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2012-02-18T11:01:00.001-05:00

Dr. Bruce Hensel reports on a new study from Cedars Sinai, which found that heart attack patients who received stem cell injections were able to reverse some of the damage to their heart.

See the NBC report

Authors of a small study using cardiac-derived stem cells in “convalescent” MI patients say they’ve uncovered some of the first true evidence that the heart can regenerate, describing a new method that, they say, led to “unprecedented” improvements in viable heart muscle.

Results of the CADUCEUS study, published online February 13, 2012 in the Lancet, showed not only that scar size was reduced on MRI at six months—something also seen in previous research—but also that the amount of viable heart mass and regional contractility were also improved.

Dr Raj R Makkar (Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Los Angeles, CA) and colleagues used a proprietary technique to harvest autologous heart cells from endomyocardial biopsy specimens, then grow these cells—dubbed cardiosphere-derived-cells—to the therapeutic dose. The test population was made up of post-MI patients with left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEFs) ranging from 25% to 45%, with subjects randomized 2:1 to receive cardiosphere-derived cells (17 patients) or to standard care (eight patients).

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2012-02-13T10:58:00.001-05:00

Researchers make breakthrough in stem cell research

February 13, 2012

(Medical Xpress) -- University of Queensland scientists have developed a world-first method for producing adult stem cells that will substantially impact patients who have a range of serious diseases.

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The research is a collaborative effort involving UQ's Australian Institute forBioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and is led by UQ Clinical Research Centre's (UQCCR) Professor Nicholas Fisk.

It revealed a new method to create mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be used to repair bone and potentially other organs.

“We used a small molecule to induce embryonic stem cells over a 10 day period, which is much faster than other studies reported in the literature,” Professor Fisk said.

“The technique also worked on their less contentious counterparts, induced pluripotent stem cells.

“To make the pluripotent mature stem cells useful in the clinic, they have to be told what type of cell they need to become (pre-differentiated), before being administered to an injured organ, or otherwise they could form tumours.

“Because only small numbers of MSCs exist in the bone marrow and harvesting bone marrow from a healthy donor is an invasive procedure, the ability to make our own MSCs in large number in the laboratory is an exciting step in the future widespread clinical use of MSCs.

“We were able to show these new forms of stem cells exhibited all the characteristics of bone marrow stem cells and we are currently examining their bone repair capability."

AIBN Associate Professor and Co-Investigator on the project, Ernst Wolvetang said the new protocol had overcome a significant barrier in the translation of stem cell-based therapy.

“We are very excited by this research, which has brought together stem cell researchers from two of the major UQ research hubs UQCCR and AIBN,” Associate Professor Wolvetang said.

The research is published in the February edition of the STEM CELLSTranslational Medicine journal.

Provided by University of Queensland

2012-02-09T10:41:00.003-05:00

Parkinson's disease brain cells created in lab

Scientists have successfully made genetic brain cells with Parkinson's disease in a lab, a huge breakthrough for curing the disease.

Talia RalphFebruary 8, 2012 19:42

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Scientists have created stem cell versions of brain cells with Parkinson's disease, a breakthrough for finding a cure. (Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty Images)

Exact replicas of human brain cells with Parkinson's disease have been created by scientists from the University of Buffalo, a huge step towards finding a cure, BBC News reported.

The stem cells will allow researchers to find out how other forms of Parkinson’s develop, The Mirror reported. The cells also give scientists the unprecedented ability to run tests on live brain tissue; such neurons were formerly inaccessible, because they are located too deep in the brain.

"This is the first time that human dopamine neurons have ever been generated from Parkinson's disease patients with parkin mutations," said Dr. Jian Feng, professor of physiology and biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the study's lead author, The Digital Journal reported. "Before this, we didn't even think about being able to study the disease in human neurons. The brain is so fully integrated, it's impossible to obtain live human neurons to study."

More from GlobalPost: EU stem cell patent ban is 'unbelieveable setback', say researchers

The study was published by Nature Communications. The scientists have called their discovery a "game-changer" in the fight against Parkinson's.

To make the neurons, Dr. Feng and his team used a technique which turns donated skin cells into brain tissue, BBC reported. They used skin samples from two healthy people and two with Parkinson's disease, which allowed them to study the parkin gene that causes the disease.

The research was inspired by a 2007 Japanese study in which researchers converted human cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that could be subsequently morphed into nearly any cells in the body, The Daily Journal reported.

“This study is particularly exciting because it describes for the first time how researchers have successfully generated nerve cells from people with a rare genetic form of Parkinson's, linked to the parkin gene," Dr. Michelle Gardner, a research development manager at Parkinson’s UK, told the Mirror.

The research also found that inserting the correct form of the gene into the nerve cells could restore their proper functioning, which points towards possibilities for new treatments of Parkinson's.

More from GlobalPost: China inserting human stem cells in goats

2012-02-07T14:30:00.002-05:00

UGA stem cell discovery could help bones mend faster

By LEE SHEARER - lee.shearer@onlineathens.com

Published Monday, February 6, 2012 Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 12:29am

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Richard Hamm/Staff Pictured here is a sheep being used by researchers at a University of Georgia animal research facility to develop a "fracture putty" with stem cells that is capable of healing broken bones quickly on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 in Athens, Ga.

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Broken bones could heal in weeks rather than months with the help of a new stem cell-containing gel that University of Georgia researchers have developed.

“We have a long way to go, but we think it’s promising,” said stem cell researcher Steve Stice, who is working with large-animal surgeon John Peroni, a professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.

The discovery — which the scientists call “fracture putty” — mixes stem cells derived from bone marrow with a gel that can be applied to fractured bones.

The stem cells produce a protein important in bone healing and new bone growth, inducing rapid bone formation and helping to replace missing tissue. The gel gradually dissipates.

The research, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, eventually could help soldiers heal more quickly after battlefield injuries, Stice hopes.

“For many young soldiers, their mental health becomes a real issue when they are confined to a bed for three to six months after an injury,” he said. “This discovery may allow them to be up and moving as fast as days afterward.”

Research scientists and surgeons at the Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University and the University of Texas also have worked on developing the treatment.

It could be especially helpful when bones are broken in the face or skull, the type of injury that happens on the battlefield, Stice said.

But the healing technique also could have applications beyond the military, including animal medicine, said Peroni, a professor of large-animal surgery at UGA and chairman of the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association.

“Large-bone defects must be stabilized and necessitate technologies that induce rapid bone formation in order to replace the missing tissue and allow the individual to return to rapid function. To date, no single material can suffice.”

Peroni and researchers in Houston used the fracture putty gel along with a mechanical device to stabilize fractures in rats. The rats were running and standing on their hind legs two weeks later, showing no signs of injury, according to the researchers.

They also found enhanced healing when they tested the material on injured sheep bones, though their results were not as good with sheep as with rats.

