Research May Hold Key to Maintaining Embryonic Stem Cells in Lab

Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Date: July 9, 2009

Summary:

In a new study that could transform embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered why mouse ES cells can be easily grown in a laboratory while other mammalian ES cells are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. If the findings in mice can be applied to other animals, scientists could have an entirely new palette of research tools to work with, said Dr. Steven McKnight, chairman of biochemistry at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study appearing in the July 9 issue of Science Express.

According to the research, the activation of a gene called TDH in mouse ES cells results in the cells entering a unique metabolic state that is similar to that of rapidly growing bacterial cells. The gene controls the production of the threonine dehydrogenase (TDH) enzyme in mouse ES cells. This enzyme breaks down an amino acid called threonine into two products. One of the two products goes on to control a cellular process called one carbon metabolism; the other provides ES cells with an essential metabolic fuel.

Cellular Dynamics International Reprograms Blood Cells into Stem Cells

Source: Cellular Dynamics International, Inc.
Date: July 8, 2009

Summary:

Researchers at Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) report the ability to generate pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to generate all tissue types in the body, from very small volumes of ordinary human blood samples. This significant breakthrough provides a readily obtainable source of pluripotent stem cells from the millions of samples in storage at blood repositories and healthcare institutions worldwide. These findings, announced today, will be presented during a poster session beginning at 4:45 p.m. on July 10 at the ISSCR annual meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

Stem cells’ “suspended” state preserved by key step, scientists report

Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: July 8, 2009

Summary:

Scientists have identified a gene that is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their all-purpose, pluripotent state. Exploiting the finding may lead to a greater understanding of how cells acquire their specialized states and provide a strategy to efficiently reprogram mature cells back into the pluripotent state, an elusive step in stem cell research but one crucial to a range of potential clinical treatments. The research was led by University of California, San Francisco scientists. It is being reported Wednesday, July 8, 2009, in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature, and will be published in the journal’s print edition at the end of July.

Functional Dendritic Cells Can Be Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells

Source: Geron Corporation
Date: July 6, 2009

Summary:

Geron Corporation today announced the publication of data demonstrating that dendritic cells (DCs) scalably manufactured from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit the normal functions of naturally occurring human DCs found in the bloodstream. These findings support the use of hESC-derived DCs in therapeutic vaccine applications for cancer and other diseases. Substituting standardized, off-the-shelf hESC-derived DCs for current approaches using DCs obtained from individual patients may result in more cost effective and reliable approaches to cancer immunotherapy.

The study, authored by Geron scientists and collaborators Prof. Waldmann and Dr. Fairchild at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, appears online in advance of print in the journal Regenerative Medicine.

Scientists find molecular differences between embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed skin cells

Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: July 2, 2009

Summary:

UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. The data from the study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression signatures. The differing signatures were evident regardless of where the cell lines were generated, the methods by which they were derived or the species from which they were isolated, said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a study author. The study appears in the July 2, 2009 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Human cardiac master stem cells identified

Source Harvard University
Date: July 1, 2009

Summary:

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified the earliest master human heart stem cell from human embryonic stem cells - ISL1+ progenitors - that give rise to a family of cells that form the essential portions of the human heart. The discovery, by a group led by Kenneth Chien, director of both HSCI’s Cardiovascular Disease Program and the MGH Cardiovascular Research Center, is particularly important because the cells were found in regions of the heart known as hot spots for congenital heart disease. These latest findings, published today in the journal Nature, build upon and expand earlier work by Chien’s team and others in mice.

Blood stem cell growth factor reverses memory decline in mice

Source: University of South Florida Health
Date: July 1, 2009

Summary:

A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. Haley Hospital found. The granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) significantly reduced levels of the brain-clogging protein beta amyloid deposited in excess in the brains of the Alzheimer's mice, increased the production of new neurons and promoted nerve cell connections. The findings are reported online in Neuroscience and are scheduled to appear in the journal's print edition in August.

