January 29, 2014 - 17:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Stem cell researchers are heralding a "major scientific discovery", with the potential to start a new age of personalized medicine, BBC News reports.

Scientists in Japan showed stem cells can now be made quickly just by dipping blood cells into acid.

Stem cells can transform into any tissue and are already being trialled for healing the eye, heart and brain.

The latest development, published in the journal Nature, could make the technology cheaper, faster and safer, according to the BBC.

The human body is built of cells with a specific role - nerve cells, liver cells, muscle cells - and that role is fixed. However, stem cells can become any other type of cell, and they have become a major field of research in medicine for their potential to regenerate the body.

Embryos are one, ethically charged, source of stem cells. Nobel prize winning research also showed that skin cells could be "genetically reprogrammed" to become stem cells (termed induced pluripotent stem cells).

Now a study shows that shocking blood cells with acid could also trigger the transformation into stem cells - this time termed STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells.

Dr Haruko Obokata, from the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Japan, said she was "really surprised" that cells could respond to their environment in this way.

She added: "It's exciting to think about the new possibilities these findings offer us, not only in regenerative medicine, but cancer as well."

View original post here:
Stem cell researchers heralding ‘major scientific discovery’

PHILADELPHIA If the content of many a situation comedy, not to mention late-night TV advertisements, is to be believed, theres an epidemic of balding men, and an intense desire to fix their follicular deficiencies.

One potential approach to reversing hair loss uses stem cells to regenerate the missing or dying hair follicles. But it hasnt been possible to generate sufficient number of hair-follicle-generating stem cells until now.

Xiaowei George Xu, MD, PhD, associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues published in Nature Communications a method for converting adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs), the first time anyone has achieved this in either humans or mice.

The epithelial stem cells, when implanted into immunocompromised mice, regenerated the different cell types of human skin and hair follicles, and even produced structurally recognizable hair shaft, raising the possibility that they may eventually enable hair regeneration in people.

Xu and his team, which includes researchers from Penns departments of Dermatology and Biology, as well as the New Jersey Institute of Technology, started with human skin cells called dermal fibroblasts. By adding three genes, they converted those cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have the capability to differentiate into any cell types in the body. They then converted the iPS cells into epithelial stem cells, normally found at the bulge of hair follicles.

Starting with procedures other research teams had previously worked out to convert iPSCs into keratinocytes, Xus team demonstrated that by carefully controlling the timing of the growth factors the cells received, they could force the iPSCs to generate large numbers of epithelial stem cells. In the Xu study, the teams protocol succeeded in turning over 25% of the iPSCs into epithelial stem cells in 18 days. Those cells were then purified using the proteins they expressed on their surfaces.

Comparison of the gene expression patterns of the human iPSC-derived epithelial stem cells with epithelial stem cells obtained from human hair follicles showed that the team had succeeded in producing the cells they set out to make in the first place. When they mixed those cells with mouse follicular inductive dermal cells and grafted them onto the skin of immunodeficient mice, they produced functional human epidermis (the outermost layers of skin cells) and follicles structurally similar to human hair follicles.

This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles, Xu says. And those cells have many potential applications, he adds, including wound healing, cosmetics, and hair regeneration.

That said, iPSC-derived epithelial stem cells are not yet ready for use in human subjects, Xu adds. First, a hair follicle contains epithelial cells -- a cell type that lines the bodys vessels and cavities as well as a specific kind of adult stem cell called dermal papillae. Xu and his team mixed iPSC-derived EpSCs and mouse dermal cells to generate hair follicles to achieve the growth of the follicles.

When a person loses hair, they lose both types of cells. Xu explains. We have solved one major problem, the epithelial component of the hair follicle. We need to figure out a way to also make new dermal papillae cells, and no one has figured that part out yet.

Visit link:
First Study to Convert Adult Human Cells to Hair-Follicle-Generating Stem Cells has Implications for Hair Regeneration

Q&A - Stem cells could offer treatment for a myriad of diseases

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Q.What are stem cells?