The rodents were easier to work with because they were more genetically similar to one another, but more because the researchers have to produce a lot more of the stem cell gel for an injury to a sheep bone — 50 million cells, instead of only 500,000 cells for a mouse bone.

But the researchers see no reason why the approach would not work in large animals or humans. The basic biological processes of bone formation are the same among mammals.

In the future, the best approach might actually be a combination of the fracture putty and other techniques being developed by other research teams, such as substances that would reinforce or support a healing bones.

The researchers also have tested the gel in pigs, and soon will begin another round of research using sheep.

2012-02-03T10:12:00.001-05:00

Stoney Creek firm licenses stem cell technology

New York-based IntelliCell BioSciences has licensed its patent-pending technology for the manufacture of stem cells to RegenaStem Inc., based in Stoney Creek. Under the agreement, the company name, RegenaStem, will be changed to IntelliCell BioSciences of Canada. According to company president, Jason Kane, talks are under way with Health Canada to begin manufacturing stem cells and using the technology to treat people with degenerative joint disease, such as arthritis. The treatment is designed to rebuild and repair cartilage and tissue. Clinical trials are set to begin this year. Other applications are also being planned.

Kane’s background in stem cell work includes leading the launch of the first in-clinic stem cell therapy kits for veterinarians in Canada. For more information, call 289-887-5195 or emailjkane@intellicellbiosciences.ca

2012-01-31T10:19:00.001-05:00

Stem cell transplants hold hope for treating blindness

31 January 2012
By Rosemary Paxman
Appeared in BioNews 642

A clinical trial testing the safety of using human embryonic stem cell (hESC) in the treatment of progressive eye conditions has been performed in the USA.

The small scale phase I/II trial looked at the safety of transplanting hESCs into two people with different types of eye disease: one person with Stargardt's macular dystrophy and one person with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The researchers found no signs of rejection or abnormal cell growth indicating that hESCs may one day be safely used for therapeutic use in humans.

Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company which develops stem cell-based technologies, along with the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, cultivated the hESCs using mouse skin cells into cell types found inside the eye. The cells were then purified and subsequently injected into specific locations within the eye.

'The cells seem to have transplanted into both patients without abnormal proliferation, tumour formation, graft rejection or any untoward pathological reactions or safety signals', the researchers said. However, they added that follow-up studies were needed to further establish the safety of the procedure.

After the injections of stem cells, the patients also demonstrated a functional improvement in their vision. The patient with Stargardt's macular degeneration could previously only determine hand motions, but two weeks after the injections they could reportedly count fingers using their treated eye. The patient with AMD also reported an improvement in vision, although the researchers could not see that the cells had survived the procedure.

Professor Daniel Brison, co-director of the North West Embryonic Stem Cell Centre, Manchester, described the results as a 'very exciting moment for embryonic stem cell therapies'.

'Although the study is limited to safety considerations, very small in scope, and at a very early stage, this is nonetheless a ground breaking moment for embryonic stem cell therapies', he said.

Professor Chris Mason, chair of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing, University College London described the findings as 'only the start of gathering the necessary safety data before it is possible to test if the therapy will have an impact on patients' vision'.

'Overall the process of testing for safety and efficacy is likely to take a minimum of 5-10 years before the potential therapy could enter routine clinical practice', he said.

The study was published in the Lancet.

2012-01-28T10:22:00.001-05:00

Stem cell treatment bears fruit

Published: January 28, 2012

Before treatment, the 51-year-old graphic artist was legally blind, unable to read a single letter on a standard eye chart. She has suffered from Stargardt’s disease, the most common form of macular degeneration in young patients, since she was a teenager, and it was getting progressively worse.

A second patient, aged 78, suffered from dry macular degeneration — the leading cause of blindness in the elderly — and could not even see well enough to go shopping.

But after being treated with stem cells from a donated human embryo, both women have improved dramatically, researchers revealed.

Stem cells are master cells that can differentiate into any of the 200 kinds of cells in the human body. Their results are the first-ever report of the medical use of stem cells taken from human embryos, making them crucial barometers of whether the controversial technique will ever find widespread therapeutic uses.

In a paper published online in The Lancet on Monday, physicians at the University of California, Los Angeles, and scientists at biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology report that the first two patients in the clinical trial suffered no adverse health effects from the treatment and seem to have benefited from it.

A week after having cells derived from a days-old embryo injected into her eye, the graphic artist could count fingers, and after one month she could read the top five letters on the eye chart. She can see more color and contrast, has started using her computer, and for the first time in years can read her watch and thread a needle. The macular degeneration patient recently went to the mall for the first time in years.

Objections and risks

Using human embryonic stem cells for research or treatment has incited controversy for ethical and medical reasons. Some opponents argue that because removing stem cells from days-old human embryos almost always destroys the embryo, the technique amounts to murder.

ACT is the only company currently testing human embryonic stem cells in study patients. Last November, stem-cell pioneer Geron announced that it was halting what had been the first-ever clinical trial of the cells-testing them in patients with spinal cord injuries-and leaving the field.

When Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of ACT, approached ophthalmic surgeon Steven Schwartz of UCLA about leading the clinical trial, Schwartz asked for ethical advice from two of his patients: elderly nuns. They gave him the go-ahead, he said last year.

Even scientists who support stem cell research argue that they could be dangerous to use therapeutically. The very property that makes them so valuable in research — stem cells can morph into any of the kinds of cells in the human body — also makes them risky. They can form teratomas, a type of tumor that arises when stem cells differentiate into a profusion of cell types. reuters

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2012.

2012-01-20T10:48:00.002-05:00

New stem cell therapy could be used to halt Huntington’s advance

Last Updated: Friday, January 20, 2012,16:26

Tags: Stem cell, Huntington`s disease, Brain disorder

Washington: A new technique has been developed by researchers which uses stem cells to deliver therapy that specifically targets the genetic abnormality found in Huntington’s disease.

Huntington’s is a hereditary brain disorder that causes progressive uncontrolled movements, dementia and death. This new approach might block Huntington’s from advancing.

Researchers think that the best chance to halt the disease’s progression will be to reduce or eliminate the mutant huntingtin (htt) protein found in the neurons of those with the disease.

“For the first time, we have been able to successfully deliver inhibitory RNA sequences from stem cells directly into neurons, significantly decreasing the synthesis of the abnormal huntingtin protein,” Jan A Nolta, principal investigator of the study and director of the UC Davis stem cell program and the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures, was quoted as saying.

Huntington’s disease can be managed with medications, but currently there are no treatments for the physical, mental and behavioral decline of its victims.

“Our team has made a breakthrough that gives families affected by this disease hope that genetic therapy may one day become a reality,” Nolta said.

RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been shown to be highly effective at reducing htt protein levels and reversing disease symptoms in mouse models.

“Our challenge with RNA interference technology is to figure out how to deliver it into the human brain in a sustained, safe and effective manner,” said Nolta.

“We’re exploring how to use human stem cells to create RNAi production factories within the brain,” she said.

