CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (NEWSPLEX) -- Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine were looking into kidneys and learned more about the formation of the heart.

They also identified a gene that is responsible for a deadly cardiac condition.

According to a release, scientists discovered the heart's inner lining forms from the same stem cells, known as precursor cells, that turn into blood.

That means a single type of stem cell created both the blood and part of the organ that pumps it.

A particular gene, called S1P1, is necessary for the proper formation of the heart, and without it, the tissue develops a sponginess that compromises the heart's ability to contract tightly and pump blood efficiently.

That condition is called ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which often leads to early death.

"Many patients who suffer from untreatable chronic disease, including heart and kidney disease, are in waiting lists for limited organ transplantation. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand what happens to the cells during disease and how can they be repaired," said researchers Yan Hu, PhD. "Every organ is a complex machine built by many different cell types. Knowing the origin of each cell and which genes control their normal function are the foundations for scientists to decipher the disease process and eventually to find out how to guide the cells to self-repair or even to build up a brand new organ using amended cells from the patients."

The researchers were looking into how the kidneys form when they noted a deletion of the S1P1 gene in research mice led to deadly consequences elsewhere in the bodies of the mice.

"We were studying the role of these genes in the development of the vasculature of the kidney," said Maris Luisa S. Sequeira-Lopez, MD, of UVA's Child Health Research Center. "The heart is the first organ that develops, and so when we deleted this gene in these precursor cells, we found that it resulted in abnormalities of the heart, severe edema, hemorrhage and low heart rate."

In looking closer at the heart, the researchers discovered the gene deletion caused thin heart walls and other cardiac problems in developing mice embryos.

"For a long time, scientists believed that each organ developed independently of other organs, and the heart developed from certain stem cells and blood developed from blood stem cells," said researcher Brian C. Belyea, MD, of the UVA Children's Hospital. "A number of studies done in this lab and others, including this work, shows that there's much more plasticity in these precursor cells. What we found is that cardiac precursor cells that are present in the embryonic heart do indeed give rise to components of the heart in adults but also give rise to the blood cells."

He also said the discovery may one day lead to the development of better treatments for the cardiac condition.

The findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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Kidney research leads to heart discovery - Newsplex - The Charlottesville Newsplex

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Kidney research leads to heart discovery – Newsplex – The Charlottesville Newsplex | May 12th, 2017

South African patients suffering from Leukaemia and other blood disorders who need a life-saving stem cell transplant, rely on the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SAMBR) to find a donor who is a genetic match.

But, the untrue and frightening belief that donating blood stem cells, or bone marrow, involves drilling through bones is a common misconception and is one of the challenges faced in growing the SAMBR.

These misconceptions, often stopping people from registering to become donors and giving someone the hope of life.

The Sunflower Fund educates, raises funds and recruits potential blood stem cell donors to this registry and pays for the tissue typing test cost for each person who joins.

The fund also prioritises educating people on the truths of becoming a donor and works hard to debunk any myths that exist. Sometimes it is just the words themselves that act as barriers. The challenges faced in growing the SABMR lies in the sentence itself, Alana James, CEO of the Sunflower Fund said. Its called The South African Bone Marrow registry, so when people see the word bone marrow they go Oh no I cant do that, it will hurt!.

Blood stem cell donor and long-time supporter of the Sunflower Fund Carey Symons shares her own story at events and conferences, spreading the message that the process of potentially saving a life is not as scary as we might think, encouraging others to do the same.

The stats of a perfect match are 1 in 100 000 so you can only imagine my joy in being that 1 in 100 000 and that I was able to contribute to giving someone a second chance, Symons said, who was called ten years after joining the registry to donate her stem cells to a patient suffering from leukaemia.

The Durban mother travelled to Constantiaberg hospital in Cape Town, to begin a series of painless Neupogen injections which stimulate the production and release of blood stem cells.

After three days of injections, she was ready to begin the donation process: Two needles, similar to the ones used when donating blood, were inserted; one in each arm. Blood was drawn from one arm, circulated through a cell-separator machine where her stem cells were collected and the remaining blood was returned through the other arm.

After 4-6 hours, the life-saving stem cells were harvested and for Symons, the process was over.

She said she often thought about the person she donated her stem cells to and sometimes wonders who they were. I realised that the day I signed as a donor, I was only hoping to make a difference. I will never know whose life I made a difference to, and part of that mystery excites me. Its a blessing to give without knowing and without being thanked.

There are just under 74 000 donors on the registry, but at least 400 000 are need. We definitely still have a mountain to climb and are committedly doing so. Registering as a donor on the SABMR is a simple process and can be very rewarding, James explained. You could be someones perfect match.

Find out more about becoming a blood stem cell a donor by contacting The Sunflower Fund on toll-free number: 0800 12 10 82 or visit http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za.

About The Sunflower Fund:

The Sunflower Fund, a South African Non-Profit Company (NPC), is dedicated to creating awareness, educating the public and handling the registration process for people to join the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).

The Sunflower Fund pays for the test cost of people joining the SABMR. This is fundamental to saving the lives of thousands of South Africans each year. The chance of finding a matching donor is 1 in 100,000 and as ethnic origin plays a significant role in the search for a donor, South Africas rainbow nation is at a distinct disadvantage, requiring a large pool of prospective donors.

Should you wish to become a donor, support one of the fundraising projects or make a financial contribution, please contact The Sunflower Fund on toll-free number:

0800 12 10 82. Visit http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za to learn more or look out for the DONATE button to make a cash donation via the website.

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The simple truth of saving lives - Independent Online

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on The simple truth of saving lives – Independent Online | May 12th, 2017

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Get burned over the weekend? RenovaCare has got your back. The New York-based biotech company has expertise in stem cells and organ regeneration, and has brought these skills to bear on wound care. One of the companys most promising methods uses a literal skin gun to spray skin stem cells on a burn or chronic wound to promote rapid healing. The healing is so rapid that you can walk into the hospital with a burn on a Friday night and return on Monday largelyhealed.

The skin gun process uses a patients stem cells, which are collected from healthy skin. The stem cells are isolated from the skin sample and suspended in a water solution that makes them easy to spray. Thecomputer-controlled skin gun works like the air brushes that are used by painters, but with much more precision.

The treatment is stupidly simple just spray the stem cells on the burned skin and wait for them to regrow. It is also extremely fast, taking only 1.5 hours to isolate the cells and and spray the skin. Once the skin cells are applied, it takes only a few days for the treatment to be effective. When state trooper Matthew Uram was burned in an unfortunate bonfire accident, he chose this experimental treatment and was entirely healed from his second-degree burns in four days.

This skin gun approach offers a significant improvement over the current methods of in-lab skin growth and surgical grafting that takes weeks and sometimes even months to be effective. Those who undergo these conventional skin graft techniques often suffer from infections and other setbacks, rendering the treatment far from optimal. A technology like the skin gun that could promote complete healing in a matter of days would represent a clear advance.

RenovaCares skin gun is still in the developmental stage and has not been approved by the FDA for sale in the United States, so you wont be able to find it on the shelves of burn units quite yet. The company is making progress towards that goal, however, and has recently announceda successful round of testing that shows its gun is capable of dispersing the skin cell liquid in a very uniform and dense manner.

