Source: University of Nottingham
Posted: 23 April 2010 09:35:00 GMT
Summary:
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered the gene that enables an extraordinary worm to regenerate its own body parts after amputation — including a whole head and brain. Their research into the Planarian worm is another piece in the scientific jigsaw that could one day make the regeneration of old or damaged human organs and tissues a real possibility. The research led by Dr Aziz Aboobaker, a Research Councils UK Fellow in the School of Biology shows for the first time that a gene called 'Smed-prep' is essential for correctly regenerating a head and brain in planarian worms. The study is published on April 22 2010 in the open access journal PLoS Genetics.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Scientists Create Stem Cells from Eggs of Aging Mice
Source: New York University Langone Medical Center
Date: April 22, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have created stem cells from the eggs of aging mice that could be used for reproductive purposes and regenerative medicine. The study, published in April issue of the journal Aging Cell, found that even though the eggs from older females were slightly less efficient at making stem cells than those from younger females, the capacity to create stem cells was sustained.
Date: April 22, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have created stem cells from the eggs of aging mice that could be used for reproductive purposes and regenerative medicine. The study, published in April issue of the journal Aging Cell, found that even though the eggs from older females were slightly less efficient at making stem cells than those from younger females, the capacity to create stem cells was sustained.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
StemCells, Inc. Plans to Advance to Second Clinical Trial in Batten Disease
Source: StemCells, Inc.
Date: April 21, 2010
Summary:
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced plans to advance to a second clinical trial using purified human neural stem cells to treat Batten disease:
Date: April 21, 2010
Summary:
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced plans to advance to a second clinical trial using purified human neural stem cells to treat Batten disease:
StemCells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, announced today that it has submitted a protocol to the FDA for initiation of a second clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC® human neural stem cells in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), which is also often referred to as Batten disease. NCL is a genetic disorder characterized by the absence of a critical enzyme, which leads to the loss of neurons and the eventual death of the patient. The Company completed a Phase I clinical trial in NCL in January 2009 and reported the results to the FDA in September 2009.
The proposed new trial is designed to further assess the safety of HuCNS-SC cells in NCL, while also examining the ability of the cells to affect the progression of the disease. The Company plans to enroll six patients with infantile and late infantile NCL. Because intervention prior to the final stages of the disease will likely be key to providing a therapeutic benefit, the Company plans to enroll patients with less brain atrophy than those enrolled in its first trial. Under the proposed protocol, all patients would be transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells and immunosuppressed for nine months. The patients would also be evaluated and assessed at regular intervals over the course of 12 months following transplantation. As the Company intends to follow the effects of this therapy long-term, a separate four-year observational study would be initiated at the conclusion of this trial. Upon FDA authorization of the trial protocol, the Company will proceed with site selection and seek the necessary Institutional Review Board approval to initiate the trial.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Scripps Research scientists solve mystery of fragile stem cells
Source: The Scripps Research Institute
Date: April 12, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the decade-old mystery of why human embryonic stem cells are so difficult to culture in the laboratory, providing scientists with useful new techniques and moving the field closer to the day when stem cells can be used for therapeutic purposes. The research is being published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of April 12, 2010.
In the study, the team discovered two novel synthetic small molecule drugs that can be added to human stem cell culture that each individually prevent the death of these cells. The team also unravels the mechanisms by which the compounds promote stem cell survival, shedding light on a previously unknown aspect of stem cell biology. The hope of most researchers in the field is that one day it will be possible to use stem cells — which possess the ability to develop into many other distinct cell types, such as nerve, heart, or lung cells — to repair damaged tissue from any number of diseases, from Type 1 diabetes to Parkinson's disease, as well as from injuries.
Date: April 12, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the decade-old mystery of why human embryonic stem cells are so difficult to culture in the laboratory, providing scientists with useful new techniques and moving the field closer to the day when stem cells can be used for therapeutic purposes. The research is being published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of April 12, 2010.