Stem cells are different however as they are at an earlier stage in cell development and this means they can make more cells and transform into different cell types such as a skin stem cell can make all the different types of skin cells.

Q. And there are two types? A.Yes. There are two types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can generate all cells of the human body. Adult stem calls generate a more limited number of human cell types.

Q.Why are stem cells so important? A.For many years, adult stem cells have been used to treat rare blood and certain cancers.

However, adult stem cells cant generate all cell types. For example, scientists say there doesnt appear to be an adult stem cell that can make insulin- secreting cells of the pancreas. Embryonic stem cells can, however, as they can generate all cell types and the aim of scientists is to use these embryonic cells to generate healthy tissue to replace cells compromised by disease. This means that embryonic cells are more scientifically useful.

Q. And its also embryonic cells that are the more controversial, right? A.The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial here and in other countries as certain groups believe it is morally wrong to experiment on an embryo that could become a human. Embryonic stem cells are taken from embryos left over after assisted fertility treatments. According to the Irish Stem Cell Foundation, if they werent used for research into human disease, they would be discarded as medical waste. Embryos are not created purely for research purposes they say.

Q. Why are they so useful? A. Among the conditions which scientists believe may eventually be treated by stem cell therapy are Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, burns and spinal cord damage. Early trials are under way for treating forms of blindness. It is also hoped we can learn from embryonic stem cells how early body tissues develops and more about the pathway of diseases. This will enable us to make better and more effective drugs.

Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved

Go here to read the rest:
Q&A - Stem cells could offer treatment for a myriad of diseases

Failure to legislate will hurt research

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Even though stem cell manufacture has just been licensed in this country, the Governments ongoing failure to legislate in this area means pharmaceutical giants will still be wary of investing here, according to an expert in stem cell therapy.

CCMI General Manager Andrew Finnerty, CCMI Director Tim O'Brien, Minister Sean Sherlock and President of NUI Galway Dr. James Browne. Photograph by Aengus McMahon

Once the stem cells are harvested from the bone marrow of adult donors, they are grown in the Galway laboratory to generate sufficient quantities.

The first clinical trial using these stem cells is being funded by the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland and will investigate the safety of using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow for the treatment of critical limb ischemia, a complication associated with diabetes which can lead to limb amputation.

John ODea of the Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA) said the centre was a key step.

I look forward to seeing its continued growth to assist in developing the skill sets and techniques that will be needed to embrace the new manufacturing opportunities that this exciting area will bring, he said.

The centre, one of a handful in Europe authorised for stem cell manufacture, has been developed by researchers at NUIGs regenerative medicine institute.

However, Dr Stephen Sullivan, chief scientific officer with the Irish Stem Cell Foundation warned all stem cell research operates at a pan-global level driven by big pharma and international equity firms and these players will only engage with researchers in countries where there is solid stem cell legislation in place. He welcomed the centre as a first step but said if Ireland is to compete at a top international standard, legislation remains necessary.

Read the original post:
Failure to legislate ‘will hurt research’

Embryonic stem cells have been highly valued for their ability to turn into any type of cell in the body.

Stem cells can be manufactured for human use for the first time in Ireland, following Irish Medicines Board licensing of a new facility in Galway.

NUI Galways Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland aims to culture adult stem cells to tackle conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and associated conditions.

The centre, which is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for stem cell manufacture, has been developed by researchers at NUIGs regenerative medicine institute.

Stem cells serve as the bodys repair mechanism. They can be isolated from tissues such as bone marrow and fat, and cultured in laboratory settings.

More controversially, embryonic stem cells have been highly valued for their ability to turn into any type of cell in the body, but scientists can now use reprogrammed adult skin cells to create a stem cell that is very similar to embryonic versions.

The centre will be opened today by Minister of State for Research and Innovation Sen Sherlock, at a time when the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland have approved funding there for clinical trials on using mesenchymal stem cells cells that can differentiate into a variety of types for treatment of critical limb ischemia, a condition associated with diabetes that can result in amputation.