The findings of this study are available in the article ‘Examination of mesenchymal stem cell-mediated RNAi transfer to Huntington’s disease affected neuronal cells for reduction of huntingtin’ that has been published online in the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.

ANI

First Published: Friday, January 20, 2012, 16:26

2012-01-14T13:14:00.002-05:00

Novel stem cell treatment may hold promise for type 1 diabetes

By Serena Gordon, HealthDay

Updated 21h 8m ago

Comments

A new type of stem cell treatment for people with type 1 diabetes appears to help re-educate rogue immune system cells, which allows cells in the pancreas to start producing insulin again.

Paul Sancya, AP
The average daily dose of insulin dropped almost 39 percent after 12 weeks for the group with some beta cell function and 25 percent in those with no beta cell function.

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Paul Sancya, AP

The average daily dose of insulin dropped almost 39 percent after 12 weeks for the group with some beta cell function and 25 percent in those with no beta cell function.

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The treatment, which combines a patient's immune system cells with stem cells from a donor's cord blood, even worked in people with long-standing diabetes who were believed to have no insulin-producing ability.

Although the treatment didn't wean anyone off insulin completely, average blood sugar levels dropped significantly, which would reduce the risk of long-term complications.

"Our study brings a new hope for people with type 1 diabetes. If we can control the autoimmunity, we may reverse the diabetes. We showed that the islets 1/8cells3/8 can start to work again," said Dr. Yong Zhao, an assistant professor in the section of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

This treatment could potentially be useful in other autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

"It's quite remarkable that this approach, based on the re-education of immune cells, might work so well. The concept is very intriguing, and the treatment seems to be so simple and so safe," said Dr. Luca Inverardi, deputy director of translational research at the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine.

But he's also "reasonably cautious," he said. "The follow-up is long, up to 40 weeks, but it's not long enough to declare victory against diabetes yet," said Inverardi.

Also, he noted that the study involved only 15 Chinese people, and that type 1 diabetes is a bit different in that population. He said he'd like to see larger studies with a more diverse population, followed for a longer time.

Results of the study were published online Jan. 9 in the journal BMC Medicine.

Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, occurs when the body's immune system cells mistakenly attack the insulin-producing (beta) cells in the pancreas. Because their beta cells don't produce enough or any insulin, people with type 1 diabetes have to replace the lost insulin through injections to survive.

Stopping that autoimmune attack appears to be crucial to any treatment that hopes to cure or reverse type 1 diabetes.

Zhao's team developed a completely new approach. They take blood from a patient and separate out the immune system cells (lymphocytes). They briefly expose those cells to stem cells from umbilical cord blood from an unrelated infant and return the lymphocytes alone to the patient's body. The researchers have dubbed this "Stem Cell Educator Therapy," because while exposed to the stem cells, the lymphocytes seem to relearn how they should behave.

The study participants, who were 15 to 41 years old, had had type 1 diabetes for an average of nine years. Six had some residual beta cell function and six did not. Both groups were given stem cell educator therapy. The other three people served as the control group.

The researchers measured C-peptide, a protein fragment that's a byproduct of insulin production, and found that the educator therapy group had improved levels of C-peptide at 12 weeks. These levels continued to improve until 24 weeks, and remained stable through the follow-up at 40 weeks. There were no changes in C-peptide in the control group.

The average daily dose of insulin dropped almost 39 percent after 12 weeks for the group with some beta cell function and 25 percent in those with no beta cell function, suggesting that the group with no beta cell function now produced insulin.

"That means if you stop the autoimmune reaction, you may see beta cell regeneration, or there might be other precursor cells in the pancreas. If these data are confirmed, this is a very provocative and remarkable finding," Inverardi said.

The average hemoglobin A1C level dropped 1.06 percent for those with residual beta cell function and 1.68 percent for those without beta cell function. A1C levels measure average blood sugar levels over two to three months, and people with type 1 diabetes are advised to maintain A1C levels below 7 percent. A drop of 1 percent in A1C levels can reduce the risk of complications.

This was an initial clinical trial designed to test for safety. Zhao said that in future trials he hopes that with additional treatments people might get off insulin altogether.

But, even if that's not possible, the recovery of some beta cell function would be welcome news. "In the absence of complete remission, there are very sizable advantages to having some beta cell function," Inverardi noted.

Both experts said the treatment appears safe, with no risk of rejection. No significant side effects were reported during the trial, other than some arm soreness where blood was taken and returned.

2012-01-08T12:00:00.001-05:00

S. Korea to approve world's 2nd batch of stem cell-based drugs: sources

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Two South Korean biotechnology firms are expected to receive government approval for their stem cell drugs this month, paving the way for the world's second batch of stem cell-based medicines to hit the market, sources said Sunday.

   The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) will likely approve "Cartistem" produced by Medipost Inc. for treatment of damaged cartilage in mid-January, they said. A stem cell-based anal fistula drug by Anterogen Co. will also receive official permission within this month.

   "We are currently reviewing documents additionally submitted by each company. Permission will be issued sooner or later," a KFDA official said on condition of anonymity.

   Medipost's Cartistem, in particular, is a drug for treating degenerative arthritis and knee cartilage defects.

   The drug uses stem cells from other people, not from patients, so that it can be mass-produced and its quality could be better maintained, experts said.

   If Cartistem and Anterogen's anal fistula treatment medicine get the green light, they could be commercialized within one or two months, according to market watchers.

   In July, South Korea became the world's first country to approve a stem cell-based drug named "Hearticellgram-AMI." The medicine for acute myocardial infarction is produced by FCB-Pharmicell based in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

2012-01-05T12:03:00.003-05:00

FBI crackdown on unproven stem cell therapies

10:20 05 January 2012 by Peter Aldhous
For similar stories, visit the Stem Cells Topic Guide

They are the modern equivalent of snake oil merchants: clinics that charge desperately ill people thousands for unproven stem cell "cures". Now the US federal government is cracking down on one of the most notorious – and the defendants include a scientist at a leading research university.

Vincent Dammai, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, is named in a federal indictment as part of a team that allegedly received more than $1.5 million from people with cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

The charges follow an investigation by CBS News into Lawrence Stowe of Fort Worth, Texas.

Stowe was filmed claiming that infusions of stem cells, given by his associate Francisco Morales at a clinic in Mexico, could reverse symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – a fatal and incurable form of motor neuron disease.

Dammai's role, according to the indictment, was to extract stem cells from umbilical cord blood collected by Jesus Alberto Ramon, a midwife in Del Rio, Texas. Dammai and Ramon allegedly worked with Global Laboratories of Scottsdale, Arizona, which supplied the cells to Morales. Fredda Branyon, who ran Global Laboratories, pleaded guilty to supplying an unapproved treatment in August.

Morales, Dammai and Ramon, all named in the indictment, were arrested in December. Stowe, named in a second indictment, is still at large and"considered a fugitive", according to the FBI.