Recent experiments conducted at Stem Cell Systems GmbH (Berlin, Germany) show that the gun can spray more than 20,000 evenly distributed droplets in a test area as compared to a conventional needle and syringe which produced only 91. The gun is not only capable of even dispersal, but it also is gentle on the skin stem cells, which retain 97.3 percent viability after SkinGun spraying. RenovaCare is continuing its research and development as it moves towards FDA approval and eventual commercial rollout. The company recently a filed a 510(k) submission with the FDA, which is a notice of intent to market a device and often is the first step before clinical trials.

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New Burn Healing Method uses Skin-Gun Stem-Cell Therapy ...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on New Burn Healing Method uses Skin-Gun Stem-Cell Therapy … | May 10th, 2017

Jonathan Pitre was exhausted on Tuesday, but he found some strength while watching the Ottawa Senators close out the New York Rangers in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series. -

His white blood cell count rising slowly, Jonathan Pitre will have a medical test Thursday to answer a crucial question: Are the new cells in his bloodstream genetically different?

The answer will reveal whether his second stem cell transplant has taken root in his bone marrow.

I want to be excited but Im holding back until we know for sure, said Pitres mother, Tina Boileau, who has been at his side in Minnesota since the transplant one month ago. Once we know, it seems like well be able to put one foot in front of the other and move on.

The family is taking a cautious approach since Pitres first transplant ended in disappointment in October when doctors learned that his own stem cells had recolonized his bone marrow.

Thursdays test will determine the source of Pitres new cells by isolating his white blood cells and examining the DNA they contain. All of Pitres cells will have a pair of X and Y chromosomes, but doctors will be hoping to find cells with a pair of X chromosomes since those cells can only come from his mother.

Such a discovery would provide evidence that the stem cells donated by Boileau have taken root in her sons bone marrow, and have started to produce new blood cells.

Im really hoping for a positive outcome; I think were due for good news, said Boileau, who expects to learn the results on Monday.

Pitre, who turns 17 next month, has seen his white blood cell count climb recently from 0.0 to 0.4, which remains well below the normal range of 4.0 to 11.0. He continues to suffer fevers, pain and profound exhaustion.

On Tuesday night, he watched the Ottawa Senators close out the New York Rangers while his mother applied fresh dressings and gauze after his bath. It was the first time in his life, Boileau said, that her son did not have the strength to stand during the procedure.

We had the game on and I have to say it really helped us get through it, said Boileau. Jonathan got a bit of strength from the excitement, and it was just enough to help me finish his dressings.

Pitre told his mother Tuesday night that hes not sure if he can see this one through.

I said, Youre going to have to because theres no way Im going home without you,' Boileau said. He managed to crack a little smile and said, OK, mom.

The University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital is theonly facility in the world that offers a blood and marrow transplant as a treatment for those with severe epidermolysis bullosa (EB). If Pitres transplant is successful, his new stems cells will have the power to deliver to his injured skin cells that can secrete a missing protein essential to the development of collagen.

Collagen is the glue that gives skin its strength and structure, and those with Pitres disease, recessive dytstrophic EB, are missing it. The treatment holds the potential to dramatically improve Pitres skin and make his disease more manageable.

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An exhausted Jonathan Pitre will soon learn if his stem cell transplant has worked - Ottawa Citizen

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on An exhausted Jonathan Pitre will soon learn if his stem cell transplant has worked – Ottawa Citizen | May 10th, 2017

May 10, 2017 Eye stem cells. Credit: University of Southampton

Reported in Nature today, one of the largest sets of high quality human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from healthy individuals has been produced by a consortium involving the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Comprehensively annotated and available for independent research, the hundreds of stem cell lines are a powerful resource for scientists studying human development and disease.

With collaborative partners from King's College London, the European Bioinformatics Institute, the University of Dundee and the University of Cambridge, the study also investigates in unprecedented detail the extensive variation between stem cells from different healthy people.

Technological advancements have made it possible to take an adult cell and use specific growth conditions to turn back the clock - returning it to an early embryonic state. This results in an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC), which can develop into any type of cell in the body. These iPSCs have huge scientific potential for studying the development and the impact of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and heart disease.

However, the process of creating an iPSC is long and complicated and few laboratories have the facilities to characterise their cells in a way that makes them useful for other scientists to use.

The Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative (HipSci) project used standardised methods to generate iPSCs on a large scale to study the differences between healthy people. Reference sets of stem cells were generated from skin biopsies donated by 301 healthy volunteers, creating multiple stem cell lines from each person.

The researchers created 711 cell lines and generated detailed information about their genome, the proteins expressed in them, and the cell biology of each cell line. Lines and data generated by this initiative are available to academic researchers and industry.

Dr Daniel Gaffney, a lead author on the paper, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "We have created a comprehensive, high quality reference set of human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from healthy volunteers. Each of these stem cell lines has been extensively characterised and made available to the wider research community along with the annotation data. This resource is a stepping stone for researchers to make better cell models of many diseases, because they can study disease risk in many cell types, including those that are normally inaccessible."

By creating more than one stem cell line from each healthy individual, the researchers were able to determine the similarity of stem cell lines from the same person.

Prof Fiona Watt, a lead author on the paper and co-principal investigator of HipSci, from King's College London, said: "Many other efforts to create stem cells focus on rare diseases. In our study, stem cells have been produced from hundreds of healthy volunteers to study common genetic variation. We were able to show similar characteristics of iPS cells from the same person, and revealed that up to 46 per cent of the differences we saw in iPS cells were due to differences between individuals. These data will allow researchers to put disease variations in context with healthy people."

The project, which has taken 4 years to complete, required a multidisciplinary approach with many different collaborators, who specialised in different aspects of creating the cell lines and characterising the data.

Dr Oliver Stegle, a lead author on the paper, from the European Bioinformatics Institute, said: "This study was only possible due to the large scale, systematic production and characterisation of the stem cell lines. To help us to understand the different properties of the cells, we collected extensive data on multiple molecular layers, from the genome of the lines to their cell biology. This type of phenotyping required a whole facility rather than just a single lab, and will provide a huge resource to other scientists. Already, the data being generated have helped to gain a clearer picture of what a typical human iPSC cell looks like."

Dr Michael Dunn, Head of Genetics and Molecular Sciences at Wellcome, said: "This is the fantastic result of many years of work to create a national resource of high quality, well-characterised human induced pluripotent stem cells. This has been a significant achievement made possible by the collaboration of researchers across the country with joint funding provided by Wellcome and the MRC. It will help to provide the knowledge base to underpin a huge amount of future research into the effects of our genes on health and disease. By ensuring this resource is openly available to all, we hope that it will pave the way for many more fascinating discoveries."

Explore further: Stem cell consortium tackles complex genetic diseases

More information: Helena Kilpinen et al, Common genetic variation drives molecular heterogeneity in human iPSCs, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature22403

http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-a-stem-cell

Reported in Nature today, one of the largest sets of high quality human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from healthy individuals has been produced by a consortium involving the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Comprehensively ...

Over the last decade, it has made good sense to study the genetic drivers of cancer by sequencing a tiny portion of the human genome called the exome - the 2% of our three billion base pairs that "spell out" the 21,000 genes ...

Scientists have discovered the genetic mutation that causes the rare skin disease, keratolytic winter erythema (KWE), or 'Oudtshoorn skin', in Afrikaners.

Men and women differ in obvious and less obvious waysfor example, in the prevalence of certain diseases or reactions to drugs. How are these connected to one's sex? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently uncovered ...

Salk Institute scientists have developed a novel technology to correct disease-causing aberrations in the chemical tags on DNA that affect how genes are expressed. These types of chemical modifications, collectively referred ...