Stanford discovery pinpoints new connection between cancer cells, stem cells

Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: July 1, 2009

Summary:

STANFORD, Calif. — A molecule called telomerase, best known for enabling unlimited cell division of stem cells and cancer cells, has a surprising additional role in the expression of genes in an important stem cell regulatory pathway, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The unexpected finding may lead to new anticancer therapies and a greater understanding of how adult and embryonic stem cells divide and specialize.

"Telomerase is the factor that accounts for the unlimited division of cancer cells," said Steven Artandi, MD, PhD, associate professor of hematology, "and we're very excited about what this connection might mean in human disease." Artandi is the senior author of the research, which will be published in the July 2 issue of the journal Nature. He is also a member of Stanford's Cancer Center.

Neural Stem Cell Differentiation Factor Found

Source: Goethe University Frankfurt
Date: June 30, 2009

Summary:

Neural stem cells represent the cellular backup of our brain. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes have supportive functions in the environment of neurons, while oligodendrocytes form the myelin layer around axons in order to accelerate neuronal signal transmission. But how does a neural stem cell "know" which way it is supposed to develop?

On the molecular level receptors of the Notch family play a significant role in this process. So far, only stimulating extracellular ligands of Notch receptors had been described. Biochemists of Goethe University Medical School now describe a long time assumed but not yet identified soluble Notch inhibitor.

Franfurt scientists led by Mirko Schmidt and Ivan Dikic reported in the renowned journal Nature Cell Biology that the secreted protein EGFL7 (Epidermal Growth Factor-like domain 7) is such an inhibitory factor. EGFL7 had already been known from its involvement in the development of blood vessels.

Early heart attack therapy with bone marrow extract improves cardiac function

Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: June 29, 2009

Summary:

A UCSF study for the treatment of heart failure after heart attack found that the extract derived from bone marrow cells is as effective as therapy using bone marrow stem cells for improving cardiac function, decreasing the formation of scar tissue and improving cardiac pumping capacity after heart attack. Findings were published online and in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Molecular Therapy. The cover of the journal features a microscope image of cells from the UCSF study.

The studies were done in mice using a novel stem cell delivery method developed by UCSF researchers to show that the extract from bone marrow cells is as beneficial to cardiac function as are intact, whole cells. Both the cell and cell extract therapies resulted in the presence of more blood vessels and less cardiac cell death, or apoptosis, than no therapy. The study also showed that heart function benefitted despite the finding that few of the injected cells remained in the heart at one month after therapy.

In a related story, below is a video from CBS News about an experimental procedure using adult stem cells to repair heart attack damage:


Watch CBS Videos Online

Scientists uncovered molecular machinery related to stem cell fate

Source: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Date: June 26, 2009

Summary:

The Stowers Institute's Xie Lab has revealed how the BAM protein affects germline stem cell differentiation and how it is involved in regulating the quality of stem cells through intercellular competition. The work was published today by PNAS Early Edition.

Maintaining the proper balance between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation is critical for normal homeostasis. An imbalance between the two can lead to tissue degeneration and to the development of tumors. It has long been known that the BAM protein is necessary for germline stem cell differentiation, but the specific molecular mechanism underlying BAM function had remained a mystery until now.

Examining the fruit fly ovary, the Xie Lab established that BAM controls stem cell differentiation and competition by interfering with the function of the protein translation initiation factor eIF4A. EIF4A and BAM antagonize each other to regulate the balance between self-renewal and differentiation by promoting proper expression of E-cadherin — a molecule crucial to the stem cell's ability to attach to its microenvironment (its niche).

Stem Cells Created From Pigs' Connective Tissue Cells

Source: University of Missouri - Columbia
Date: June 25, 2009

Summary:

Scientists at the University of Missouri have developed the ability to take regular cells from a pig's connective tissues, known as fibroblasts, and transform them into stem cells, eliminating several of the hurdles associated with stem cell research. The new study appeared in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

Stem Cell Surprise For Tissue Regeneration

Source: Carnegie Institution
Date: June 25, 2009

Summary:

Scientists working at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology, with colleagues, have overturned previous research that identified critical genes for making muscle stem cells. It turns out that the genes that make muscle stem cells in the embryo are surprisingly not needed in adult muscle stem cells to regenerate muscles after injury. The finding challenges the current course of research into muscular dystrophy, muscle injury, and regenerative medicine, which uses stem cells for healing tissues, and it favours using age-matched stem cells for therapy. The study is published in the June 25 advance online edition of Nature.