Warning signal

The case underlines concerns that some mainstream researchers could be abetting clinics offering unproven stem cell therapies. "I'm personally very happy that the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration has stepped in," says Larry Goldstein, a stem cell biologist at the University of California, San Diego. "I hope that it serves as a warning signal."

While Dammai is alleged to have been a knowing participant, other scientists may have been duped into supplying cells that are later used by rogue clinics. To avoid this, biologists should ask for credentials when responding to requests for stem cell samples, argued bioethicists Zubin Master of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and David Resnik of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, in the journal EMBO Reports last July (vol 12, p 992). They should also make recipients sign contracts detailing how the cells will be used, the pair added.

Internet searches reveal several hundred clinics offering unproven stem cell treatments, says Douglas Sipp of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan. How many, if any, have obtained cells from mainstream biologists remains a mystery. "By nature these clinics are opaque and secretive," says Sipp. "We really don't know what's in the vials."

2011-12-29T13:50:00.002-05:00

U.S. News

3 arrested on stem cell charges

Published: Dec. 28, 2011 at 10:47 PM

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SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The FBI said Wednesday it arrested three men for their alleged roles in an operation that made stem cells and sold them to sick people without federal approval.
A fourth suspect remained at large, the FBI said in a release posted on its Web site.
The suspects in custody were identified as Francisco Morales, 52, of Brownsville, Texas; Alberto Ramon, 48, of Del Rio, Texas; and Vincent Dammai, 40, of Mount Pleasant, S.C. Morales was arrested Dec. 22, while Ramon and Dammai were arrested Tuesday.
The FBI said an arrest warrant had been issued for Lawrence Stowe, 58, of Dallas, who remained at large.
"This investigation identified a scheme whereby the suffering and hopes of victims in extreme medical need were used and manipulated for personal profit," FBI Special Agent in Charge Cory Nelson said. "The predatory and opportunistic nature of the crimes alleged in this indictment mirrors images from science fiction."
Federal authorities allege the four conspired to commit mail fraud and unlawfully distributed stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. Morales and the others are accused of manufacturing, distributing and using stems cells produced from umbilical cord blood to perform procedures not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to treat people who have cancer, amytrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.
FDA approval is required before stem cells can be marketed to the public and used to treat incurable diseases. The FDA has not determined stem cells are safe and effective in treating these diseases.
The indictment alleges that from 2007 to 2010 Morales falsely portrayed himself as a doctor who operated a medical clinic named Rio Valley Medical Clinic in Brownsville. He allegedly would meet patients in the United States and then travel to Mexico to perform the stem cell procedures.
Stowe allegedly marketed, promoted and sold stem cells along with other drug and biological products that don't have FDA approval for the treatment of cancer, ALS, MS and Parkinson's disease. Stowe ran The Stowe Foundation and Stowe Biotherapy Inc.
Ramon, a licensed midwife who operated The Maternity Care Clinic in Del Rio, allegedly obtained umbilical cord blood from birth mothers who were his patients and sold it to Global Laboratories. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company then allegedly sold the tissue to Dammai, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine in Charleston, who allegedly created stem cells later sold by Global Laboratories.

STEM CELLS AND STROKES

2011-12-29T13:48:00.002-05:00

A stroke is caused when blood flow to the brain is interrupted

When stroke patients do not receive immediate care the chances of suffering paralysis, disturbances to speech and impaired vision increase. A new stem cell therapy aims to reverse the effects a stroke has on the body.

At first glance, the sheep in the compound of Leipzig's faculty of veterinary medicine look like your ordinary sheep. But if you take a closer look, you see that parts of them have been sheared.

"We took cells from iliac crest and we can't run the risk of contamination," explained Johannes Boltze, head of the Department of Cell Therapy at Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig.

The sheep's bone marrow contains stem cells that can transform into a variety of types of cells and which form the basis for the new therapy researchers are putting to the test.

Scientists trigger strokes in sheep then inject stem cells into the animals

Scientists in Leipzig have already triggered a stroke in some of the sheep while others still await their fate. It's impossible to tell at first glance which of the sheep sufferedd a stroke.

"Just a couple days after the stroke, they don't feel the difference anymore," Boltze said. "The sheep is not impaired in its daily life."

Certain tests, however, can document the subsequent damage. The scientists examine their sheep in a nuclear spin and a positron emission tomography (PET).

And they run different behavioral tests, because the sheep's course of motions is impaired after a stroke - just as it is in humans. The scientists pull away one of the sheep's forelegs. A healthy sheep immediately corrects its stance in order to stand on all fours again. But sheep that had a stroke show a delayed response or don't react at all.

Can stem cells alleviate damages caused by a stroke?

Testing of the researchers' treatment began on lab rats and has been extended to sheep. Shortly after a stroke, the researchers give the animal an injection of immune cells and stem cells. Rats without the injection were not able to balance on a small bar whereas treated rats ran back and forth without a problem.

Sheep serve as substantially better testing grounds. But the quite positive results at the beginning have become ever more infrequent since the scientists started to conduct blind studies in which scientists do not know whether a sheep was treated with a stem cell injection.

About 30,000 cells can die each second when blood vessels to the brain are clogged

"None of the scientists was deliberately altering the results, but your own expectations do have an impact," said Boltze. Now, the positive results have decreased, but the scientists hope that the remaining results are even more significant and can be easily transferred to the human body.

Currently, tests have called for injecting stem cells of the same animal. The next step will be to transfer human cells into the sheep. At one of Fraunhofer's laboratories, Alexandra Stolzing tries to recover stem cells from human skin. The difficultly is that skin cells do not naturally have the ability to form other types of cells. In order to work as stem cells, they need to be forced to "forget" the transformation they underwent to become a specific cell type. They need to be reset to be able to transform into another type of cell, such as a nerve cell.

The reprogramming is a complicated process that is affected by a number of factors, including the age and condition of a cell and the medium in which the process is due to take place. The researchers have just begun to understand the details. It's an exciting process that could go beyond being beneficial for stroke research.

"I work in the field of ageing research and it's fascinating to me that a cell can be brought back to a state that can be considered young," Stolzing said.

Still a long way to go

The scientists are still working to understand exactly what influence the stem cells have on the body. They know so far that the cells don't wander to the brain, build new neurons and replace the impaired tissue. This process would take at least four weeks, but the positive results of the stem cell injection shows after about a week, said Boltze.

Clinical trials are underway in the United States and will begin in Germany soon

"We assume that the cells block certain secondary complications, affect inflammation and minimize cell death," Boltze said, adding that stem cell therapy could become an important part of stroke treatment plans. "Maybe in total the result will be slightly better as without the stem cells."

The key is still how fast the patient reaches a proper clinic so that the blood clot in the brain can quickly be dissolved. Boltze consistently gets requests from patients that he cannot meet both for ethical and medical reasons. Since the methods are still in animal trials, Boltze cannot use them on human patients, and there is no established way to transfer stem cells to humans within the short three-day window after a stroke that the tests require.