Scientists are closer to understanding the genetic causes of type 2 diabetes by identifying 111 new chromosome locations ('loci') on the human genome that indicate susceptibility to the disease, according to a UCL-led study ...

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Scientists unveil the UK's largest resource of human stem cells from healthy donors - Medical Xpress

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Scientists unveil the UK’s largest resource of human stem cells from healthy donors – Medical Xpress | May 10th, 2017

LUCKNOW: In what may come as a relief to over 1 lakh patients of thalassemia in India, a public sector stem cell bank is set to come up at UP's King George's Medical University here. A project of the university's transfusion medicine department, the stem cell bank would roll out stem cell therapy to patients of thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia. The proposal is awaiting clearance from state department of medical education.

Stem cells are omnipotent and can take shape of any cell inside the body. If infused in the pancreas, stem cells will become pancreatic while in the liver, they will become liver cells.

These are found in human bone marrow and can be derived from the umbilical cord which contains blood vessels that connect baby in the womb to the mother to ingest nutrition required for development.

Research on the therapeutic use of stem cells is underway in US, Europe, China, South East Asia besides India. In UP, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) and KGMU are both trying to explore the potential of stem cells to treat various health problems. SGPGI has, so far, restricted itself to use of allogenic (stem cells derived from bone marrow of a person), while KGMU has used stem cells derived from the umbilical cord.

Head of transfusion medicine department of KGMU, Prof Tulika Chandra said, "Several private sector stem cell banks like Life Cell and Cord Life India are operating in India but they serve only those who have deposited the baby's cord, while our bank will help everyone."

KGMU has sustained access to umbilical cord because of a very developed obstetrics and gynaecology department. The cord is gathered from the placenta in the uterus of pregnant women which nourishes and maintains the baby through the umbilical cord.

Sources in medical education department said the proposal is worth Rs 9 crore including infrastructure cost. "Stem cell bank promises to become financially self-sustaining within 2-3 years of inception," said a directorate officer.

Talking about why children with thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia were chosen, Chandra said, "Global literature shows umbilical cord stem cells can induce extraordinary results on such children. In fact, success rate is around 70-75% and higher score can be achieved if therapy is provided at an earlier age."

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First public sector stem cell bank to come up at KGMU - Times of India

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on First public sector stem cell bank to come up at KGMU – Times of India | May 9th, 2017

Hope Ford, WFMY 4:05 PM. EDT May 07, 2017

Caesar Sant

WINSTON-SALEM, NC Its hard to walk through life without hitting a sour note or two. In Winston-Salem, there's a young boy with talent beyond his years and a disease that nearly crippled him. His father gave up his career to take care of his son and to get him healthy.

Child Prodigy

We only listen to classical music at home, said Lucas Sant, a father of three living in Winston-Salem. He sits with his youngest, Helen, 2, on his lap. His second oldest daughter, Maria-Anita, 7, sits on his right and his only son, Caesar, 8, sits to his left.

Hes telling WFMY News 2s reporter, Hope Ford, about his sons remarkable talent.

When he was just a baby, we bought Baby Einstein, and you know, they have the animals and the music. So, we bought him a little toy piano, Lucas began. And one day, when he was seven months old, we heard this music coming from the room. It sounded like the toy piano, but it was the music from the Baby Einstein.

Lucas turned to his wife, Aline, with a knowing smile and said, We have our work to do with this boy.

Videos uploaded to YouTube, show a baby Caesar, waving his arms along to classical music such as Beethoven, almost as if he were conducting a symphony.

A baby Caesar and his father listening to classical music. (Photo: Sant family)

Violin lessons started the age of four.

He started playing Vivaldi. He would pick up things very quick, said Lucas. Everybody was very impressed.

GoFundMe

All the Sant children are homeschooled and it would be no surprise to learn Caesar is just as brilliant with a pencil as he is with an instrument. The young boy is ahead in math and other subjects and earned a black belt in karate at 5-years-old.

A Painful Disease

Lucas sat in his seat, as baby Helen decided she wanted to leave the room to see what her mom was up to. As she ran into the next room, Lucas continued his story.

Immediately, he started to get sick. Before five, he had the first stroke.

Caesar has sickle cell anemia.

You never know anything until you experience, Lucas said in a soft voice.

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disease. Normal red blood cells are round and flexible to carry oxygen throughout the body. Caesars blood cells are sickle-shaped or bent and get stuck, slowing the flood of blood and oxygen.

Lucas explained, Its different. Its my son and I never seen this thing.

Caesar, who up until this point sat quietly next to his father with his violin in his lap said, I feel bad. I dont feel good when Im sick.

The curly haired violinist has three strokes before the age of six. The first two left his arms weak, but he rebounded, performing the National Anthem at the Grasshoppers Game in 2013.

The third one was a different stroke, said his dad.

Caesar lost feeling in his arms and legs after his third stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed for nearly six months.

At first, even his eyes was not moving. But, when he did wake up, all of a sudden your son not walk, not run, not stand up, Lucas said as if he was still trying to make sense of it all.

Doctors told the Sant family, It is very unlikely your son is going to die but do not expect much from him.

Lucas paused for a moment and continued, But the good thing there, you really meet God. What am I supposed to do God? Please tell me.

The only thing that seemed right at the time, was for Lucas to give up his career. The father of three was a neuroscientist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Forget about my life. I said, Im going give my life to this boy.

Young Caesar in the hospital. (Photo: Sant family)

The Sant family built a small play gym in the basement of their home. Here, Lucas would help Caesar with physical therapy, as they could not afford to hire someone full time to help him regain strength and movement in his arms and legs.

Some days and good and some are bad. Three years after his last stroke, Caesar still winces in pain as he goes through his exercises. But, he finds moments to laugh with his siblings, who cheer him on. And as an 8-year-old, he is a little hard to get under control. For Lucas, the physical therapy takes a toll on his as well.

First, Im not a physical therapist. I have a lot of patience but its very hard for you see your son one way, said Lucas. Sometime, we have to take breaks because it is difficult and it sometimes weighs on my own health.

But, once again, Caesar regained his strength, returning to the Grasshoppers stadium in 2017 to perform the National Anthem once again.

A Small Miracle

Every month, Caesar and his family travel to Charlotte for blood transfusions. 90 to 95 percent of his blood is replaced every month to lower the risk of Caesar having another stroke. He'll have to do this for the unforeseeable future and there are risks.

Frequent blood transfusions can lead to iron overload which is sometimes fatal. Caesar's family is trying for a bone marrow transplant which has a higher percentage of curing his sickle cell disease.

They have a donor- his baby sister, Helen.

As if she knew her name had been mentioned, the young girl, called the boss of the family, walked back into the room, sharing bites of her rice with her siblings and father.

Lucas and his wife wanted another child, but they also wanted to ensure the next child would not have the sickle cell anemia trait. they also wanted to ensure they would have a 100 percent genetic match for Caesar's procedure.

Maria-Anita was also born with sickle cell anemia, but unlike her brother, has yet to experience any complications.

So, Aline got pregnant via in vitro fertilization. Doctors only planted cells that were a genetic match and only healthy cells were selected. Thus, Helen was conceived and at birth, her umbilical cord was collected.

Helen, was born sickle-cell free.

They took the stem cells from the umbilical cord and now they have perfect cells, to do the transplant on him, said Lucas.

The Next Step

The Sant family is trying to raise money for a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. The process is long and costly. According to Johns Hopkins, one hospital that specializes in bone marrow/stem cell transplants, they say the cost can run as high as $500,000.