In the study, the team discovered two novel synthetic small molecule drugs that can be added to human stem cell culture that each individually prevent the death of these cells. The team also unravels the mechanisms by which the compounds promote stem cell survival, shedding light on a previously unknown aspect of stem cell biology. The hope of most researchers in the field is that one day it will be possible to use stem cells — which possess the ability to develop into many other distinct cell types, such as nerve, heart, or lung cells — to repair damaged tissue from any number of diseases, from Type 1 diabetes to Parkinson's disease, as well as from injuries.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Research may help scientists understand mechanism behind cellular differentiation
Source: Carnegie Institution
Date: April 5, 2010
Summary:
Multipotent stem cells have the capacity to develop into different types of cells by reprogramming their DNA to turn on different combinations of genes, a process called "differentiation." In a new study, researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science have found that reprogramming is imperfect in the early stages of differentiation, with some genes turned on and off at random. As cell divisions continue, the stability of the differentiation process increases by a factor of 100. The finding will help scientists understand how stem cells reprogram their genes and why fully differentiated cells are very hard to reprogram, knowledge with potential impacts on aging, regenerative medicine, and cancer research. The results of this research are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: April 5, 2010
Summary:
Multipotent stem cells have the capacity to develop into different types of cells by reprogramming their DNA to turn on different combinations of genes, a process called "differentiation." In a new study, researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science have found that reprogramming is imperfect in the early stages of differentiation, with some genes turned on and off at random. As cell divisions continue, the stability of the differentiation process increases by a factor of 100. The finding will help scientists understand how stem cells reprogram their genes and why fully differentiated cells are very hard to reprogram, knowledge with potential impacts on aging, regenerative medicine, and cancer research. The results of this research are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Friday, April 02, 2010
New York Stem Cell Foundation Fellow Lead Author on Study That Derives Floor Plate Tissue From Embryonic Stem Cells
Source: New York Stem Cell Foundation
Date: April 2, 2010
Summary:
NEW YORK, NY (April 2) - New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Fellow, Christopher Fasano, PhD, of the New York Neural Stem Cell Institute, is lead author on a study that investigating human neural development. Dr. Fasano conducted this work while working as a post-doctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the lab of Dr. Lorenz Studer. Dr. Fasano and his colleagues used human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to derive floor plate tissue, an important signaling center during brain development.
The study, Efficient derivation of functional floor plate tissue from human embryonic stem cells, was published in the online edition of Cell Stem Cell on April 1, 2010, and will also appear in the journal’s print edition.
Date: April 2, 2010
Summary:
NEW YORK, NY (April 2) - New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Fellow, Christopher Fasano, PhD, of the New York Neural Stem Cell Institute, is lead author on a study that investigating human neural development. Dr. Fasano conducted this work while working as a post-doctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the lab of Dr. Lorenz Studer. Dr. Fasano and his colleagues used human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to derive floor plate tissue, an important signaling center during brain development.
The study, Efficient derivation of functional floor plate tissue from human embryonic stem cells, was published in the online edition of Cell Stem Cell on April 1, 2010, and will also appear in the journal’s print edition.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Breakthrough Increases the Potential to Produce the Large Quantities of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Required For Transplantation
Source: Hadassah University Medical Center
Date: March 31, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Center have developed a novel strategy to derive and culture human embryonic stem cells in suspension. This breakthrough may be the key to developing systems to manufacture the enormous quantities of stem cells required to treat millions of patients.
The research results, published in the recent edition of the prestigious scientific journal Nature Biotechnology, demonstrated that human embryonic stem cell lines can be developed and grown while floating within a cultivation medium. This obviates the need to seed the embryonic stem cells over a substrate – the current methodology – which is very labor intensive and can produce limited quantities of stem cells.
Date: March 31, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Center have developed a novel strategy to derive and culture human embryonic stem cells in suspension. This breakthrough may be the key to developing systems to manufacture the enormous quantities of stem cells required to treat millions of patients.