The new centres director Prof Tim OBrien explained that the stem cells must be grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities, following their isolation from the bone marrow of adult donors, and the facility will help Ireland to develop therapies for a broad range of clinical problems which do not have effective treatments today.

It will also allow us to translate discoveries from the basic stem cell research programme led by Prof Frank Barry at the Science Foundation Ireland-funded REMEDI to the clinic, and to be competitive for grant funding under the Horizon 2020 programme of the EU, he said.

Stem cell research in Ireland is in what scientists have described as a legislative lacuna, but this relates to use of embryonic stem cells and does not in any way inhibit the use of adult stem cells, Prof OBrien explained.

Read this article:
Ireland’s first stem cell manufacturing centre approved at NUI Galway

Jan. 22, 2014 Scientists have known for years that stem cells in male and female sexual organs are regulated differently by their respective hormones. In a surprising discovery, researchers at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) and Baylor College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the blood-forming system -- which is similar in both sexes -- also are regulated differently by hormones, with estrogen proving to be an especially prolific promoter of stem cell self-renewal.

The research, published in Nature, raises several intriguing possibilities for further investigation that might lead to improved treatments for blood cancers and increased safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Before the finding, blood-forming stem cells were thought to be regulated similarly in both males and females, according to the paper's senior author, Dr. Sean Morrison, Director of CRI, Professor of Pediatrics, and the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

However, while working in Dr. Morrison's laboratory as postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Daisuke Nakada, the first and co-corresponding author of the study, and Dr. Hideyuki Oguro discovered that blood-forming stem cells divide more frequently in females than in males due to higher estrogen levels. The research, conducted using mice, demonstrated that the activity of blood-forming stem cells was regulated by systemic hormonal signals in addition to being regulated by local changes within the blood-forming system.

"This discovery explains how red blood cell production is augmented during pregnancy," said Dr. Morrison. "In female mice, estrogen increases the proliferation of blood-forming stem cells in preparation for pregnancy. Elevated estrogen levels that are sustained during pregnancy induce stem cell mobilization and red cell production in the spleen, which serves as a reserve site for additional red blood cell production."

The study involved treating male and female mice over a period of several days with amounts of estrogen needed to achieve a level consistent with pregnancy. When an estrogen receptor that is present within blood-forming stem cells was deleted from those cells, they were no longer able to respond to estrogen, nor were they able to increase red blood cell production. The results demonstrate that estrogen acts directly on the stem cells to increase their proliferation and the number of red blood cells they generate.

"If estrogen has the same effect on stem cells in humans as in mice, then this effect raises a number of possibilities that could change the way we treat people with diseases of blood cell-formation," said Dr. Morrison. "Can we promote regeneration in the blood-forming system by administering estrogen? Can we reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy to the blood-forming system by taking into account estrogen levels in female patients? Does estrogen promote the growth of some blood cancers? There are numerous clinical opportunities to pursue."

See the article here:
Scientists find estrogen promotes blood-forming stem cell function

Anti Stem Cell | Stem Cell Spray | Fetal Stem Cell | Fat Transfer to Breast
http://yourservice.us/jeunesseglobal.html Stem cell therapy is an intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to ...

By: Agus Saifudin

Read more:
Anti Stem Cell | Stem Cell Spray | Fetal Stem Cell | Fat Transfer to Breast - Video

Yorkshire (PRWEB UK) 21 January 2014

Ongoing worldwide research is consistently proving that stem cells will be a cornerstone of medical treatments in the future. Already, literally thousands of stem cell therapies for a host of dangerous and life-threatening conditions have already been successfully performed, and specialists agree that many newly discovered treatments are just around the corner.

Stem cells are biological cell types found in multicellular organisms like mammals, and that, of course, includes us. The incredible thing about stem cells is that they are able to divide and change into other types of cell, and this is what gives them their unique ability to repair, or even replace, cells that have been damaged by disease or injury.