However, sickle cell anemia can be cured with the procedure.

Offering her big brother another big of food, Helen, Caesars sisterly hero, smiled and ran off.

Lucas continued to explain the familys financial situation.

Its difficult, with me not having a job. But, we have had people help us along the way. But, we are still trying so hard to raise money for the surgery.

A GoFundMe account was started in 2013. To date, $38,000 has been raised. The family also started a website to give updates and sell merchandise to help raise funds as well.

Caesar still walks with a limp and must be careful when sitting down. Lucas looked at his son and said Were so happy because he got back. He got back, but the job is not done. Faith, hope, these things so real. Cause if dont have what you can do? You give up right there.

Caesar piped in again, Sometimes I tell my father, papa, I dont know when Im going to be back, but God is always with me.

Lucas isnt giving up. His hope, to have son healthy by 2018.

And Caesars hope?

I want to be a musician and a conductor.

2017 WFMY-TV

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Sensational 8-Year-Old Violinist Living With Painful Disease - WTSP 10 News

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Sensational 8-Year-Old Violinist Living With Painful Disease – WTSP 10 News | May 7th, 2017

Last February, Timothy Ray Brown a.k.a. the Berlin patient celebrated his 10th birthday. Well, sort of. His 10th birthday actually refers to the 10th anniversary marking his recognition as the only person in the world to be cured of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Browns incredible story began in 1995 when he was diagnosed with HIV. For over 10 years, he was able to stave off the disease by taking antiretroviral drugs. But disaster decided to strike again. Aside from HIV, it turned out that he had developed cancer as well, specifically, acute myeloid leukemia.

To fight off the cancer, Browns doctors decided to use chemotherapy and radiation to destroy his immune system, then use donated stem cells via a bone marrow transplant to rebuild it. It was supposed to be a standard treatment, but the doctors tweaked it a bit. The stem cell donor they chose was immune to HIV. Scientifically, this means that the donor had a gene mutation that caused him not to have CCR5 in his cells; CCR5 is the protein that allows HIV to get into a persons blood cells.

Brown received two bone marrow transplants, and the results were nothing short of a miracle he was cured of both HIV and cancer!

That extraordinary feat resulted in a common consensus that it was the transplant that saved Brown from his two lethal diseases. Based on new evidence, however, that conclusion might have to be re-evaluated. It might not have been the transplant that cured him. Rather, his immune systems reaction to the transplant that finally did the trick.

The immune reaction is known as graft-versus-host disease. Essentially, what happens is this: the donors immune cells attack the recipients cells. In Browns case, the donors cells attacked his immune cells (including the HIV contained in the cells). The result was the death of the HIV in his system.

At the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute in Spain, six patients with HIV and cancer who received treatment similar with Browns now appear to be cleared of HIV.

Something to think about, though. Among the six patients, only one received the exact same treatment as Browns the bone marrow donor had the CCR5 gene mutation. Yet all six of them developed graft-versus-host disease.

Unless they stop taking their anti-HIV drugs, it cant be confirmed if they have been completely cleared of HIV. So far, though, all HIV tests on the six of them have been negative for 2 years. And that can certainly add support to the idea that its the graft-versus-host disease that kills HIV, not the transplant.

Still, if this does turn out to be accurate, it might not be such an appealing approach to use because its virtually a deliberate attempt to kill a patients immune cells which can easily turn fatal. Especially for patients who have the means to afford the expensive anti-HIV drugs, exposing ones self to further risk via transplantation is not really a logical option.

Although theres some consolation in the fact that at least there are anti-HIV drugs that can keep the disease at bay as long as you continue taking the drugs, its obviously far from being satisfactory given the fact that not everyone can afford such an expensive lifetime treatment. Which is why so much studying still needs to be done to better understand HIVs behavior and how this nasty virus can be eradicated. Lets hope science eventually leads us to a safer and more affordable cure.

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Attacking A Patient's Immune Cells May Wipe Out HIV - Wall Street Pit

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Attacking A Patient’s Immune Cells May Wipe Out HIV – Wall Street Pit | May 7th, 2017

The newtechnique involves isolating and spraying the patient's own skin stem cells on the burn wounds

BURNS victims are being treated with an amazing gun which sprays them with stem cells and makes skin rapidly grow.

Treatment for people with extensive burns is a painful process and can often take weeks or months as surgeons take large sheets of skin from elsewhere on the body and graft it onto the affected area with the prospect of permanent scars a possibility.

Renova Care

Renova Care

Doctors in the US have developed the SkinGun, anew technique which involves isolating and spraying the patients own skin stem cells on the burn wounds.

Response to the SkinGun has been positive with patients saying their new skin is virtually indistinguishable from the rest of their body, the Daily Mail has reported.

Thomas Bold, chief executive of RenovaCare, the company behind SkinGun, said: The procedure is gentler and the skin that regrows looks, feels and functions like the original skin.

The procedure involves a small patch of healthy skin being removed.

Then stem cells are separated out and placed in a solution which is then sprayed onto the wound.

The whole thing takes around 90 minutes.

Case studies include a 43-year-old man who suffered serious burns to his upper left arm, shoulder, back and torso after he was scalded by hot water and left him with huge welts.

Within six days new skin had formed over the wound and he was discharged from hospital.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368

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Burn victims treated with amazing gun which sprays them with stem cells and makes skin grow - The Sun

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Burn victims treated with amazing gun which sprays them with stem cells and makes skin grow – The Sun | May 7th, 2017

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and CROMWELL, Conn., May 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellaria, LLC, a scientific innovator that develops revolutionary new patient-specific models for challenging diseases, and Biological Industries USA (BI-USA), a subsidiary of Biological Industries (Israel), today announced a new sales and marketing agreement to promote custom stem cell services. The partnership combines BI-USAs strength in stem cell culture media and manufacturing with Cellarias comprehensive Stem Cell Services program, which includes industry leading RNA reprogramming and custom differentiation services. Together, the companies will offer one of the industrys most innovative and comprehensive stem cell service offerings available to biotechnology companies and academic institutions.

As part of the agreement, Cellaria will distribute BI-USAs stem cell media offering, including its NutriStem hPSC Medium, a cGMP xeno-free media specifically designed for human pluripotent stem cell culture. Cellaria will also incorporate the product into its stem cell services. BI-USA will market Cellaria's customized stem cell services, establishing an integrated, single source solution for iPS cell line derivation, culture maintenance, banking, characterization and differentiation services.

BI is one of the most respected names in life sciences today, said David Deems, chief executive officer at Cellaria. The companys strong market presence and innovative media products will enhance our stem cell and RNA reprogramming service offerings and significantly increase the availability and appeal of our combined offerings.

This is an important partnership for us, added Tanya Potcova, chief executive officer of BI-USA. In combination, our teams bring a wealth of stem cell experience but also share a common goal of creating higher quality, more consistent research outcomes for researchers in the life sciences field. We are pleased to be working with the team at Cellaria to put the best possible tools and support in the hands of our present and future customers.

Please visit Cellaria and BI at the International Society of Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting in Boston, MA June 14-17, 2017 at booth# 407.

About Cellaria Cellaria creates high quality, next generation in vitro disease models that reflect the unique nature of a patients biology. All models begin with tissue from a patient, capturing clinically relevant details that inform model characterization. For cancer, Cellarias cell models exhibit molecular and phenotypic characteristics that are highly concordant to the patient. For RNA-mediated iPS cell line derivation and stem cell services, Cellarias cell models enable interrogation of patient and disease-specific mechanisms of action. Cellarias innovative products and services help lead the research community to more personalized therapeutics, revolutionizing and accelerating the search for a cure. For more information, visitwww.cellariabio.com.

