Source: New Scientist
Date: 30 June 2007
News Scientist reports that giving stem cells to a developing fetus could extend the lives of children with a hereditary bone disease:
"INJECTING stem cells into a developing fetus might sound risky, but it could prolong the lives of children with brittle bone disease. Nicholas Fisk and colleagues at Imperial College London studied mouse models of human type III brittle bone disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The genetic defect - detected in human fetuses by DNA testing or ultrasound - disrupts collagen production, leading to weak bones and stunted growth. Those with type III OI suffer fractures while in the womb and rarely survive beyond early adulthood. Fisk's team injected human fetal mesenchymal stem cells through the wall of the uterus into 14-day mouse fetuses. At the age of 3 months, treated mice had suffered just one-third of the long-bone fractures compared with untreated mice. Their bones were also stronger and their leg bones longer."
Date: 30 June 2007
News Scientist reports that giving stem cells to a developing fetus could extend the lives of children with a hereditary bone disease:
"INJECTING stem cells into a developing fetus might sound risky, but it could prolong the lives of children with brittle bone disease. Nicholas Fisk and colleagues at Imperial College London studied mouse models of human type III brittle bone disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The genetic defect - detected in human fetuses by DNA testing or ultrasound - disrupts collagen production, leading to weak bones and stunted growth. Those with type III OI suffer fractures while in the womb and rarely survive beyond early adulthood. Fisk's team injected human fetal mesenchymal stem cells through the wall of the uterus into 14-day mouse fetuses. At the age of 3 months, treated mice had suffered just one-third of the long-bone fractures compared with untreated mice. Their bones were also stronger and their leg bones longer."
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Injection of brain cells offers hope for Parkinson's
Source: NewScientist
Date: 16 June 2007
Summary:
STEM cell therapies for human brain diseases may have come a step closer, after monkeys with symptoms of Parkinson's disease showed marked improvement following a single injection of neural stem cells.
Date: 16 June 2007
Summary:
STEM cell therapies for human brain diseases may have come a step closer, after monkeys with symptoms of Parkinson's disease showed marked improvement following a single injection of neural stem cells.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Primate Parkinson's Treatment Reveals New Side of Stem Cells
Source: Wired
Posted: June 14, 2007 2:00 AM EDT
Summary:
Wired reports on a new experiments in which scientists successfully treated Parkinson's disease in monkeys using fetal cells:
"Stem cells work in mysterious ways. That's the tantalizing finding from scientists who treated monkeys with Parkinson's disease using fetal stem cells. Their results mark the first successful stem cell therapy for Parkinson's in primates. The big news, however, is not simply that the treatment worked, but how it worked: by rescuing and rejuvenating, rather than replacing, diseased cells."
Posted: June 14, 2007 2:00 AM EDT
Summary:
Wired reports on a new experiments in which scientists successfully treated Parkinson's disease in monkeys using fetal cells:
"Stem cells work in mysterious ways. That's the tantalizing finding from scientists who treated monkeys with Parkinson's disease using fetal stem cells. Their results mark the first successful stem cell therapy for Parkinson's in primates. The big news, however, is not simply that the treatment worked, but how it worked: by rescuing and rejuvenating, rather than replacing, diseased cells."
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Blood Pressure Drug, Stem Cell Transplant Seen as Possible New Parkinson's Treatments
Source: Scientific American
Date: June 12, 2007
Summary:
Scientists announced that they successfully reversed Parkinson-like symptoms in several monkeys by transplanting human neural stem cells into their brains.
Date: June 12, 2007
Summary:
Scientists announced that they successfully reversed Parkinson-like symptoms in several monkeys by transplanting human neural stem cells into their brains.
Neural stem cells reduce Parkinson's symptoms in monkeys
Source: Yale University
Date: June 12, 2007
Summary:
New Haven, Conn.—Primates with severe Parkinson’s disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: June 12, 2007
Summary:
New Haven, Conn.—Primates with severe Parkinson’s disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Stem cell first for Parkinson's
Source: BBC News
Posted: 12 June 2007, 09:18 GMT 10:18 UK
Summary:
BBC News reports on an experiment in which human neural stem cells were injected into monkeys with Parkinson's Disease and reduced symptoms of the disease:
"US researchers have for the first time injected human stem cells into monkeys with Parkinson's symptoms, seen as a key step in the fight to find a cure. The stem cells, which have been injected into rodents in the past, initially stopped the monkeys' damaged brain cells from deteriorating. The primates' condition did however start to slide after four months, the study in the PNAS journal said."
Posted: 12 June 2007, 09:18 GMT 10:18 UK
Summary:
BBC News reports on an experiment in which human neural stem cells were injected into monkeys with Parkinson's Disease and reduced symptoms of the disease:
"US researchers have for the first time injected human stem cells into monkeys with Parkinson's symptoms, seen as a key step in the fight to find a cure. The stem cells, which have been injected into rodents in the past, initially stopped the monkeys' damaged brain cells from deteriorating. The primates' condition did however start to slide after four months, the study in the PNAS journal said."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Human stem cells treat Parkinson's in monkeys
Source: New Scientist
Posted: 11 June 2007 22:00
Summary:
New Scientist reports on new research using stem cells to improve symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in monkeys:
"A single injection of neural stem cells has markedly improved the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in monkeys, paving the way for stem-cell therapies in humans with the condition. Richard Sidman at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston, US, and colleagues recreated the symptoms of Parkinson's in African green monkeys by injecting them with a chemical that damages neurons that make dopamine – a neurotransmitter vital for controlling movement. They then injected the monkeys' brains with neural stem cells taken from human fetuses that had been miscarried at 13 weeks. A month later, the monkeys showed marked recoveries."
Posted: 11 June 2007 22:00
Summary:
New Scientist reports on new research using stem cells to improve symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in monkeys:
"A single injection of neural stem cells has markedly improved the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in monkeys, paving the way for stem-cell therapies in humans with the condition. Richard Sidman at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston, US, and colleagues recreated the symptoms of Parkinson's in African green monkeys by injecting them with a chemical that damages neurons that make dopamine – a neurotransmitter vital for controlling movement. They then injected the monkeys' brains with neural stem cells taken from human fetuses that had been miscarried at 13 weeks. A month later, the monkeys showed marked recoveries."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)