The potential for the health of younger and future generations is enormous.

Although stem cells are found in many different parts of our body, it is the stem cells found in our childrens teeth that are most precious in terms of their potential to safeguard health. While an inevitable crystallisation process makes adult teeth useless for stem cell therapies, first teeth and young wisdom teeth contain tooth pulp in perfect condition to provide useable stem cells. Whats more, children naturally lose 12 milk teeth over a 5-year period, and this means plenty of chances to collect the teeth most likely to be suitable for harvesting stem cells. The other big advantage of childrens teeth is that they fall out naturally, and that makes recovering the teeth a pain-free, risk-free and non-invasive process.

Today, scientists have the expertise and technologies to safely extract and store stem cells taken from baby teeth and wisdom teeth. Crucially, storing a persons stem cells for possible use in their own future medical treatment means that compatibility or finding the right match wont ever be an issue. This is one of the key factors that has given rise to people storing their own childrens cells as a way of protecting them against a future illnesses or conditions. Having access to a childs stem cells makes any future treatment far more likely to succeed, an extremely encouraging situation given that scientists are regularly discovering more and more conditions they can treat using stem cells.

So, what about the specific illnesses and conditions that tooth stem cells can be used to treat?

Scientists already know that stem cells within tooth pulp have the ability to develop into a wide range of tissues, including skin, nerve, muscle, fat, cartilage and tendon. This amazing versatility has huge and positive implications for medical uses of tooth stem cells, and thats why almost everyone has a vested interest in this medical breakthrough, from young adults, parents and expectant parents right through to those who might one day want a family.

Stem cell therapy has already enabled practitioners to grow skin, tracheas and corneas, as well as repair human hearts. Even more excitingly, it is now widely agreed that future stem cell therapies will allow medical practitioners to tackle a host of injuries, illnesses and heredity conditions. Among them, these are likely to include Type 1 diabetes; neuronal degenerative disorders like Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Huntingtons disease; cardiovascular disease; paralysis due to spinal cord injury; liver disease, strokes; heart attacks and joint repair. Stem cells can also help to repair the bodys immune system and, under the right conditions, can even be used to form organs, bone and other tissue.

BioEden have a UK team that has been right at the very heart of the science surrounding the extraction and storage of tooth cells in fact they are one of the worlds leading authorities on it.

More here:
How saving their baby teeth could help save children’s lives

Category: Science & Technology Posted: January 14, 2014 08:02AM Author: Guest_Jim_*

Our bones play a larger role in our bodies than simply creating a rigid structure as they also hold other cells and tissues, such as bone marrow. Within sponge-like bone marrow are special niches where hematopoietic stem cells reside and produce necessary immune cells. These stem cells can only exist in those niches as they change their properties when moved to a new environment. However, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, and Tbingen University have successfully created artificial bone marrow.

Diseases such as leukemia cause the body to incorrectly produce immune cells, which obviously puts the body at risk. A bone marrow transplant can treat the disease, but it is very hard to find matches for all of the patients out there, which is why artificial bone marrow could be invaluable. To create their artificial bone marrow, the researchers used synthetic polymers to form a properly porous structure and added protein building blocks to it. These blocks are important as they replicate those found in natural bone marrow, which the stem cells attach to. Additional cell types were also added to the niche, to mimic the natural environment as much as possible.

With artificial bone marrow, it may be possible for researchers to better study and understand how stem cells interact with different materials. Potentially ten to fifteen years from now that research could lead to treatments for leukemia, and other diseases.

Source: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

See the original post here:
Artificial Bone Marrow Created

Published:Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Updated:Tuesday, January 14, 2014 18:01

A new tool that could help facilitate future stem cell therapy has recently been identified by a UVM professor and his colleagues, according to UVMs College of Medicine.

The development of this tool could potentially help more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year.