Scientists in the United States have already started the first clinical trials and others are set to begin in Germany in 2012. But even if all trials are successful, in will take at least 10 years until the stem cell therapy will be available. In any case, preventing a stroke is better than treating one, said Boltze.

"Medicines are not the best solution," Boltze said. "The best solution is a healthy lifestyle. Don't smoke, drink only a little alcohol and exercise. That's more beneficial than any stem cell."

Author: Claudia Ruby / sst

Editor: Sean Sinico

2011-12-15T09:56:00.003-05:00

The Irish Times - Thursday, December 15, 2011

Overcoming stem cell research difficulties

In this section »

WILLIAM REVILLE

PROPONENTS OF human embryonic stem cell research (HESCR) pitched their case for support on the basis that it would lead to cures in the relatively near term for a wide range of devastating human diseases.

Many people who have serious ethical qualms about HESCR were persuaded to stay quiet and to pay a “relatively small ethical price” for this dazzling medical potential. But suddenly all has changed – HESCR has entered very stormy waters and prospects that this approach will achieve significant medical cures, even in the medium term, have dramatically diminished. The story is summarised by Andy Coghlan in New Scientis t on November 18th, 2011.

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent – they can turn into any of the more than 200 cell types found in human tissues. These embryonic stem cells therefore have great theoretical potential to repair and regenerate failing human tissue, thereby curing a wide variety of human diseases. However, HESCR confronts ethical and technical difficulties.

Human embryos must be killed in order to obtain human embryonic stem cells, but many people believe that the human embryo has the inherent right not to be deliberately destroyed. Many others, of course, including many scientists, do not share this position.

Ethics aside, it has proven to be extremely difficult to reliably coax embryonic stem cells to develop along a chosen path. For example, if you introduce embryonic stem cells into ailing nervous tissue, hoping that the cells will develop into healthy nerves, there is a significant chance that the cells will instead develop into another tissue type or perhaps into a cancerous tumour.

As a result, progress with embryonic stem cells has been very slow. Not only have no medical cures come out of this research to date but almost no clinical trials of potential cures have resulted. The California-based Geron Corporation, the largest biotechnology company dealing with stem cells, launched a trial of human embryonic cell treatment of spinal cord injuries about a year ago, but pulled out of the trial in November in favour of continuing research on new cancer drugs. To my knowledge, there is only one remaining clinical trial worldwide involving HESCR.

Proponents of HESCR now emphasise the value of this research in the study of human development. This is fundamental or “blue skies” research, quite different to the applied medical research used before to sell HESCR to public and political audiences. However, exactly the same ethical objection applies as before – human embryos must be killed to obtain the embryonic stem cells.

The good news is that two other stem cell options are available to medicine. One approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) and the other approach uses adult stem cells (ASCs). In 2005 Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University discovered how to induce ordinary cells to change into embryonic-like stem cells with the pluripotent potential to generate a large range of body tissues. These IPSCs are acceptable to those who oppose HESCR on ethical grounds. However, just as in HESCR, much difficult work remains to be done to develop the medical potential of induced pluripotent stem cells.

Most adult tissues in the body have their ASCs, which are not pluripotent but multipotent – they have the capacity to change into a limited range of tissue types. However, they are relatively easy to prepare, they are predictable and unlikely to form tumours.

Research using ASCs has been underway for many years. Successful medical treatments have been developed and about 200 clinical trials using ASC treatments are underway worldwide. The Australian company Mesoblast is using injections of adult stem cells to develop treatments for diabetes, bone disease, heart attacks and eyes.

Adult stem cells are now clearly leading the way clinically in terms of success rate, trial numbers and commercial potential. Some medical success could still come from HESCR if companies decide to invest heavily and take the risk. Treatments based on the new IPSCs are the furthest from the clinic but a massive research effort is underway and we can expect rapid progress here.

William Reville is a professor in the Biochemistry Department and public awareness of science officer at UCC. understandingscience.ucc.ie

2011-12-04T10:03:00.003-05:00

Relief for stem cell transplant patients

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 17:50 in Health & Medicine

In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The effect, in some cases, was profound. The phase 1 study, published in the Dec. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, involved allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a multisystem inflammatory condition that arises when donor immune system cells launch an attack on a patient’s own tissues, leading to varied symptoms such as skin rash and thickened or scarred skin, lung inflammation, or hepatitis, among others. The patients received once-daily injections of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a drug traditionally used to spur an immune system attack, but which, at low doses, investigators had reason to believe, could have the opposite effect in this case:...

Read the whole article on Harvard Science

AUTISM AND STEM CELLS

2011-11-28T17:09:00.002-05:00

A new study out of Harvard University, reported in Science, suggests that a transplant of stem cells into the brain may lead to future treatment for neural disorders, such as Autism and Parkinson's Disease, as well as spinal cord injuries and diseases, such as ALS. The researchers in the study focused on curbing obesity in mice, as it provides visual evidence as to whether the treatment was effective or not. Despite the focus on obesity, the study's results led the scientists to believe that this could potentially lead to further treatments for other diseases.

"[Researchers] investigated whether fetal neurons transplanted into a part of the mouse brain that does not normally produce new neurons of its own could repair an abnormal neural circuit. The recipients of the transplant treatment were genetically altered mice lacking the receptor for leptin, a hormone that regulates metabolism and body weight. In normal mice, leptin acts on neurons in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates metabolism and other essential functions. But in the mutant mice, these neurons can't respond to leptin, and the mice become obese and diabetic. To see whether they could correct this defect, the researchers transplanted immature neurons taken from the hypothalami of fetal mice that had the normal leptin receptor gene into the same brain region of the obesity-prone mice.
Using electrodes to record the electrical activity of hypothalamic neurons, the researchers confirmed that the transplanted cells responded to leptin as expected and could communicate with the recipient mouse's own neurons. 'These newly incorporated neurons were in a sense acting as antennas for leptin and sending those signals into the brain.'"

AdvertisementThe implications of this study are staggering, namely that if researchers can pinpoint what neurons are specifically involved or responsible for the symptoms of a given neural disease, they may be able to introduce transplanted cells and guide their development, essentially repairing what has been damaged or what is malfunctioning. This runs counter to what scientists originally thought which was that one may simply infuse stem cells into an affected brain and the neural circuitry already present will know what to do, whereas in reality, stem cell therapies must be specifically selected and tailored for the affected area."We have used complex circuitry as a test case for whether precisely selected and controlled neuron transplants could rewire the brain. What we found is that these neurons not only turned into the right types of cells, but they sent signals to the recipient’s brain and received signals from the recipient’s brain. The next step for us is to ask parallel questions of other parts of the brain and spinal cord."