Discarded Fallopian Tubes Could Be Rich Source Of Stem Cells, Study

Source: Medical News Today
Article Date: 19 June 2009 - 10:00 PDT

Summary:

Medical News Today reports researchers have found that stem cells from fallopian tubes may be potential sources of mesenchymal (blood and bone marrow) stem cells:

"Fallopian tubes normally discarded after hysterectomies and other procedures could become rich potential sources for mesenchymal stem cells which like other types of stem cell can be coaxed to develop into a variety of cell types, according to a new study by researchers in Brazil. Researchers from the University of São Paulo's Human Genome Research Centre, which is directed by Dr Mayana Zatz conducted the study in collaboration with medical doctors from the University's reproductive surgery department. The results are published as an online paper in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine."

Johns Hopkins researchers edit genes in human stem cells

Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Date: June 18, 2009

Summary:

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have successfully edited the genome of human- induced pluripotent stem cells, making possible the future development of patient-specific stem cell therapies. Reporting this week in Cell Stem Cell, the team altered a gene responsible for causing the rare blood disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, establishing for the first time a useful system to learn more about the disease.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Could Safely Treat Eye Diseases, Research Suggests

Source: Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.
Date: June 15, 2009

Summary:

Advanced Cell Technology and its collaborators at OHSU report the long-term safety and efficacy of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium produced under manufacturing conditions suitable for human clinical trials. The research shows long-term functional rescue using hESC-derived cells in both the RCS rat and Elov14 mouse, animal models of retinal degeneration and Stargardt disease, respectively.

The research, which appears online ahead of print in the journal Stem Cells, shows long-term functional rescue using hESC-derived cells in both the RCS rat and Elov14 mouse, animal models of retinal degeneration and Stargardt, respectively. The cells survived transplantation for prolonged periods (>220 days) and sustained visual function without tumor formation or untoward pathological reactions. Near-normal functional rescue was also achieved in the 'Stargardt' mouse. To further address safety concerns, a study was carried out in the NIH III immune deficient mouse model. Long-term data (spanning the life of the animals) revealed no evidence of tumor formation after transplantation.

'Designer Molecules' Being Developed To Fight Disease

Source: University of Leicester
Date: 12 June 2009

Summary:

Researchers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester are developing a new way to make protein based drugs with potential applications in stroke, vascular inflammation, blood vessel formation, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The research carried out by Shikha Sharma in Dr Nick Brindle's group in Department of Cardiovascular Sciences aims to allow researchers to rapidly make 'designer proteins' that can bind to disease causing molecules in the body.

OHSU stem cell test results: OK, so far

Source: The Oregonian
Posted: June 09, 2009, 8:18 PM

Summary;

The Oregonian reports doctors at Oregon Health & Science University found that patieints treated with adult stem cells in a clinical trial to treat Batten Disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, have not had any negative side effects from the treatment:

"Starting in 2006, doctors at Oregon Health & Science University opened the brains of six severely ill children and injected special stem cells derived from human fetuses, the first such surgery known. Now, the company behind that experiment has unveiled its take on the results: Five of the six patients are still alive, and none suffered serious problems "considered related to" the stem cells."

No dangerous side effects from stem cell treatment for brain disorder

Source: San Jose Mercury News
Posted: June 8, 2009 11:37:55 AM PDT
Updated: June 8, 2009 108:30:14 PM PDT

Summary:

The San Jose Mercury News reports StemCells Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced that its stem cell treatment for a rare and fatal brain disorder has no dangerous side effects in patients with the disorder:

"An experimental stem-cell treatment developed by StemCells of Palo Alto has shown no dangerous side effects after being injected into six children with a rare and as-yet always fatal brain disorder, the company said Monday. The groundbreaking study begun in 2006 involves children suffering from Batten disease, a heretofore incurable malady that often causes its mostly young victims to suffer seizures and blindness before killing them."