About Biological Industries Biological Industries (BI) is one of the worlds leading and trusted suppliers to the life sciences industry, with over 35 years experience in cell culture media development and cGMP manufacturing. BIs products range from classical cell culture media to supplements and reagents for stem cell research and potential cell therapy applications, to serum-free, xeno-free media. BI is committed to a Culture of Excellence through advanced manufacturing and quality-control systems, regulatory expertise, in-depth market knowledge, and extensive technical customer-support, training, and R&D capabilities.

Biological Industries USA (BI-USA) is the US commercialization arm of BI, with facilities in Cromwell, Connecticut. Members of the BI-USA team share a history and expertise of innovation and success in the development of leading-edge technologies in stem cell research, cellular reprogramming, and regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.bioind.com or connect onLinkedIn,Twitter, andFacebook.

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IPS Cell Therapy Comments Off on Cellaria and Biological Industries USA Partner on Stem Cell Media … – Yahoo Finance | May 5th, 2017

Details WhaTech Channel: Industrial Market Research Published: 04 May 2017 Submitted by John Vardon WhaTech Premium News from QY Research Groups Viewed: 7 times

This report studies the global Regenerative Medicine market, analyzes and researches the Regenerative Medicine development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.Learn details of the Size, Status and Forecast 2022

What is Regenerative Medicine?

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History

Applications

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This report focuses on the top players in global market, like

.

Table of Contents

Global Regenerative Medicine Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 1 Industry Overview of Regenerative Medicine 1.1 Regenerative Medicine Market Overview 1.1.1 Regenerative Medicine Product Scope 1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook 1.2 Global Regenerative Medicine Market Size and Analysis by Regions 1.2.1 United States 1.2.2 EU 1.2.3 Japan 1.2.4 China 1.2.5 India 1.2.6 Southeast Asia 1.3 Regenerative Medicine Market by Type 1.3.1 Cell Therapy 1.3.2 Tissue Engineering 1.3.3 Biomaterial 1.3.4 Others 1.4 Regenerative Medicine Market by End Users/Application 1.4.1 Dermatology 1.4.2 Cardiovascular 1.4.3 CNS

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1.4.4 Orthopedic 1.4.5 Others

2 Global Regenerative Medicine Competition Analysis by Players 2.1 Regenerative Medicine Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017) 2.2 Competitive Status and Trend 2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate 2.2.2 Product/Service Differences 2.2.3 New Entrants 2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future

3 Company (Top Players) Profiles 3.1 Acelity 3.1.1 Company Profile 3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview 3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions 3.1.4 Regenerative Medicine Revenue (Value) (2012-2017) 3.1.5 Recent Developments 3.2 DePuy Synthes 3.2.1 Company Profile 3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview 3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions 3.2.4 Regenerative Medicine Revenue (Value) (2012-2017) 3.2.5 Recent Developments 3.3 Medtronic 3.3.1 Company Profile 3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview

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IPS Cell Therapy Comments Off on Latest report on regenerative medicine market just published – WhaTech | May 4th, 2017

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Magenta Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapies to improve and expand the use of curative stem cell transplantation for more patients, today announced rapid progress in advancing the companys strategic vision, including the completion of a $50 million Series B financing; in-licensing a clinical-stage program from Novartis to support the use of stem cell transplantation in a variety of disease settings; and a strategic partnership with Be The Match BioTherapiesSM, an organization offering solutions for delivering autologous and allogeneic cellular therapies.

The financing announced today is intended to fuel development of innovative product candidates across multiple aspects of transplantation medicine, including more precise preparation of patients, stem cell harvesting and stem cell expansion. The Series B round, which was oversubscribed, was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), with participation from all existing investors, including Atlas Venture, Third Rock Ventures, Partners Innovation Fund and Access Industries. The financing also included Casdin Capital and other crossover investors, as well as Be The Match BioTherapies, a subsidiary of National Marrow Donor Program(NMDP)/Be The Match, the worlds leading organization focused on saving lives through bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplantation.

Magenta has quickly established itself as a nexus of innovation in stem cell science, catalyzing interest in this area of medicine with the recognition that improvements will have profound impact on patients, said Jason Gardner, D. Phil., chief executive officer, president and cofounder of Magenta Therapeutics. We aspire to accelerate products that could unleash the potential of transplantation to more patients, including those with autoimmune diseases, genetic blood disorders and cancer. The resounding interest in Magenta from such a high-quality set of investors is a testament to our solid progress since launch, including building a world-class team and a robust pipeline, and generating promising early data.

MGTA-456: Investigational Product Addressing Significant Unmet Need in Stem Cell Transplant

The clinical-stage program in-licensed by Magenta from Novartis, MGTA-456 (formerly HSC835), aims to expand the number of cord blood stem cells used in transplants to achieve superior clinical outcomes compared to standard transplant procedures, and to enable more patients to benefit from a transplant. Under this agreement, Magenta gains rights to use MGTA-456 in selected applications and will develop MGTA-456 in multiple diseases, including immune and blood diseases.

Early results published in Science1 demonstrated the ability of MGTA-456 to significantly increase the number of umbilical cord blood stem cells. Clinical results reported in Cell Stem Cell2 demonstrated that this approach yielded an increased expansion of stem cells.

John E. Wagner, M.D., executive medical director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program at the University of Minnesota and the studys lead author, stated: MGTA-456 markedly shortens time to recovery, addressing one of the most significant challenges in stem cell transplantation today. MGTA-456 achieved a remarkable increase in the number of blood-forming stem cells, greater than that observed by all other methods that have been tested to date. This product has the potential to further improve cord blood transplant outcomes.

Be The Match BioTherapies Strategic Partnership Agreement

Magenta and Be The Match BioTherapies also announced today that in addition to the equity investment, the two organizations have initiated a collaboration to support their shared goals of improving transplant medicine. Magenta and Be The Match BioTherapies will explore opportunities to work together across all of Magentas research efforts, from discovery through clinical development. Under this agreement, Magenta may leverage Be The Match BioTherapies capabilities, including its cell therapy delivery platform, industry relationships, clinical trial design and management, and patient outcomes data derived from the NMDP/Be The Match, which operates the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. NMDP/Be The Match has a network of more than 486 organizations that support marrow transplant worldwide, including 178 transplant centers in the United States and more than 45 international donor centers and cooperative registries.

We are proud to have made our first equity investment as an organization in Magenta Therapeutics, and we share a vision to improve and advance the use of curative stem cell transplantation for patients with a wide range of diseases, said Amy Ronneberg, president of Be The Match Biotherapies.

About Magenta Therapeutics

Magenta Therapeutics is a biotechnology company harnessing the power of stem cell science to revolutionize stem cell transplantation for patients with immune- and blood-based diseases. By creating a platform focused on critical areas of transplant medicine, Magenta Therapeutics is pioneering an integrated, but modular approach to stem cell therapies to create patient benefits. Founded by internationally recognized leaders in stem cell transplant medicine, Magenta Therapeutics was launched in 2016 by Third Rock Ventures and Atlas Venture and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visitwww.magentatx.com.