This study comes in light of the mulitude of other researchthat unequivocally determines that Autism is a neuralogical disease in origin and in manifestation. The hope for treatment and possible cure therefore lies in addressing the neural deficits specifically, such as with stem cell therapies, rather than special diets and avoidance of vaccines.

2011-11-19T14:14:00.003-05:00

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Diabetes fight should be a priority

Print | Comments ()Posted by Marjorie Pritchard November 18, 2011 02:00 PM

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John L. Brooks, 3d

Diabetes is now a global pandemic, afflicting 346 million people worldwide, and Massachusetts is squarely in the forefront of this unforgiving disease:
• About 407,000 adults are diagnosed with diabetes and another estimated 114,000 adults lhave type 2 diabetes, but do not know it.

• From 2005 through 2008, diabetes was the ninth leading cause of death in the Commonwealth.

• In 2009, nearly 5 percent of Massachusetts adults reported they had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which is blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

• The cost of diabetes in Massachusetts is $4.3 billion annually.

• Since 1999, there has been a 61 percent increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Massachusetts, a trend that will continue unless we all work together to change things.

Type 1 diabetes is predominantly initiated by family genetic factors. Type 2 diabetes, is accelerated by obesity, lack of exercise, lack of awareness, and a healthcare system that historically has focused on paying for downstream complications rather than prevention and proactive encouragement of healthy diets, exercise, medication adherence, and behavioral health issues.

As the United States faces the prospect of the incidence of diabetes rising from one in 10 citizens today, to one in three in the next 40 years, a new national commitment to address this disease head-on is essential.

At the Joslin Diabetes Center, we are catalyzing this call to action with the goal of a world free of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and their complications. We are reaching out across the Commonwealth to engage organizations, community centers, schools of public health and many others, to bring resources and energy to providing culturally tailored educational programs, tools, team-based resources and impactful care plans to inform and motivate families and their health teams to work collectively to reverse or slow this relentless diabetes tidal wave.

On November 19 our community of doctors, patients, families, friends and advocates will gather for Joslin’s annual High Hopes Gala and World Diabetes Day Celebration, our most important night of the year. This event supports innovation and research aimed at creating a world free of diabetes and its complications.
We must build partnerships and cost-effective, risk-sharing collaborations with other healthcare providers, payers, and federal, state and city agencies to share and leverage our expertise in novel and measurable ways. This is what is needed to help patients, families, primary care doctors and other healthcare providers and payers to tackle this disease and its dreaded complications. We must make this a priority. Our lives -- and the lives of our loved ones -- depend on it.
John L. Brooks 3d is president and CEO of the Joslin Diabetes Center.

2011-11-19T10:29:00.002-05:00

2011-11-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH BEGINS

Submitted by Lorenzo.Piemonte on Tue, 11/08/2011 - 09:26

In many parts of the world, the beginning of November marks the start of a month-long series of activities aimed at raising diabetes awareness and calling for urgent action to tackle the diabetes epidemic. Here's a reminder of why we all have to 'Act on Diabetes. Now.':

New figures recently launched by the International Diabetes Federation indicate that the number of people living with diabetes has risen to 366 million.
Diabetes is responsible for 4.6 million deaths a year - 1 every 7 seconds.
Healthcare spending on diabetes has reached USD 465 billion.
Diabetes is among the top 10 causes of disability, resulting in devastating complications such as blindness and lower limb amputations.
All nations – rich and poor – are suffering the impact of the diabetes epidemic
Diabetes is undermining global development.
Diabetes hits the poorest hardest

2011-11-14T10:29:00.000-05:00

World’s first stem cell bandage in human clinical trials

Press release issued 14 November 2011

The company behind a pioneering stem cell bandage, believed to be the world’s first adult and autologous (patient’s own) stem cell treatment designed to heal torn meniscal cartilage, can now take the technology to human clinical trials thanks to an investment from one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs.Mr Hugh Osmond, a partner of Sun Capital — who helped build Pizza Express into the UK’s largest sit-down restaurant chain and founded one of the country’s largest pub companies, the Punch Group — has completed a £0.65 million funding round for Azellon Cell Therapeutics Ltd, the University of Bristol spin-out company behind the therapy that has to date raised £2.25 million.
The company, which has received approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the world's first clinical trial using its Cell Bandage product, is funded by existing investors IP Group plc, the developer of intellectual property based businesses — and Oxford Technology Management as well as new investors including lead funder, Mr Osmond.
Azellon’s Cell Bandage has been designed as an alternative to the current treatment of surgical removal of the meniscus (meniscectomy), a procedure that more than 1.7 million people around the world per year are estimated to undergo. This common orthopaedic procedure often results in the early onset of osteoarthritis, leading to further joint surgery including total knee replacement.
The Cell Bandage, which in vitro (tissue culture) has shown great promise for the healing of meniscal tears, is grown from the patient’s own stem cells and will be transplanted in the patient’s knee joint within two weeks of extracting the stem cells from bone marrow.
The MHRA approved Phase I/IIa trial will treat ten meniscal tear patients with a cell bandage product, seeded with the patient's own stem cells. The trial will be undertaken at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and is scheduled to begin in May 2012 with interim data available within 18 months.
Azellon is co-founded by Professor Anthony Hollander at the University of Bristol, who came to national prominence as part of the academic team that saved the life of Claudia Castillio, after developing the first tissue-engineered trachea (windpipe) using the patient’s own stem cells. This fully functioning airway was transplanted into the patient and saved her life.
Professor Anthony Hollander, Chief Scientific Officer of Azellon Cell Therapeutics Ltd and Head of the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol, said: “With permission for a trial from MHRA and completion of this funding round, we are now ready to get going on our safety trial; it’s an important moment for Azellon and for stem cell research.”
Alan Aubrey, CEO of IP Group plc, said: “Azellon’s stem cell bandage is targeted at a very large and growing market with a clear medical need and we are pleased to support the company as it moves into its Phase I/IIa trial.”
Hugh Osmond, who has a medical degree from Oxford University, said: “As a keen sportsman who has had multiple knee operations myself, I believe that this procedure has the potential to be a major breakthrough in treating knee and eventually other joint injuries. For many of the 1.7 million people a year who have operations to repair torn knee cartilage, it could be the difference between an active old age or spending their pension years in a wheel chair. I am very excited.”

Students sign up to be life-savers

2011-11-08T11:28:00.004-05:00

Students sign up to be life-savers

Published on Tuesday 8 November 2011 07:08

STUDENTS at Wigan and Leigh College responded superbly to a charity’s call to become lifesavers by signing up to the blood stem cell donor register.

London-based organisation Anthony Nolan held the recruitment drive at Leigh Sixth Form College, on Sale Way, to try and help increase the currently low numbers of men aged between 18 and 30 years old who are on the register, a campaign backed by Leigh MP Andy Burnham.

Around 30 students at the college signed up for the donation register, with other students who were not able to become donors as they were aged under 18 pre-registered for when they are old enough or given literature about stem cell donation.