Details of the treatment procedure are described below:

"The ailment results from a defective gene that fails to create an enzyme the brain needs to dispose of cellular waste. The waste piles up and kills healthy cells until the patients die, typically before they reach their teens. By injecting fetal stem cells into the children's brains, researchers hope the cells will help the brains produce the missing enzyme. In the study, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and involving children in advanced stages of the disease, the stem cells "were well tolerated by all six patients" and produced no ill effects, the company said in a prepared statement."

Fatal brain disease at work well before symptoms appear

Source: University of Florida
Date June 8, 2009

Summary:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida scientists have discovered why a paralyzing brain disorder speeds along more rapidly in some patients than others — a finding that may finally give researchers an entry point toward an effective treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Of more than 100 possible mutations of a single gene inherited by people with familial ALS, the mutations most inclined to produce clumps of problematic cellular debris known as “protein aggregates” appear to be associated with quicker progress of the disease, according to researchers with the University of Florida’s McKnight Brain Institute writing online this week in Human Molecular Genetics.

StemCells, Inc. Announces Positive Trial Results

Source: StemCells, Inc.
Date: June 8, 2009

Summary:

In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced positive results from its clinical trial using purified human neural stem cells to treat Batten disease:

" StemCells, Inc. announced today positive results from the first Phase I clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC ® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells), including demonstration of a favorable safety profile along with evidence of engraftment and long-term survival of the HuCNS-SC cells. The Phase I trial was designed primarily to assess the safety of HuCNS-SC cells as a potential cell-based therapeutic. Six patients with advanced stages of infantile and late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), often referred to as Batten disease, were transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells and followed for 12 months. Overall, the Phase I data demonstrated that high doses of HuCNS-SC cells, delivered by a direct transplantation procedure into multiple sites within the brain, followed by twelve months of immunosuppression, were well tolerated by all six patients enrolled in the trial. The patients’ medical, neurological and neuropsychological conditions, following transplantation, appeared consistent with the normal course of the disease."

Landmark Stem Cells Trial Yields Positive Results

Source: Oregon Health & Science University
Date: June 8, 2009

Summary:

A groundbreaking clinical trial to test the safety and preliminary efficacy of StemCells, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: STEM) proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate in children with a rare neurodegenerative disease has yielded a favorable safety profile of the product and evidence of engraftment and long-term survival of the donor cells. The study results were presented at the 12th International Congress on Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCL) held June 3 - 6, 2009, in Hamburg, Germany.

The Phase I trial of HuCNS-SC (purified human neural stem cells) conducted at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital included six children with advanced stages of infantile and late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), often referred to as Batten disease. The study participants were transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells and followed for 12 months.

Overall, the Phase I data demonstrated that high doses of HuCNS-SC cells transplanted directly into multiple sites within the brain followed by 12 months of immunosuppression were well tolerated by all six patients. The patients' medical, neurological and neuropsychological conditions following transplantation appeared consistent with the normal course of the disease.

Sleuths follow lung stem cells for generations to shed light on healing

Source: Duke University Medical Center
Date: June 4, 2009

Summary:

More than one kind of stem cell is required to support the upkeep and repair of the lungs, according to a new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center painstakingly followed and counted genetically labeled cells in the mouse lung for over a year, under differing conditions, to learn more about natural renewal and healing processes. This information may shed light on what goes wrong in conditions like lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and asthma.

Ottawa scientists discover new way to enhance stem cells to stimulate muscle regeneration

Source: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Date: June 4, 2009

Summary:

Scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have discovered a powerful new way to stimulate muscle regeneration, paving the way for new treatments for debilitating conditions such as muscular dystrophy. The research, to be published in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell, shows for the first time that a protein called Wnt7a increases the number of stem cells in muscle tissue, leading to accelerated growth and repair of skeletal muscle.

Researchers make pig stem cells

Source: Reuters
Posted: June 2, 2009 8:09pm EDT

Summary:

Reuters reports researchers have turn cells from pigs into stem cells that may be able to treat human disease:

"Researchers have found a way to transform ordinary cells from pigs into powerful stem cells in a move that may have implications for human health. With these stem cells, they hope to modify porcine genes that are related to the immune system so that its organs may some day be used for people in need of transplants. In an article published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, the researchers from China described how they managed to re-program ordinary cells taken from the ear and bone marrow of a 10-week-old pig using a virus."