About Third Rock Ventures

Third Rock Ventures is a leading healthcare venture firm focused on investing and launching companies that make a difference in peoples lives. The Third Rock team has a unique vision for ideating and building transformative healthcare companies. Working closely with our strategic partners and entrepreneurs, Third Rock has an extensive track record for managing the value creation path to deliver exceptional performance. For more information, please visit the firms website atwww.thirdrockventures.com.

About Atlas Venture

Atlas Venture is a leading biotech venture capital firm. With the goal of doing well by doing good, we have been building breakthrough biotech startups since 1993. We work side by side with exceptional scientists and entrepreneurs to translate high impact science into medicines for patients. Our seed-led venture creation strategy rigorously selects and focuses investment on the most compelling opportunities to build scalable businesses and realize value. For more information, please visitwww.atlasventure.com.

About GV

GV provides venture capital funding to bold new companies. In the fields of life science, healthcare, artificial intelligence, robotics, transportation, cyber security, and agriculture, GV's companies aim to improve lives and change industries. GV's team of world-class engineers, designers, physicians, scientists, marketers, and investors work together to provide these startups exceptional support on the road to success.

Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV is the venture capital arm of Alphabet, Inc. GV helps startups interface with Google, providing unique access to the worlds best technology and talent. GV has $2.4 billion under management and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and London. Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV is the venture capital arm of Alphabet, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.gv.com.

About Be The Match BioTherapies

Be The Match BioTherapies partners with organizations pursuing new life-saving treatments in cellular therapy. Built on the foundation established over the last 30 years by theNMDP/Be The Match, the organization has unparalleled experience in personalized patient management with a single point of contact, cell sourcing and collection, cell therapy delivery platform, immunogenetics and bioinformatics, research and regulatory compliance. By leveraging proven capabilities and established relationships, Be The Match BioTherapies can bring customizable solutions to organizations in every stage of cellular therapy developmentfrom discovery through commercialization. Discover how Be The Match BioTherapies can assist your company atBeTheMatchBioTherapies.com.

For more information on todays announcement, see Jason Gardners post in the Life Sci VC blog: https://lifescivc.com/2017/05/building-a-bioteth-a-triple-play/.

1Science.2010 Sep 10;329(5997):1345-8. 2Cell Stem Cell.2016 Jan 7;18(1):144-55.

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Magenta Therapeutics Advances Stem Cell Transplantation Strategy ... - Business Wire (press release)

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Magenta Therapeutics Advances Stem Cell Transplantation Strategy … – Business Wire (press release) | May 2nd, 2017

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - April 27, 2017) - VistaGen Therapeutics Inc. (VTGN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new generation medicines for depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced today the peer-reviewed publication of nonclinical studies of the effects of AV-101 (4-Cl-KYN), its CNS prodrug candidate, in four well-established nonclinical models of pain.

The publication, titled: "Characterization of the effects of L-4-chlorokynurenine on nociception in rodents," by lead author, Tony L. Yaksh, Ph.D., and co-authors, Robert Schwarcz, Ph.D. and H. Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D., was recently published in The Journal of Pain (DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.03.014) and is available online at http://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(17)30552-7/abstract.

"In these studies, AV-101 was found to have robust anti-nociceptive effects, similar to gabapentin, but with a better side effect profile in several pre-clinical models of hyperalgesia and allodynia, results suggest AV-101's potential for treating multiple hyperpathic pain states," reported Tony L. Yaksh, Ph.D., Professor in Anesthesiology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

"In comparison to gabapentin and other agents commonly used by millions of patients battling chronic neuropathic pain, we believe AV-101 has the potential to reduce debilitating pain effectively without causing burdensome side effects. Many neuropathic pain treatments on the market today have side effects, including anxiety, depression, mild cognitive impairment and sedation. The positive results published in these studies fall in line with our goal of advancing Phase 2 clinical development of AV-101 across a broad range of CNS indications, including major depressive disorder, neuropathic pain and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia associated with Parkinson's disease. We are optimistic that we will be able to bring to market a new generation CNS medication that would help millions of patients currently treated with therapies with inadequate efficacy and significant side effects and safety concerns," stated H. Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D., VistaGen's President and Chief Scientific Officer.

Study Summary and Key Findings:

About AV-101

AV-101 (4-CI-KYN) is an oral CNS prodrug candidate in Phase 2 development in the U.S. as a new generation treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). AV-101 also has broad potential utility in several other CNS disorders, including chronic neuropathic pain and epilepsy, as well as addressing symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.

AV-101 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 monotherapy study in MDD, a study being fully funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and conducted by Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., Chief, Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders and Chief of Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch at the NIMH, as Principal Investigator.

VistaGen is preparing to advance AV-101 into a 180-patient, U.S. multi-center, Phase 2 adjunctive treatment study in MDD patients with an inadequate response to standard FDA-approved antidepressants, with Dr. Maurizio Fava of Harvard University as Principal Investigator.

About VistaGen

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VTGN), is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new generation medicines for depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. VistaGen's lead CNS product candidate, AV-101, is in Phase 2 development as a new generation oral antidepressant drug candidate for major depressive disorder (MDD). AV-101's mechanism of action is fundamentally differentiated from all FDA-approved antidepressants and atypical antipsychotics used adjunctively to treat MDD, with potential to drive a paradigm shift towards a new generation of safer and faster-acting antidepressants. AV-101 is currently being evaluated by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in a Phase 2 monotherapy study in MDD being fully funded by the NIMH and conducted by Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., Chief, Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders and Chief of Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch at the NIMH. VistaGen is preparing to launch a 180-patient Phase 2 study of AV-101 as an adjunctive treatment for MDD patients with inadequate response to standard, FDA-approved antidepressants. Dr. Maurizio Fava of Harvard University will be the Principal Investigator of the Company's Phase 2 adjunctive treatment study. AV-101 may also have the potential to treat multiple CNS disorders and neurodegenerative diseases in addition to MDD, including chronic neuropathic pain, epilepsy, and symptoms of Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, where modulation of the NMDAR, AMPA pathway and/or key active metabolites of AV-101 may achieve therapeutic benefit.

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VistaStem Therapeutics is VistaGen's wholly owned subsidiary focused on applying human pluripotent stem cell technology, internally and with collaborators, to discover, rescue, develop and commercialize proprietary new chemical entities (NCEs), including small molecule NCEs with regenerative potential, for CNS and other diseases, and cellular therapies involving stem cell-derived blood, cartilage, heart and liver cells. In December 2016, VistaGen exclusively sublicensed to BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a next generation regenerative medicine company established by Bayer AG and Versant Ventures, rights to certain proprietary technologies relating to the production of cardiac stem cells for the treatment of heart disease.

For more information, please visit http://www.vistagen.com and connect with VistaGen on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the successful launch, continuation and results of the NIMH's Phase 2 (monotherapy) and/or the Company's planned Phase 2 (adjunctive therapy) clinical studies of AV-101 in MDD, and other CNS diseases and disorders, including neuropathic pain and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia associated with Parkinson's disease, protection of its intellectual property, and the availability of substantial additional capital to support its operations, including the Phase 2 clinical development activities described above. These and other risks and uncertainties are identified and described in more detail in VistaGen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These filings are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. VistaGen undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on VistaGen Therapeutics Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication in … – Yahoo Finance | April 27th, 2017

Science Daily

Bare bones: Making bones transparent Science Daily Ten years ago, the bones currently in your body did not actually exist. Like skin, bone is constantly renewing itself, shedding old tissue and growing it anew from stem cells in the bone marrow. Now, a new technique developed at Caltech can render ... Scientists turn bones transparent to let them see into marrowSTAT Tissue-Clearing Technique Works on BoneThe Scientist all 4 news articles »

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Bare bones: Making bones transparent - Science Daily

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Bare bones: Making bones transparent – Science Daily | April 26th, 2017

WSU student fractured spine at Oxford party

Ryan Custer, a Wright State University student who was severely injured at an Oxford party, is being considered for a stem cell study at Rush University Hospital in Chicago. The 19-year-old, a first-year forward for the Raiders varsity basketball team, will be evaluated for five days before doctors determine if he qualifies for the study.