More than 80 per cent of blood stem cell donations are from men, and men aged 18-30 are considered to be the ideal donors most likely to be asked to donate, yet just 12 percent of donors on Anthony Nolan’s register are from this age group.

To improve these figures, the charity has launched an ambitious recruitment drive to get 10,000 men in the target age group signed up, and Mr Burnham, who visited the recruitment drive at Leigh Sixth Form, is urging any fit and healthy young men in Wigan and Leigh to consider becoming a donor.

A college spokesman said: “Both the trust and the college were really pleased with the turnout, and with how many young people signed up. It was a very positive response. We weren’t quite sure how our student community would respond, as we all know how few donors there are but that doesn’t always translate into people taking the step to signing up, but there was lots of interest and they obviously wanted to make a difference.”

To join the register, all applicants have to do is fill out a short medical questionnaire and provide a sample of saliva.

A stem cell donation and transplant could save the life of someone with a blood cancer such as leukaemia, but currently Anthony Nolan is only able to find tissue type matches for half the patients who come to them. To become a donor, register online at www.anthonynolan.org

2011-11-06T10:29:00.003-05:00

New “braking system” makes stem cell therapy safer

04/11/2011 02:51:00

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Houston, TX - Cancer treatment with stem cell transplantation and specially modified immune system components called T-cells can enhance the chance of recovery from diseases such as leukemia or lymphoma.

Now these treatments can be made safer by using a new braking system that almost immediately controls the therapy if things go wrong, said researchers from the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital in a report in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Malcolm Brenner (www.bcm.edu/genetherapy/faculty-brenner), director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (www.bcm.edu/genetherapy/), and his colleagues have been developing special anti-tumor cells called T-cells that harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Although they and other investigators have successfully developed ways of targeting these cells to attack cancer, the T-cells can grow in number in the patient and survive many years, which make any side effectssevere, long-lived and often uncontrollable. These treatments would be much safer if researchers could turn the cells off if patients suffered a bad reaction. However, no effective technology existed to rapidly accomplish this outcome.

The Cell and Gene Therapy researchers tested the new safety switch in patients who developed graft versus host disease after they received a stem cell transplant as part of their cancer therapy. During stem cell transplantation, a patient’s own stem cells are eradicated with drugs or radiation. They then receive an infusion of blood-forming stem cells along with T-cells from a related donor, which help to kill any remaining cancer and to fight infections. However, sometimes the transplanted T-cells attack the patient’s own tissues. The result is graft versus host disease, which is disabling and often fatal. Turning off the T-cells in the transplant would stop the disease. The new treatment accomplishes just that – killing more than 90 percent of the cells within 30 minutes after a single treatment.

To make the safety switch, the researchers introduced into the T-cells a gene called iCasp9, which produces programmed cell death. When the patient receives a specific drug, it joins together two single molecules of iCasp9 (a process called dimerization) and makes it active – rapidly triggering the death of the cell.

“The patients come in with a severe itchy rash all over their bodies,” said Brenner. “We give them the drug and we can literally watch the rash melt away.”

In the study, the investigators gave the genetically modified T-cells to five patients who had received a blood stem cell transplant for relapsed leukemia (a blood cancer). The transplanted T-cells divided in the patients’ blood over time and helped their immunity recover.

Four patients developed the potentially fatal graft versus host disease and received the special activating drug. Within 30 minutes, 90 percent of the T-cells were dead and their graft versus hostdisease began to disappear. The T-cells continued to decrease in number over the next 24 hours and their graft versus host disease went away completely. The small number of T-cells that remained were able to expand and were able to fight infections, but did not cause further graft versus hostdisease

This kind of rapid cellular braking medicine would extend to other T-cell therapies, he said, such as that recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine [N Engl J Med. 2011 Aug 10. [Epub ahead of print] (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1103849), and may ultimately be applicable to other forms of stem cell therapy in general, hastening their safe introduction to the clinic.

Others who took part in this work include Dr. Antonio Di Stasi, Dr. Siok-Keen Tey, Dr. Gianpietro Dotti, Yuriko Fujita, Alana Kennedy-Nasser, Caridad Martinez, Dr. Karin Straath, Enli Liu, April G. Durett, Bambi Grilley, Dr. Hao Liu, Dr. Conrad R. Cruz,, Dr. Barbara Savoldo, Dr. Adrian P. Gee, Dr. Robert A. Krance, Dr. Helen E. Heslop, Dr. David M. Spencer, and Dr. Cliona M. Rooney, all of BCM and Dr. John Schindler of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

Funding for this work came from the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute. The dimerizing drug was supplied by Bellicum Pharmaceuticals.

Learn more at www.methodisthealth.com. Follow Methodist on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/MethodistHosp and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/methodisthospital.

PERSONAL STEM CELL BANKS

2011-11-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

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Drs. Xiao-Dong Chen and Qian Wang of The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are members of the research team that discovered a young microenvironment could stimulate old stem cells to expand more rapidly. Credit: UT Health Science Center San Antonio

Old stem cells can be rejuvenated by being placed in a young microenvironment, research from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio shows. This raises the possibility that patients' own stem cells may one day be rescued and banked to treat their age-related diseases.

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Stem cells are immature cells that have the potential to convert into bone, muscle,blood vessels, nerve fibers, and other body cells and tissues. It's no wonder medical science seeks to utilize these versatile cells to restore tissues deteriorated by age, disease or injury.

Older stem cells are not as robust as young ones, however — a challenge to clinicians who seek to use patients' own stem cells to treat age-related diseases.

"The number and quality of those cells decline with age, that is very clear," said Xiao-Dong Chen, M.D., Ph.D., a stem cell researcher at the UT Health ScienceCenter. "And, using the patient's own cells can impact results."

Dr. Chen's team recently made a discovery in mice that, if translated to humans, could solve this predicament.

Old cells expand when grown on a young scaffold of tissue

Dr. Chen suspected that giving stem cells a youthful environment for growth would cause them to regenerate faster. His team extracted mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow of 3-month-old mice and 18-month-old mice. The group also obtained extracellular matrix (ECM) from mice of both ages. ECM is a scaffold of connective tissue, such as collagen, which constitutes a majority of the body's structure.

The lab team seeded half of the older stem cells on ECM from the 3-month-old mice and half on ECM from the 18-month-old mice. Likewise, half of the young stem cells were seeded on the young ECM and half were seeded on the old ECM.

Young and old cells showed a 16.1-fold and 17.1-fold expansion, respectively, when grown on ECM from young mice, compared to a 4.1-fold and 3.8-fold expansion when grown on ECM from old mice.

Finding confirmed in rodent implants

Next, under the skin of mice, Dr. Chen's group implanted artificial scaffolds seeded with stem cells of both ages that had been grown on young or old ECM. These were left to grow for eight weeks. The researchers targeted bone formation. When the implants were removed, the team found that old cells that had been grown on a young ECM produced just as much bone as young cells, while old cells grown on an old ECM produced no bone. The results were published in the FASEB Journal earlier this year.