World first: Chinese scientists create pig stem cells

Source: Oxford University
Date: June 2, 2009

Summary:

Scientists have managed to induce cells from pigs to transform into pluripotent stem cells - cells that, like embryonic stem cells, are capable of developing into any type of cell in the body. It is the first time in the world that this has been achieved using somatic cells (cells that are not sperm or egg cells) from any animal with hooves (known as ungulates). The implications of this achievement are far-reaching; the research could open the way to creating models for human genetic diseases, genetically engineering animals for organ transplants for humans, and for developing pigs that are resistant to diseases such as swine flu. The work is the first research paper to be published online today (Wednesday 3 June) in the newly launched Journal of Molecular Cell Biology[1].

Stem cell protein offers a new cancer target

Source: Children's Hospital Boston
Date: June 1, 2009

Summary:

A protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

Last year, George Daley, MD, PhD, and graduate student Srinivas Viswanathan, in collaboration with Richard Gregory, PhD, also of the Stem Cell Program at Children's, showed that the protein LIN28 regulates an important group of tumor-suppressing microRNAs known as let-7. Increasing LIN28 production in a cell prevented let-7 from maturing, making the cell more immature and stem-like. Since these qualities also make a cell more cancerous, and because low levels of mature let-7 have been associated with breast and lung cancer, the discovery suggested that LIN28 might be oncogenic.

Now, publishing Advance Online in Nature Genetics on May 31, Daley, Viswanathan and colleagues show directly that LIN28 can transform cells to a cancerous state, and that it is abundant in a variety of advanced human cancers, particularly liver cancer, ovarian cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, germ cell tumors and Wilm's tumor (a childhood kidney cancer). They believe that overall, LIN28 and a related protein, LIN28B, may be involved in some 15 percent of human cancers. By blocking or suppressing LIN28, it might be possible to revive the let-7 family's natural tumor-suppressing action.

Salk scientists report success with stem cell therapy

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
Posted: May 31, 2009 7:59 p.m. PDT

Summary:

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have made progress toward using stem cells and gene therapy to treat a genetic disease:

"Scientists at La Jolla's Salk Institute for Biological Studies say they've taken a significant step toward using stem cells and gene therapy to cure a genetic disease. The team led by Salk Professor Juan-Carlos Izpisua Belmonte corrected a defective gene in cells taken from patients with Fanconi anemia, a disease that can lead to bone marrow failure, leukemia and other cancers. Their work, published online Sunday by the journal Nature, offers the first proof that the technology can work in human cells – though more work remains for it to be tried in patients."

Genetic Re-disposition: Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro

Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: June 1, 2009

Summary:

La Jolla, CA—A study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. The study, published in the May 31, 2009 early online edition of Nature, is a major milestone on the path from the laboratory to the clinic.

Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells Injected into Skeletal Muscle Can Repair Heart Tissue

Source: University at Buffalo
Date: May 28, 2009

Summary:

University at Buffalo researchers have demonstrated for the first time that injecting adult bone marrow stem cells into skeletal muscle can repair cardiac tissue, reversing heart failure. Using an animal model, the researchers showed that this non-invasive procedure increased myocytes, or heart cells, by two-fold and reduced cardiac tissue injury by 60 percent. The therapy also improved function of the left ventricle, the primary pumping chamber of the heart, by 40 percent and reduced fibrosis, the hardening of the heart lining that impairs its ability to contract, by up to 50 percent.

The paper reporting this development appears online in the Articles-in-Press section of the American Journal of Physiology -- Heart Circulation Physiology .

New Therapy Substitutes Missing Protein in Those with Muscular Dystrophy

Source: University of Minnesota
Date: May 26, 2009

Summary:

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered a new therapy that shows potential to treat people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal disease and the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children. In the mouse model, researchers were able to substitute for the missing protein – dystrophin, which forms a key part of the framework that holds muscle tissue together – that results in the disease, effectively repairing weakened muscle tissue.