Because stem cells have the potential to develop into a variety of cell types in the body, they may offer a renewable source of replacement cells to treat diseases, conditions and disabilities, and even regenerate damaged tissue and organs.

However, the field of regenerative medicine has struggled to successfully graft cells from culture back into injured tissue.

UVM Associate Professor of Medicine Jeffrey Spees, Ph.D., collaborated with the Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane University. His research team recently set out to develop ways to enhance graft success.

Dr. Spees and his team focused on a type of bone marrow-derived progenitor cell or biological cell that forms stromal cells or connective tissue cells.

They found that the medium contained Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and the hormone insulin, and together, they have a synergistic effect, Spees said to UVMs College of Medicine.

The group found that the protective ligands resulted in improved graft success, breaking the record for engraftment.

Here is the original post:
New tool assists stem cell therapy

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise While the ability of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to become any type of mature cell, from neuron to heart to skin and bone, is indisputably crucial to human development, no less important is the mechanism needed to maintain hESCs in their pluripotent state until such change is required.

In a paper published in this weeks Online Early Edition of PNAS, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine identify a key gene receptor and signaling pathway essential to doing just that maintaining hESCs in an undifferentiated state.

The finding sheds new light upon the fundamental biology of hESCs with their huge potential as a diverse therapeutic tool but also suggests a new target for attacking cancer stem cells, which likely rely upon the same receptor and pathway to help spur their rampant, unwanted growth.

The research, led by principal investigator Karl Willert, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, focuses upon the role of the highly conserved WNT signaling pathway, a large family of genes long recognized as a critical regulator of stem cell self-renewal, and a particular encoded receptor known as frizzled family receptor 7 or FZD7.

WNT signaling through FZD7 is necessary to maintain hESCs in an undifferentiated state, said Willert. If we block FZD7 function, thus interfering with the WNT pathway, hESCs exit their undifferentiated and pluripotent state.

The researchers proved this by using an antibody-like protein that binds to FZD7, hindering its function. Once FZD7 function is blocked with this FZD7-specific compound, hESCs are no longer able to receive the WNT signal essential to maintaining their undifferentiated state.

FZD7 is a so-called onco-fetal protein, expressed only during embryonic development and by certain human tumors. Other studies have suggested that FZD7 may be a marker for cancer stem cells and play an important role in promoting tumor growth. If so, said Willert, disrupting FZD7 function in cancer cells is likely to interfere with their development and growth just as it does in hESCs.

Willert and colleagues, including co-author Dennis Carson, MD, of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine and professor emeritus at UC San Diego, plan to further test their FZD7-blocking compound as a potential cancer treatment.

Continue reading here:
Keeping Stem Cells Pluripotent

January 12, 2014

Image Caption: Scanning electron microscopy of stem cells (yellow / green) in a scaffold structure (blue) serving as a basis for the artificial bone marrow. Credit: C. Lee-Thedieck/KIT

Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

An exciting breakthrough is offering hope for the treatment of blood diseases such as leukemia using artificial bone marrow.

Specialized cells, known as hematopoietic stem cells, located within bone marrow, continuously replace and supply new blood cells such as red blood cells and white blood cells. Traditionally a blood disease like leukemia is treated with bone marrow transplants that supply the patient with new hematopoietic stem cells. Researchers have now discovered a way to artificially reproduce hematopoietic stem cells.

Since not every leukemia patient can find a suitable transplant, there is a need for other forms of treatment. The lack of appropriate transplants could be solved by artificial reproduction of hematopoietic stem cells. Previously, reproduction of the cells has been impossible due to their inability to survive anywhere but in their natural environment. Hematopoietic stem cells are found in a special niche of the bone marrow. If the cells reside out of the bone marrow, the specialized properties are modified. Consequently, to effectively reproduce the cells, the stem cell niche environment must also be created.