The research results, published in the recent edition of the prestigious scientific journal Nature Biotechnology, demonstrated that human embryonic stem cell lines can be developed and grown while floating within a cultivation medium. This obviates the need to seed the embryonic stem cells over a substrate – the current methodology – which is very labor intensive and can produce limited quantities of stem cells.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Promoting Healing by Keeping Skeletal Stem Cells ‘Young’
Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
Date: March 30, 2010
Summary:
Scientists seeking new ways to fight maladies ranging from arthritis and osteoporosis to broken bones that won't heal have cleared a formidable hurdle, pinpointing and controlling a key molecular player to keep stem cells in a sort of extended infancy. It's a step that makes treatment with the cells in the future more likely for patients.
Controlling and delaying development of the cells, known as mesenchymal (pronounced meh-ZINK-a-mill) stem cells, is a long-sought goal for researchers. It's a necessary step for doctors who would like to expand the number of true skeletal stem cells available for a procedure before the cells start becoming specific types of cells that may - or may not - be needed in a patient with, say, weak bones from osteoporosis, or an old knee injury. In a study published online in the journal Development, Hilton's team discussed how it was able to increase the number and delay the development of stem cells that create bones, cartilage, muscle and fat.
Date: March 30, 2010
Summary:
Scientists seeking new ways to fight maladies ranging from arthritis and osteoporosis to broken bones that won't heal have cleared a formidable hurdle, pinpointing and controlling a key molecular player to keep stem cells in a sort of extended infancy. It's a step that makes treatment with the cells in the future more likely for patients.
Controlling and delaying development of the cells, known as mesenchymal (pronounced meh-ZINK-a-mill) stem cells, is a long-sought goal for researchers. It's a necessary step for doctors who would like to expand the number of true skeletal stem cells available for a procedure before the cells start becoming specific types of cells that may - or may not - be needed in a patient with, say, weak bones from osteoporosis, or an old knee injury. In a study published online in the journal Development, Hilton's team discussed how it was able to increase the number and delay the development of stem cells that create bones, cartilage, muscle and fat.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Neuroscientists reverse Alzheimer’s-like memory loss by targeting signaling protein in fruitflies
Source: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: March 29, 2010
Summary:
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – By blocking the cellular signaling activity of a protein, a team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has prevented memory loss in fruit flies caused by brain plaques similar to those thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The study also resolves a long-standing controversy about the role of this protein, PI3 kinase, which was previously thought to have a protective function against the disease. The study appears online, ahead of print, March 29th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences..
Date: March 29, 2010
Summary:
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – By blocking the cellular signaling activity of a protein, a team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has prevented memory loss in fruit flies caused by brain plaques similar to those thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The study also resolves a long-standing controversy about the role of this protein, PI3 kinase, which was previously thought to have a protective function against the disease. The study appears online, ahead of print, March 29th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences..
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Insulin-like signal needed to keep stem cells alive in adult brain
Source: University of California - Berkeley
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
University of California, Berkeley, biologists have found a signal that keeps stem cells alive in the adult brain, providing a focus for scientists looking for ways to re-grow or re-seed stem cells in the brain to allow injured areas to repair themselves. The researchers discovered in fruit flies that keeping the insulin receptor revved up in the brain prevents the die-off of neural stem cells that occurs when most regions of the brain mature into their adult forms. Whether the same technique will work in humans is unknown, but the UC Berkeley team hopes to find out.
Hariharan noted that other researchers have gotten neural stem cells to persist by blocking genes that cause them to die. Yet this alone does not produce healthy, normal-looking neural stem cells that can make mature neurons. The UC Berkeley team's new finding shows that it also is necessary to provide an insulin-like signal. If stopping neural stem cell death is analogous to taking your foot off the brake, then providing an insulin-like signal is like stepping on the gas, he said. Both are essential. Hariharan, post-doctoral researcher Sarah E. Siegrist and their colleagues published their findings today (Thursday, March 25) in the online version of the journal Current Biology. Their report will appear in the journal's April 13 print edition.
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
University of California, Berkeley, biologists have found a signal that keeps stem cells alive in the adult brain, providing a focus for scientists looking for ways to re-grow or re-seed stem cells in the brain to allow injured areas to repair themselves. The researchers discovered in fruit flies that keeping the insulin receptor revved up in the brain prevents the die-off of neural stem cells that occurs when most regions of the brain mature into their adult forms. Whether the same technique will work in humans is unknown, but the UC Berkeley team hopes to find out.