Researchers injected dystrophic mice with a protein called utrophin – a very close relative of dystrophin – that was modified with a cell-penetrating tag, called TAT. The study is the first to establish the efficacy and feasibility of the TAT-utrophin-based protein as a viable therapy for the treatment of muscular dystrophy as well as cardiac muscle diseases caused by loss of dystrophin. The research is published in the May 26, 2009 issue of PLoS Medicine.

Stem cells hold promise in treating retinal degeneration

Source: University of Louisville
Date: May 21, 2009

Summary:

A team of University of Louisville scientists have discovered that stem cells taken from bone marrow can restore damaged retinal tissue by generating new cells. This is the first known study where stem cells derived from bone marrow have been used to restore the pigmented cell layer just outside the retina or the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). During their experiments, UofL researchers found that bone-marrow derived stem cells (BMSCs) were attracted to damaged RPE, and were able to differentiate or move from less specialized cells into components of RPE. The study, published recently in the Archives of Ophthalmology. The research moves science a step closer to helping those who suffer from vision loss and blindness due to age-related macular degeneration and hereditary retinal degenerations.

Gene Therapy Could Expand Stem Cells' Promise

Source: New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Date: May 21, 2009

Summary:

Once placed into a patient's body, stem cells intended to treat or cure a disease could end up wreaking havoc simply because they are no longer under the control of the clinician. But gene therapy has the potential to solve this problem, according to a perspective article from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center published in a recent issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper details strategies for genetically modifying stem cells prior to transplantation in order to ensure their safety.

Scientists Develop Novel Method to Stimulate Growth of New Neurons in Adult Brain

Source: University at Buffalo
Date: May 20, 2009

Summary:

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo researchers have identified a new mechanism that plays a central role in adult brain stem cell development and prompts brain stem cells to differentiate into neurons. Their discovery, known as Integrative FGFR1 Signaling (INFS), has fundamentally challenged the prevailing ideas of how signals are processed in cells during neuronal development. The INFS mechanism is considered capable of repopulating degenerated brain areas, raising possibilities for new treatments for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, and may be a promising anti-cancer therapy. Results of the research appear in a recent issue of Integrative Biology.

Stem Cell Research Made Safer with Latest Discovery

Source: University of California - Riverside
Date: May 15, 2009

Summary:

A new development in stem cell research has resulted from a completed study by a collaboration of scientists using the drug Rapamycin to inhibit mTOR, an intracellular protein necessary in cell proliferation. University of California, Riverside’s Jiayu Liao, assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Bourns College of Engineering, recently published a paper on the results in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences dealing with human embryonic stem cell pluripotency. His team inhibited mTOR using Rapamycin, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and found that pluripotency (the ability to create all cell types) was impaired, stem cell self-renew was prevented, and endodermal and mesodermal differentiation were enhanced.

How an enzyme tells stem cells which way to divide

Source: University of Oregon
Date: May 14, 2009

Summary:

Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell's fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They've found that one enzyme (aPKC) stands alone and acts as a traffic cop that directs which roads daughter cells will take.

"Wherever aPKC is at on a cell's cortex or membrane, Miranda isn't," says Kenneth E. Prehoda, a professor in the chemistry department and member of the University of Oregon's Institute of Molecular Biology. When a stem cell duplicates into daughter cells, the side, or cortical domain, containing aPKC (atypical protein kinase C) continues as a stem cell, while the other domain with Miranda becomes a differentiated cell such as a neuron that forms the central nervous system.

Prehoda and co-author Scott X. Atwood, who studied in Prehoda's lab and recently earned his doctorate, describe how the mechanism works in the May 12 issue of the journal Current Biology.

Embryo's heartbeat drives blood stem cell formation

Source: Children's Hospital Boston
Date: May 13, 2009

Summary:

Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two groups of researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) -- presenting multiple lines of evidence from zebrafish, mice and mouse embryonic stem cells -- provide an intriguing answer: A beating heart and blood flow are necessary for development of the blood system, which relies on mechanical stresses to cue its formation.