Custer suffered a severe spinal injury after jumping into a makeshift pool at a party on S. Main Street on Saturday, April 8. Custer collided with another persons knee when he slid into the pool, causing the injury. Custer was immediately transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he underwent surgery on his spine that night.

Feeling in Custers legs has not returned, and he has only recently regained some movement in his fingers.

Custer was transported from the UC Medical Center to Rush Hospital on Sunday, April 22. According to a post from the Ryan Custer Recovery Care Page, a Facebook page updated almost daily by Custers family, he spent the first day in Chicago getting acclimated in his new room in Rushs ICU and meeting the doctor who will lead the study, Dr. Richard Fessler.

Dr. Fessler, a renowned spinal surgeon, has focused his research on developing and refining new ways to perform minimally invasive spinal surgeries. In 2010, Fessler performed surgery on former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, which Custer was happy to learn, the post said.

The five-day period of testing began Monday, and, if selected for the study, treatment for Custer will begin on Friday. The study, called the SCiStar study, will evaluate how the injection of AST-OPC1, particular neural cells produced from human embryonic stem cells, at a single time 14 to 30 days after an injury can benefit the patients recovery.

According to the SCiStar webpage, the studys researchers are seeking adults between the ages of 18 and 69 who recently experienced a spinal cord injury in the neck which resulted in a loss of feeling below the site of the injury in addition to some paralysis in the arms and legs.

HBO has contacted Dr. Fessler about following a patient through this research process.

Ryan thinks it would be cool to do it, so we said yes,an April 22 Facebook post reads. Another step in the plan God has mapped out for Ryan.

A fundraising page created for Custer, The Ryan Custer 33 Recovery Fund, is close to raising its entire $100,000 goal. At the time of publication, the fund was just about $4,000 shy of the 100k mark.

Over 6,500 people have liked the page and are following along with Custers recovery through the familys Facebook updates.

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Custer considered for stem cell study | The Miami Student - Miami Student

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Custer considered for stem cell study | The Miami Student – Miami Student | April 25th, 2017

A dad who achieved fame as a bailiff on Channel 5's Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! has been handed a 'death sentence' unless a donor can be found to rescue him from a terminal blood cancer.

Delroy Anglin, who reached unexpected stardom on the show, has been stricken by an aggressive form of leukaemia which ravages the blood and bones of its sufferers.

The dad-of-six was confined to a hospital bed while undergoing chemotheraphy.

But Delroy, 56, desperately needs a bone marrow transplant so he can beat the debilitating disease.

However, it's proven difficult to find a matching donor because of his minority background, and he has suffered for months since first hearing the news of his deadly illness.

Delroy, from Croydon, told the Croydon Advertiser : "You feel as if someone has pronounced a death sentence.

"Life changed in an instant. When they tell you, you're just hoping someone has made a mistake, but they haven't.

"At the end of the day, unless somebody says differently - I'm terminal."

His condition was first discovered after he requested a check-up because he had been catching more colds than he usually would.

A blood test revealed what was really affecting his usually robust health.

AML affects the stem cells in bone marrow, causing a huge amount of white blood cells to be produced. Less than half of patients can be cured of the rare disease, which causes a dangerous reduction in the number of red blood cells in the body.

"I think I was in denial because I felt so fine," said Delroy, who has been forced to quit his on-screen work.

"Life changed straight away, from diagnosis to entering the hospital was a matter of days.

"Your life just changes instantly. Everything is chaotic and it remains like that for while."

Delroy, now a grandfather, is continuing to battle the disease, which developed with shocking speed, alongside his family.

His children have rallied to support him, and although his 82-year-old mum worries, her home cooking gives him strength.

"You don't want to worry your mum," said Delroy, who is now being treated at the Royal Marsden in Sutton.

"She does worry. She comes from a generation where leukaemia was a death sentence.

"But you get the home cooking from her and build up your strength it's funny how it never changes.

"You don't know how your kids are going to react. Some react well, some become aware of their own mortality a bit, and hate going to hospitals.

"But my family have reacted so well, and I think that's because they've seen my reaction. They've been absolutely amazing."

"It's strange, people don't usually like bailiffs," he said.

"But I have had so much support, from everyone including complete strangers."

The #Match4Delroy appeal is to be led by blood cancer charity the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) and encourages people to join the donor register.

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Bailiff dad who reached fame on Channel 5's Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! gets 'death sentence' diagnosis - Mirror.co.uk

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Bailiff dad who reached fame on Channel 5’s Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away! gets ‘death sentence’ diagnosis – Mirror.co.uk | April 23rd, 2017

Organ transplant rejection might eventually be preventable by giving recipients an immune-suppressing vaccine derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, according to a study led by Japanese researchers.

In mice, the treatment allowed permanent acceptance of heart grafts by selectively inhibiting the immune response to the donor graft, said the study, published April 20 in Stem Cell Reports. The work might also be applicable to autoimmune diseases, the study said.

The study can be found at j.mp/ipscden. The co-first authors were Songjie Cai, Jiangang Hou, and Masayuki Fujino. The senior author was Xiao-Kang Li. All are of the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development in Tokyo.

The IPS cells were matured into donor-type regulatory dendritic cells (DCregs) which in turn caused production of tolerance-inducing regulatory T cells, or Tregs, that allow the graft to be treated as self.

While the technology looks good, a UC San Diego stem cell researcher said it faces a number of hurdles that make practical use of it difficult, especially the difficulty in producing the donor-derived regulatory cells in time to be of use in a transplant.

Use of these Tregs and immature DCregs for transplant has been investigated for several years now. In theory, they would provide a better method of preventing rejection than immunosuppressive drugs that knock down immune functioning across the board.

However, activating Tregs must be done precisely, or other T cell types will be activated, increasing the risk of rejection.

The study found that donor-type dendritic cells reliably activated Tregs and not the other types. Peptide antigens from the graft directed naive CD4+ T cells to mature into donor-specific Tregs, providing a selective immune signal to tolerate the graft.

Use of IPS cells for producing these immune regulatory cells is quite novel, said Dan Kaufman, director of cell therapy at UC San Diego, and affiliated with the universitys Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center.

Obviously, it fits my interest in making immune cells from ES and IPS cells, Kaufman said. The ability to use these cells to suppress transplant rejection seems quite strong. I think the data is all good.

That said, the findings could be strengthened by extending the work from animals to human xenografts, he said. That would demonstrate that human IPS cells can similarly function, although it would be challenging.

Another limitation is the need to use donor-derived cells to induce immune tolerance.

How you would translate that would be unclear to me, Kaufman said.

Are you going to get a heart and then make IPS cells from that donor, which obviously you couldnt do in a reasonable time frame? Could you create a bank of these types of cells that might be suitable for certain patient populations with certain HLA types? Im not sure. I think that gets a little more speculative.

Another speculative possibility is to make the donor-derived IPS cells grow into an organ, and then also create the immune-regulating cells from these IPS cells to selectively induce tolerance.