In the microscopic environment of the stem cell niche, there are several specific properties of importance. Areas in the bone that house the stem cells are extremely porous like a sponge. Making things even more complex, the spongy tissue is also home to other cell types which exchange signal substances with the stem cells. Also, the space among the cells creates an environment ensuring stability along with a place for the cells to anchor. Furthermore, the stem cell niche supplies the cells with nutrients and oxygen.

Dr. Cornelia Lee-Thedieck is head of the Young Investigators Group Stem Cell-Material Interactions, which consists of scientitsts from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart and Tbingen University. The team was successful at artificially reproducing major properties of bone marrow at the laboratory.

Using synthetic polymers, the researchers were able to create a porous structure that simulated the spongy environment of the blood-forming bone marrow. Also, they were able to add protein building blocks which are similar to those found naturally in the environment of the bone marrow that enable cells to anchor. Finally, they added the other types of cells needed for exchanging signaling substances.

After the artificial bone marrow was created, the scientists placed hematopoietic stem cells that had been isolated from cord blood into it. For several days the cells were bred. Various analytical methods were then used to determine that cells were able to reproduce in the artificial bone marrow. When compared with standard cell cultivation methods, a larger number of stem cells in the artificial bone marrow retained their specific properties.

Read more here:
New Treatment For Blood Diseases Using Artificial Bone Marrow

LONDON (Reuters) - Patients with potentially fatal "superbug" forms of tuberculosis (TB) could in future be treated using stem cells taken from their own bone marrow, according to the results of an early-stage trial of the technique.

The finding, made by British and Swedish scientists, could pave the way for the development of a new treatment for the estimated 450,000 people worldwide who have multi drug resistant (MDR) or extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB.

In a study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal on Thursday, researchers said more than half of 30 drug-resistant TB patients treated with a transfusion of their own bone marrow stem cells were cured of the disease after six months.

"The results ... show that the current challenges and difficulties of treating MDR-TB are not insurmountable, and they bring a unique opportunity with a fresh solution to treat hundreds of thousands of people who die unnecessarily," said TB expert Alimuddin Zumla at University College London, who co-led the study.

TB, which infects the lungs and can spread from one person to another through coughing and sneezing, is often falsely thought of as a disease of the past.

In recent years, drug-resistant strains of the disease have spread around the world, batting off standard antibiotic drug treatments.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa 450,000 people have MDR-TB, and around half of these will fail to respond to existing treatments.

TB bacteria trigger an inflammatory response in immune cells and surrounding lung tissue that can cause immune dysfunction and tissue damage.

Bone-marrow stem cells are known to migrate to areas of lung injury and inflammation and repair damaged tissue. Since they also modify the body's immune response and could boost the clearance of TB bacteria, Zumla and his colleague, Markus Maeurer from Stockholm's Karolinska University Hospital, wanted to test them in patients with the disease.

In a phase 1 trial, 30 patients with either MDR or XDR TB aged between 21 and 65 who were receiving standard TB antibiotic treatment were also given an infusion of around 10 million of their own stem cells.

Read more:
Bone marrow transfusion could cure drug resistant tuberculosis

18 hours ago This is a set of chromosomes in haploid mouse embryonic stem cells. Credit: Martin Leeb

A fast and comprehensive method for determining the function of genes could greatly improve our understanding of a wide range of diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, liver disease and cancer.

The method uses stem cells with a single set of chromosomes, instead of the two sets found in most cells, to reveal what causes the "circuitry" of stem cells to be rewired as they begin the process of conversion into other cell types. The same method could also be used to understand a range of biological processes.

Embryonic stem cells rely on a particular gene circuitry to retain their original, undifferentiated state, making them self-renewing. The dismantling of this circuitry is what allows stem cells to start converting into other types of cells - a process known as cell differentiation - but how this happens is poorly understood.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute have developed a technique which can pinpoint the factors which drive cell differentiation, including many that were previously unidentified. The method, outlined in the Thursday (9 January) edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, uses stem cells with a single set of chromosomes to uncover how cell differentiation works.