Hariharan noted that other researchers have gotten neural stem cells to persist by blocking genes that cause them to die. Yet this alone does not produce healthy, normal-looking neural stem cells that can make mature neurons. The UC Berkeley team's new finding shows that it also is necessary to provide an insulin-like signal. If stopping neural stem cell death is analogous to taking your foot off the brake, then providing an insulin-like signal is like stepping on the gas, he said. Both are essential. Hariharan, post-doctoral researcher Sarah E. Siegrist and their colleagues published their findings today (Thursday, March 25) in the online version of the journal Current Biology. Their report will appear in the journal's April 13 print edition.
Novel Parkinson’s treatment strategy involves cell transplantation
Source: University of California, San Francisco
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have used a novel cell-based strategy to treat motor symptoms in rats with a disease designed to mimic Parkinson's disease. The strategy suggests a promising approach, the scientists say, for treating symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including epilepsy.
The scientists transplanted embryonic neurons from fetal rats into an area of the adult rat brain known as the striatum, which integrates excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter signals to control movement. In Parkinson's disease, cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine are damaged, and thus unable to project their communication wires, or axons, to the region. As a result, the balance of excitation and inhibition in the striatum is lost, causing the motor deficits that are a primary symptom of the disease.
In the study, the transplanted embryonic neurons migrated and integrated into the correct neural circuitry of the striatum, matured into so-called GABAergic inhibitory interneurons, and dampened the over-excitation in the region. The rats had improved motor function, as seen in their balance, speed, and length of stride during walking. Moreover, the healthy "control" rats in which the cells had been transplanted took longer strides and ran faster on a runway test.
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have used a novel cell-based strategy to treat motor symptoms in rats with a disease designed to mimic Parkinson's disease. The strategy suggests a promising approach, the scientists say, for treating symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including epilepsy.
The scientists transplanted embryonic neurons from fetal rats into an area of the adult rat brain known as the striatum, which integrates excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter signals to control movement. In Parkinson's disease, cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine are damaged, and thus unable to project their communication wires, or axons, to the region. As a result, the balance of excitation and inhibition in the striatum is lost, causing the motor deficits that are a primary symptom of the disease.
In the study, the transplanted embryonic neurons migrated and integrated into the correct neural circuitry of the striatum, matured into so-called GABAergic inhibitory interneurons, and dampened the over-excitation in the region. The rats had improved motor function, as seen in their balance, speed, and length of stride during walking. Moreover, the healthy "control" rats in which the cells had been transplanted took longer strides and ran faster on a runway test.
New period of brain “plasticity” created with transplanted embryonic cells
Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco report that they were able to prompt a new period of “plasticity,” or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice. The approach, they say, might some day be used to create new periods of plasticity in the human brain that would allow for the repair of neural circuits following injury or disease. The strategy – which involved transplanting a specific type of immature neuron from embryonic mice into the visual cortex of young mice – could be used to treat neural circuits disrupted in abnormal fetal or postnatal development, stroke, traumatic brain injury, psychiatric illness and aging.
In their study, published in the journal Science, (Vol. 327. no. 5969, 2010), the scientists wanted to see if the embryonic neurons, once they had matured into GABA-producing inhibitory neurons, could induce plasticity in mice after the normal critical period had closed.
Date: March 25, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco report that they were able to prompt a new period of “plasticity,” or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice. The approach, they say, might some day be used to create new periods of plasticity in the human brain that would allow for the repair of neural circuits following injury or disease. The strategy – which involved transplanting a specific type of immature neuron from embryonic mice into the visual cortex of young mice – could be used to treat neural circuits disrupted in abnormal fetal or postnatal development, stroke, traumatic brain injury, psychiatric illness and aging.