Their studies, published online by the journals Cell and Nature, respectively, on May 13, together offer clues that may help in treating blood diseases such as leukemia, immune deficiency and sickle cell anemia, suggesting new ways scientists can make the types of blood cells a patient needs. This would help patients who require marrow or cord blood transplants, who do not have a perfect donor match.

Method To Neutralize Tumor Growth In Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Discovered

Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date: May 6, 2009

Summary:

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a method to potentially eliminate the tumor-risk factor in utilizing human embryonic stem cells. Their work paves the way for further progress in the promising field of stem cell therapy. A major drawback to the use of stem cells, however, remains the demonstrated tendency of such cells to grow into a specific kind of tumor, called teratoma, when they are implanted in laboratory experiments into mice. It is assumed that this tumorigenic feature will be manifested upon transplantation to human patients as well.

A team of researchers at the Stem Cell Unit in the Department of Genetics at the Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University has been working on various approaches to deal with this problem.

In their latest project, the researchers analyzed the genetic basis of tumor formation from human embryonic stem cells and identified a key gene that is involved in this unique tumorigenicity. This gene, called survivin, is expressed in most cancers and in early stage embryos, but it is almost completely absent from mature normal tissues.

Extreme makeover: Scientists explore new way to change cell's identity

Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Date: May 5, 2009

Summary:

Even cells aren't immune to peer pressure. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now shown that skin cells can be coaxed to behave like muscle cells -- and muscle cells like skin cells -- solely by altering who they hang out with: the relative levels of the ingredients inside the cell. The fickleness of the cells, and the relative ease with which they make the switch, provide a glimpse into the genetic reprogramming that must occur for a cell to become something it's not.

Harnessing these genetic makeovers will allow scientists to better understand how to induce specialized adult cells to revert to a stem-cell-like state in a process called induced pluripotency. These newly pluripotent, or iPS, cells, which can then be encouraged to branch out into a variety of other cell types, have shown increasing promise as possible therapies for disorders like diabetes. But Blau's experiments suggest an intriguing alternative to iPS: that of enticing specialized adult cells to move sideways from one developmental fate to another without requiring a dip into the stem cell pool.

Process controlling T cell growth and production identified

Source: Baylor College of Medicine
Date: May 3, 2009

Summary:

Identifying one of the processes that plays a role in naďve and memory T-cells' growth and production could one day lead to better vaccines and possibly more effective cancer immunotherapy, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears in the current edition of Nature Immunology.

Scientists Shed Light on Inner Workings of Human Embryonic Stem Cells; Findings Expected to Help Cancer Research

Source: University of California - Santa Barbara
Date: April 30, 2009

Summary:

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a significant discovery in understanding the way human embryonic stem cells function. They explain nature's way of controlling whether these cells will renew, or will transform to become part of an ear, a liver, or any other part of the human body. The study is reported in the May 1 issue of the journal Cell. The scientists say the finding bodes well for cancer research, since tumor stem cells are the engines responsible for the growth of tumors. The discovery is also expected to help with other diseases and injuries. The study describes nature's negative feedback loop in cell biology.

Zebrafish offer clues to treatments for motor neurone disease

Source: University of Edinburgh
Date: 29 April 2009

Summary:

Tiny zebrafish could hold the key to stem cell treatments for motor neurone disease. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have found that these fish are able to produce motor neurones - cells that control all muscle activity such as speaking, walking and breathing in humans - when they repair damage to their spinal cords. Researchers are now screening small molecules with a view to finding drugs that could kick-start the process of motor neurone regeneration in zebrafish, with a view to translating their findings into treatments for humans. The discovery could help patients with motor neurone disease, in which the motor neurone cells die and are not replaced.

Scientists identify key factors in heart cell creation

Source: Gladstone Institutes
Date: April 26, 2009

Summary:

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease have identified for the first time key genetic factors that drive the process of generating new heart cells. The discovery, reported in the current issue of the journal Nature, provides important new directions on how stem cells may be used to repair damaged hearts. For decades, scientists were unable to identify a single factor that could turn nonmuscle cells into beating heart cells. Using a clever approach, the research team led by Benoit Bruneau, Ph.D., found that a combination of three genes could do the trick. This is the first time any combination of factors has been found to activate cardiac differentiation in mammalian cells or tissues.