But were still, I think, a long ways off from having IPS-derived organs, he said.

Autoimmune disease treatment with this technology is worth exploring, Kaufman said. In that case, the IPSCs would be made from the patients themselves.

More than 118,000 Americans are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

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Stem cell-based treatment prevents transplant rejection, in animal study - The San Diego Union-Tribune

IPS Cell Therapy Comments Off on Stem cell-based treatment prevents transplant rejection, in animal study – The San Diego Union-Tribune | April 23rd, 2017

An international group of scientists led by investigators at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) says it has discovered molecular mechanisms that might prevent the development ofgraft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in individuals receiving stem cell transplants.

During GVHD, transplanted stem cells become T lymphocytes, which are supposed to fight intruders such as bacteria. Instead, they start attacking the recipients already weakened body.

Researchers from TUM and theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published a study ("RIG-I/MAVS and STING Signaling Promote Gut Integrity during Irradiation- and Immune-Mediated Tissue Injury")in Science Translational Medicine that provides details on how to prevent the development of GVHD.

The attacks by the T cells primarily affect the skin, liver, and, in particular, the gastrointestinal tract. The intestine is believed to be the key organ where GVHD starts. The drug treatment and radiation involved in stem cell transplants damage epithelial cells, which form part of the intestinal mucosal layer. Stress signals emitted by the dying epithelial cells and the arrival of intestinal bacteria in the previously germ-free areas of the gut due to the loss of the epithelium trigger the activation of aggressive donor T cells.

"If the epithelium could be protected or quickly restored, the risk of an immune response would be much lower," says Hendrik Poeck, M.D., Ph.D., who, along with Tobias Haas, M.D., heads a research group at the third medical clinic of TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar. "Up to now, however, there have been very few treatment strategies that seek to regenerate the epithelium."

The scientists working with Dr. Poeck studied two proteins produced naturally in the body and known for their role in fighting bacteria and viruses: RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene I) and STING (stimulator of interferon genes). "We were able to demonstrate for the first time that both of them can also be used to bring about a regenerative effect," notes Julius Fischer, first author of the study.

Both proteins are part of signal chains that cause type I interferon (IFN-I) to be produced. IFN-I triggers many different immune responses, but can also speed up the replacement of epithelial cells.

The RIG-I signal pathway can be deliberately stimulated using triphosphate-RNA (3pRNA). Poeck and his team were able to demonstrate in mice that 3pRNA can indeed protect the epithelial cells. Timing is critical. Measurable protection was only seen when the 3pRNA was administered exactly 1 day before the start of radiation and drug treatment.

"We assume that after just 1 day of treatment, there would no longer be enough intact epithelial cells in the gut for the RIG-I/IFN signal path to function," explains Haas. Although fewer activated T cells were generated after a treatment with 3pRNA, the positive effect of the leukemia therapy was not reduced to a measurable degree.

Both RIG-I agonists, such as 3pRNA, and STING agonists are currently in clinical development. The research points to a wide range of potential applications, especially in the treatment of tumors.

"Our study shows that regenerative processes can also be triggered through selective activation of these signal paths," adds Poeck. "It thus appears quite possible that these selective agonists will be administered in the future to patients who are candidates for allogeneic stem cell transplants. However, further studies will be needed to learn how they actually work before applications in human medicine are possible."

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Preventing Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Stem Cell Transplant Recipients - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (press release)

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Based on human stem cells derived from skin samples, researchers from the University of Luxembourg succeeded in obtaining tiny three-dimensional cultures of cerebral tissue whose behavior is similar to the human midbrain. Credit: scienceRELATIONS / University of Luxembourg

The most complex organ in humans is the brain. Due to its complexity and, of course, for ethical reasons, it is extremely difficult to do scientific experiments on it ones that could help us to understand neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons, for example. Scientists at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg have now succeeded in turning human stem cells derived from skin samples into tiny, three-dimensional, brain-like cultures that behave very similarly to cells in the human midbrain.

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In the researchers petri dishes, different cell types develop, connect into a network, exchange signals and produce metabolic products typical of the active brain. Our cell cultures open new doors to brain research, says Prof. Dr. Jens Schwamborn, in whose LCSB research group Developmental and Cellular Biology the research work was done. We can now use them to study the causes of Parkinsons disease and how it could possibly be effectively treated. The team publishes its results in the prestigious scientific journal Stem Cell Reports.

The human midbrain is of particular interest to Parkinsons researchers: it is the seat of the tissue structure known medically as thesubstantia nigra. Here, nerve cells specifically dopaminergic neurons produce the messenger dopamine. Dopamine is needed to maintain smooth body movements. If the dopaminergic neurons die off, then the person affected develops tremors and muscle rigidity, the distinctive symptoms of Parkinsons disease. For ethical reasons, researchers cannot take cells from thesubstantia nigrato study them. Research groups around the world are therefore working on cultivating three-dimensional structures of the midbrain in petri dishes. The LCSB team led by stem cell researcher Jens Schwamborn is one such group.

Brain-like tissue for research

The LCSB scientists worked with so-called induced pluripotent stem cells stem cells that cannot produce a complete organism, but which can be transformed into all cell types of the human body. The procedures required for converting the stem cells into brain cells were developed by Anna Monzel as part of her doctoral thesis, which she is doing in Schwamborns group. I had to develop a special, precisely defined cocktail of growth factors and a certain treatment method for the stem cells, so that they would differentiate in the desired direction, Monzel describes her approach. To do this, she was able to draw on extensive preparatory work that had been done in Schwamborns team the years before. The pluripotent stem cells in the petri dishes multiplied and spread out into a three-dimensional supporting structure producing tissue-like cell cultures.

See also:Bioengineers create functional 3D brain-like tissue

Our subsequent examination of these artificial tissue samples revealed that various cell types characteristic of the midbrain had developed, says Jens Schwamborn. The cells can transmit and process signals. We were even able to detect dopaminergic cells just like in the midbrain. This fact makes the LCSB scientists results of extraordinary interest to Parkinsons researchers worldwide, as Schwamborn stresses: On our new cell cultures, we can study the mechanisms that lead to Parkinsons much better than was ever the case before. We can test what effects environmental impacts such as pollutants have on the onset of the disease, whether there are new active agents that could possibly relieve the symptoms of Parkinsons or whether the disease could even be cured from its very cause. We will be performing such investigations next.

Samples of human origin

The development of the brain-like tissue cultures not only opens doors to new research approaches. It can also help to reduce the amount of animal testing in brain research. The cell cultures in the petri dishes are of human origin, and in some aspects resemble human brains more than the brains of lab animals such as rats or mice do. Therefore, the structures of human brains and its modes of function can be modelled in different ways than it is possible in animals. There are also attractive economic opportunities in our approach, Jens Schwamborn explains: The production of tissue cultures is highly elaborate. In the scope of our spin-off Braingineering Technologies Sarl, we will be developing technologies by which we can provide the cultures for a fee to other labs or the pharmaceutical industry for their research.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided byThe University of Luxembourg. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Reference:

Monzel, A. S., Smits, L. M., Hemmer, K., Hachi, S., Moreno, E. L., Wuellen, T. V., . . . Schwamborn, J. C. (2017). Derivation of Human Midbrain-Specific Organoids from Neuroepithelial Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.03.010

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Brain Organoid Created from Stem Cells - Technology Networks

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Brain Organoid Created from Stem Cells – Technology Networks | April 20th, 2017