In their study, published in the journal Science, (Vol. 327. no. 5969, 2010), the scientists wanted to see if the embryonic neurons, once they had matured into GABA-producing inhibitory neurons, could induce plasticity in mice after the normal critical period had closed.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Newly Discovered Gene Explains Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Immortality
Source: National Institute on Aging
Date: March 24, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a key to embryonic stem (ES) cell rejuvenation in a gene -- Zscan4 -- as reported in the March 24, 2010, online issue of Nature. This breakthrough finding could have major implications for aging research, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and cancer biology.
Date: March 24, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a key to embryonic stem (ES) cell rejuvenation in a gene -- Zscan4 -- as reported in the March 24, 2010, online issue of Nature. This breakthrough finding could have major implications for aging research, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and cancer biology.
Scientists Find Cells That Mend A Broken Heart
Source: Duke University Medical Center
Date: March 24, 2010
Summary:
DURHAM, N.C. -- Humans have very limited ability to regenerate heart muscle cells, which is a key reason why heart attacks that kill cells and scar heart tissue are so dangerous. But damaged heart muscles in the amazing, highly regenerative zebrafish have given Duke University Medical Center scientists a few ideas that may lead to new directions in clinical research and better therapy after heart attacks.
The data in this study showed that the major contributors to the regeneration of surgically removed heart muscle came from a subpopulation of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) near the area where the removal occurred. The study appears in the March 25 issue of Nature. The team labeled cells in the heart and found that cells that activated the gata4 gene upon injury ultimately contributed to regenerating the heart muscle.
The New York Times published a news story today on this finding.
Date: March 24, 2010
Summary:
DURHAM, N.C. -- Humans have very limited ability to regenerate heart muscle cells, which is a key reason why heart attacks that kill cells and scar heart tissue are so dangerous. But damaged heart muscles in the amazing, highly regenerative zebrafish have given Duke University Medical Center scientists a few ideas that may lead to new directions in clinical research and better therapy after heart attacks.
The data in this study showed that the major contributors to the regeneration of surgically removed heart muscle came from a subpopulation of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) near the area where the removal occurred. The study appears in the March 25 issue of Nature. The team labeled cells in the heart and found that cells that activated the gata4 gene upon injury ultimately contributed to regenerating the heart muscle.
The New York Times published a news story today on this finding.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Newly identified growth factor promotes stem cell growth, regeneration
Source: Duke University Medical Center
Date: March 21, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified a new growth factor that stimulates the expansion and regeneration of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells in culture and in laboratory animals. The discovery, appearing in the journal Nature Medicine, may help researchers overcome one of the most frustrating barriers to cellular therapy: the fact that stem cells are so few in number and so stubbornly resistant to expansion.
Date: March 21, 2010
Summary:
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified a new growth factor that stimulates the expansion and regeneration of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells in culture and in laboratory animals. The discovery, appearing in the journal Nature Medicine, may help researchers overcome one of the most frustrating barriers to cellular therapy: the fact that stem cells are so few in number and so stubbornly resistant to expansion.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Surgeons perform revolutionary transplant operation
Source: University College London
Date: 19 March 2010
Summary:
University College London scientists and surgeons have led a revolutionary operation to transplant a new trachea into a child and use the child's own stem cells to rebuild the airway in the body. The operation - a world first - involved laboratory-based scientists and hospital-based clinicians working in partnership with colleagues in Europe to treat a 10-year-old British boy.
Date: 19 March 2010
Summary:
University College London scientists and surgeons have led a revolutionary operation to transplant a new trachea into a child and use the child's own stem cells to rebuild the airway in the body. The operation - a world first - involved laboratory-based scientists and hospital-based clinicians working in partnership with colleagues in Europe to treat a 10-year-old British boy.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Using stem cells to mend damaged hips
Source: University of Southampton
Date: March 18, 2010
Summary:
Bone stem cells could in future be used instead of bone from donors as part of an innovative new hip replacement treatment, according to scientists at the University of Southampton. A team from the University’s School of Medicine believe that introducing a patient’s own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting would encourage more successful regrowth and repair. The grafting technique is used to repair the thigh bone and joint during replacement (known as 'revision') hip replacement therapy, a procedure in which surgeons introduce donor bone to the damaged area to provide support for the new hip stem. In this collaborative study between the University of Southampton and The University of Nottingham, researchers will use adult stem cells from bone marrow in combination with an innovative impaction process and polymer scaffolds.