"If this research transfers successfully to clinical application in humans, we could establish personal stem cell banks," Dr. Chen said. "We would collect a small number of older stem cells from patients, put those into our young microenvironment to rescue them — increasing their number and quality — then deliver them back into the patient."

This stem cell rescue and infusion could be done as often as disease treatment requires it, he said. The next step is to repeat the study in human stem cells and ECM.

Dr. Chen, an associate professor of comprehensive dentistry in the Health Science Center Dental School, discussed the finding at the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence conference (SENS,http://www.sens.org/conferences/sens5) held at Queens' College in Cambridge, U.K.

Provided by University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

STEM CELLS AND PETS

2011-10-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

2011-10-21T15:51:00.002-04:00

Stem cells needed from ethnic communities

Registration takes only a cheek swab is all that is needed to register and donation is often as simple as giving blood

BY TARA CARMAN, VANCOUVER SUN OCTOBER 20, 2011

Ethnically diverse stem cell donors are needed to help Canadian patients with cancer and blood diseases such as leukemia.

When University of B.C. biochemistry student Bonita Ma heard about the need, she and some other students decided their campus would be a good place to attract such donors, who need to be aged between 17 and 50. UBC will hold a donor drive on October 26 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the student union building.

The campaign, which is happening at universities throughout the country, is called Get Swabbed because getting a cheek swab is all that’s required to register to become a donor. The saliva is tested for DNA and put on a national registry which can then be searched by doctors. If a donor is found to be a match for a patient in need, the donation process is often as simple as collecting blood, said Olga Pazukha, spokeswoman for the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, which recruits donors and coordinates collection and delivery of stem cells.

About 30 per cent of the time a donor match can be found within a patient’s family, but when this is not possible, patients are matched to donors through specific genetic markers that make them unique. This is where ethnicity becomes important, Pazukha said.

“A lot of those things would come from their ethnic background. So, say if I’m of South Asian descent and I need a match, my potential donor would also be someone from the South Asian community.”

There are more than 300,000 potential donors registered throughout Canada, but 77 per cent of them are of European descent, while 23 per cent are from other ethnic backgrounds, Pazukha said.

“It’s really important to get a very diverse donor pool so that we are able to help all of the patients that are looking for matches in Canada.”

Ma, who is of Chinese descent, said many people from that community don’t realize how easy the donation process is and have a misperception that it is very painful. OneMatch is reaching out to ethnic communities across Canada to educate people about the need for donors and the relatively simple nature of the process, Pazukha said.

There are 957 patients across the country in need of a match.

2011-10-17T16:44:00.003-04:00

Stem cell breakthrough could bring cure for genetic diseases

By Laura Shin | October 16, 2011, 7:16 PM PDT

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One of the most common genetic mutations can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, and the only cure is a liver transplant, which creates its own problems: The recipient must, for the rest of his/her life, take drugs that prevent organ rejection.

But scientists have now achieved a breakthrough that means that patients with genetic diseases could someday be treated with their own cells.

The technique combines two of the most powerful medical technologies — stem cell technology and gene therapy — and could usher in a new era of personalized therapies for genetic disorders.

While the achievement marks an important step, years of trials are needed before any such treatments are available for humans.

How the therapy works

Currently, people with genetic diseases cannot be treated with their own stem cells, because those cells would also contain the genetic mutation.

But scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge took skin cells from a patient with metabolic liver disease, and fixed the mutation in them by excising the incorrect DNA letter and inserting the correct one.

They then turned those skin cells into liver cells that one of the lead researchers, David Lomas, said “functioned beautifully with normal secretion and function.”

They inserted the new liver cells into mice, and six weeks later, the cells were still working correctly.

Lomas told the BBC that the technique was “ridiculously hard.” He and his colleagues published their results in Nature.

Remaining hurdles

While the technique is extremely promising, a number of safety concerns remain before it can be widely used.

First, stem cells cultured in labs tend to develop mutations. In this experiment, the researchers compared the corrected line to the genome of the original skin cells and found a few extra mutations in the corrected cell lines. (However, there were many fewer mutations in the corrected lines than in the stem cells that had not been corrected.)

Also, the scientists can always screen each stem cell line to choose the ones with the fewest extra mutations.

Another concern is the cost of developing personalized therapies, although this technique could also save money because it obviates the need for a lifetime anti-organ rejection drugs.

The scientists are now aiming to work with a pharmaceutical company to eventually hold trials in people.

via: BBC, Nature News, Nature

Photo: Human embryonice stem cells (Nissim Benvenisty/Wikimedia Commons)

2011-10-12T16:06:00.002-04:00

Seeking Superior Stem Cells

October 12, 2011

New technique produces one hundred-fold increase in efficiency in reprogramming human cells

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have recently announced a new technique to reprogramme human cells, such as skin cells, into stem cells. Their process increases the efficiency of cell reprogramming by one hundred-fold and generates cells of a higher quality at a faster rate.

Until now cells have been reprogrammed using four specific regulatory proteins. By adding two further regulatory factors, Liu and co-workers brought about a dramatic improvement in the efficiency of reprogramming and the robustness of stem cell development. The new streamlined process produces cells that can grow more easily.

"This research is a milestone in human stem cells," explains Wei Wang, first author on the research from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Our technique provides a foundation to unlock the full potential of stem cells."

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that are able to renew themselves through cell division and can be induced to become functional tissue- or organ-specific cells. It is hoped that stem cells will be used to replace dying or damaged cells with healthy, functional cells. This could have wide-ranging uses in medicine such as organ replacement, bone replacement and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

With more than 20 years of research, gold standard stem cells are derived from mice, largely because they are easy to work with and provide accurate and reproducible results. The team's aim was to develop human cells of equivalent quality to mouse stem cells.

"The reprogrammed cells developed by our team have proved to have the same capabilities as mouse stem cells," states Pentao Liu, senior author from the Sanger Institute. "Our approach will enable researchers to easily engineer and reprogramme human stem cells to generate cell types for cell replacement therapies in humans."

Retinoic acid receptor gamma (RAR-Y) and liver receptor homolog (Lrh-1), the additional regulatory factors used by Liu and co-workers, were introduced into the skin cells along with the four other regulatory proteins. The team's technology produced reprogrammed cells after just four days, compared to the seven days required for the four-protein approach. Key indicators of successfully reprogrammed cells, Oct4 and Rex-1 genes, were seen to be switched on much faster in a much higher number of cells, demonstrating increased efficiency in reprogramming.

"This is the most promising and exciting development in our attempt to develop human stem cells that lend themselves in practical applications. It bears comparison to other technologies as it is simple, robust and reliable," says Allan Bradley, Senior Group Leader and Director of Emeritus at the Sanger Institute.

About The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.

About The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.

SOURCE: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

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