Cells in mammals contain two sets of chromosomes one set inherited from the mother and one from the father. This can present a challenge when studying the function of genes, however: as each cell contains two copies of each gene, determining the link between a genetic change and its physical effect, or phenotype, is immensely complex.

"The conventional approach is to work gene by gene, and in the past people would have spent most of their careers looking at one mutation or one gene," said Dr Martin Leeb, who led the research, in collaboration with Professor Austin Smith. "Today, the process is a bit faster, but it's still a methodical gene by gene approach because when you have an organism with two sets of chromosomes that's really the only way you can go."

Dr Leeb used unfertilised mouse eggs to generate embryonic stem cells with a single set of chromosomes, known as haploid stem cells. These haploid cells show all of the same characteristics as stem cells with two sets of chromosomes, and retain the same full developmental potential, making them a powerful tool for determining how the genetic circuitry of mammalian development functions.

The researchers used transposons "jumping genes" to make mutations in nearly all genes. The effect of a mutation can be seen immediately in haploid cells because there is no second gene copy. Additionally, since embryonic stem cells can convert into almost any cell type, the haploid stem cells can be used to investigate any number of conditions in any number of cell types. Mutations with important biological effects can then rapidly be traced to individual genes by next generation DNA sequencing.

"This is a powerful and revolutionary new tool for discovering how gene circuits operate," said Dr Leeb. "The cells and the methodology we've developed could be applied to a huge range of biological questions."

Go here to see the original:
Rewiring stem cells

By Jennifer Thomas HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Certain types of chemotherapy can damage the heart while thwarting cancer, a dilemma that has vexed scientists for years. But a new study in rats finds that injecting the heart with stem cells can reverse the damage caused by a potent anti-cancer drug.

The findings could one day mean that cancer patients could safely take higher doses of a powerful class of chemotherapy drugs and have any resulting damage to their hearts repaired later on using their own cardiac stem cells, the researchers said.

The study was published online Dec. 28 in advance of print publication in the journal Circulation.

Doxorubicin is a common chemotherapy drug used to treat many types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, lung, thyroid, neuroblastoma, lymphoma and leukemia.

But the drug can have serious side effects, including heart damage that can lead to congestive failure years after cancer treatment ends.

In the study, researchers removed cardiac stem cells from rodents before chemotherapy. The stem cells were isolated and expanded in the lab.

Rats were then given the chemo drug doxorubicin, inducing heart failure. Afterward, the rats' stem cells were re-injected into their hearts, and the damage was reversed.

"Theoretically, patients could be rescued using their own stem cells," said study author Dr. Piero Anversa, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

A Phase 1 clinical trial using a similar procedure in people is already under way, said Dr. Roberto Bolli, chief of cardiology and director of the Institute of Molecular Cardiology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, who is heading the trial.

More:
Stem Cells Might Reverse Heart Damage From Chemo - Cancer ...

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise With the help of biomimetic matrices, a research team led by bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego has discovered exactly how calcium phosphate can coax stem cells to become bone-building cells. This work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of Jan. 6, 2014.

UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering professor Shyni Varghese and colleagues have traced a surprising pathway from these biomaterials to bone formation. Their findings will help them refine the design of biomaterials that encourage stem cells to give rise to new bone. The researchers say their study may also point out new targets for treating bone defects and bone metabolic disorders such as major fractures and osteoporosis.

The materials are built to mimic the bodys own cellular niches, in which undifferentiated or blank-slate stem cells from bone marrow transform into specific bone-forming cells. We knew for years that calcium phosphate-based materials promote osteogenic differentiation of stem cells, but none of us knew why, Varghese said.

As engineers, we want to build something that is reproducible and consistent, she explained, so we need to know how building factors contribute to this end.

The researchers found that when phosphate ions gradually dissolve from these materials, they are taken up by the stem cells and used for the production of ATP, a key metabolic molecule. An ATP metabolic product called adenosine then signals the stem cells to commit to becoming bone-forming cells.