Date: March 18, 2010
Summary:
Bone stem cells could in future be used instead of bone from donors as part of an innovative new hip replacement treatment, according to scientists at the University of Southampton. A team from the University’s School of Medicine believe that introducing a patient’s own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting would encourage more successful regrowth and repair. The grafting technique is used to repair the thigh bone and joint during replacement (known as 'revision') hip replacement therapy, a procedure in which surgeons introduce donor bone to the damaged area to provide support for the new hip stem. In this collaborative study between the University of Southampton and The University of Nottingham, researchers will use adult stem cells from bone marrow in combination with an innovative impaction process and polymer scaffolds.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
CBS News: Where America Stands: New Problems and Solutions as Stem Cell Research Finally Picks Up Steam
Source: CBS News
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
CBS News reports on the current state of stem cell research and examines recent discoveries in and future prospects for the field. A CBS News video accompanies this story:
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
CBS News reports on the current state of stem cell research and examines recent discoveries in and future prospects for the field. A CBS News video accompanies this story:
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Researchers Identify Key Mechanism that Guides Cells to Form Heart Tissue
Source: University of Southern California
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California have identified a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation—a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
Heart tissue forms in two distinct phases known as the First Heart Field, which includes the left ventricle and portions of both atrial chambers, and the Second Heart Field (SHF), which consists of the right ventricle and outflow tract. In humans, the process occurs within the fourth week of development. Using animal models, Keck School of Medicine researchers found that retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of vitamin A, regulates the SHF tissue formation and the septation, or division, of the outflow tract into the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery. The study appears in the March 16 issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California have identified a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation—a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
Heart tissue forms in two distinct phases known as the First Heart Field, which includes the left ventricle and portions of both atrial chambers, and the Second Heart Field (SHF), which consists of the right ventricle and outflow tract. In humans, the process occurs within the fourth week of development. Using animal models, Keck School of Medicine researchers found that retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of vitamin A, regulates the SHF tissue formation and the septation, or division, of the outflow tract into the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery. The study appears in the March 16 issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
BioTime, Inc. Reports Peer-Reviewed Scientific Publication on the Reversal of the Developmental Aging of Normal Human Cells
Source: BioTime, Inc.
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a scientific paper titled "Spontaneous Reversal of Developmental Aging in Normal Human Cells Following Transcriptional Reprogramming." The article was released online today in the peer-reviewed journal Regenerative Medicine in advance of the print publication. The demonstration that the aging of human cells can be reversed may have significant implications for the development of new classes of cell-based therapies targeting age-related degenerative disease.
In the article, BioTime and its collaborators demonstrate the successful reversal of the developmental aging of normal human cells. Using precise genetic modifications, normal human cells were induced to reverse both the "clock" of differentiation (the process by which an embryonic stem cell becomes the many specialized differentiated cell types of the body), and the "clock" of cellular aging (telomere length). As a result, aged differentiated cells became young stem cells capable of regeneration.
Date: March 16, 2010
Summary:
BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a scientific paper titled "Spontaneous Reversal of Developmental Aging in Normal Human Cells Following Transcriptional Reprogramming." The article was released online today in the peer-reviewed journal Regenerative Medicine in advance of the print publication. The demonstration that the aging of human cells can be reversed may have significant implications for the development of new classes of cell-based therapies targeting age-related degenerative disease.
In the article, BioTime and its collaborators demonstrate the successful reversal of the developmental aging of normal human cells. Using precise genetic modifications, normal human cells were induced to reverse both the "clock" of differentiation (the process by which an embryonic stem cell becomes the many specialized differentiated cell types of the body), and the "clock" of cellular aging (telomere length). As a result, aged differentiated cells became young stem cells capable of regeneration.
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