Varghese said it was a surprise to her team that the biomaterials were connected to metabolic pathways. And we didnt know how these metabolic pathways could influence stem cells commitment to bone formation.

While the PNAS findings only apply to bone building, Varghese and her students at UC San Diego are working on a variety of projects to understand how stem cells thrive and differentiate into a variety of cell types. With this information, they hope to design biomaterials that can be used to help transform stem cells into tissues that may someday replace diseased or degenerated bone, muscle, or blood vessels.

Stem cell research may seem like an unusual endeavor for engineers, but tissue construction and the development of biomaterials have become one more type of building in the engineering repertoire, Varghese said.

The rest is here:
Biomaterials Get Stem Cells to Commit to a Bony Future

Cofounder of Stem Cell Theranostics and StartX Med Divya Nag is attacking one of medicine's biggest problems: the fact that most types of human cellslike those in the heart or liverdie when you keep them in a petri dish. This makes testing new drugs a risky, costly and time-consuming business: 90% of medicines that start clinical trials turn out to be too unsafe or ineffective to market. But a new technology, the induced pluripotent stem cell, may help. Nag's company, Stem Cell Theranostics, was created from technology funded by a $20 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and is closing a venture round. It turns cellsusually from a piece of skininto embryonic-like stem cells, then uses them to create heart cells. These cells can live in petri dishes and be used to test new drugs. Someday they might even replace heart tissue that dies during a heart attack. Three large pharmaceutical companies are customers, though revenues are small. Nag, who was already publishing in prestigious scientific journals when she was an undergraduate, dropped out of Stanford to pursue her dream. No regrets: "Our technology was so promising and I was so passionate about it that nothing else made sense to me," she says. "It was very clear this was what I wanted to do."

Continued here:
2014 30 Under 30: Science & Healthcare

Beverly Hills, California (PRWEB) January 06, 2014

The top stem cell clinic in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, Beverly Hills Institute of Cellular Therapy, is now offering revolutionary stem cell facelift procedures with a New Years pricing special. The procedure involves a nonoperative technique with amniotic stem cells performed by licensed providers. No incisions are necessary, and the outpatient procedures are being offered at 20% off regular price. Call (424) 253-5577 for more information and scheduling.

Traditional facelift procedures involve anesthesia, incisions and significant healing time. A stem cell facelift procedure is performed as an outpatient with no incisions or systemic anesthesia necessary. The Beverly Hills Institute utilizes amniotic stem cells, which are processed at an FDA regulated lab and have been used over 10,000 times without adverse events.

Stem cells have the capability to eliminate wrinkles and provide the skin with a more youthful, glowing appearance. The procedure allows patients to avoid the risks of infection and no stitches are necessary. It costs considerably less than a traditional facelift and now at 20% off is a great option for those desiring to look younger without going through separate procedures for each facial area.

As individuals age, the skin tone in the facial area and texture begin to decline. Stem cells are able to rejuvenate collagen deficient areas and have the capability to change into all types of cells in a procedure that is natural, affordable and safe.

Amniotic fluid is extremely rich in stem cells, growth factors, hyaluronic acid and anti-inflammatory cells. The combination works extremely well for the stem cell facial procedure, with results that are often noticeable quickly and long lasting.

This new technology is performed by licensed aestheticians, nurses and Double Board Certified physicians at the Institute. The procedure takes less than an hour to complete. In addition to the stem cell facelift, the Institute also offers stem cell injections for numerous musculoskeletal conditions including tendon and ligament injury along with degenerative arthritis. This includes stem cell therapy for knees, shoulders and hips.

For more information and scheduling to discuss options with stem cell procedures for looking and feeling younger while avoiding surgery, call the Beverly Hills Institue for Cellular Therapy at (424) 253-5577.

Originally posted here:
Beverly Hills Institute for Cellular Therapy Now Offering Revolutionary Stem Cell Face Lift Procedure at Special New ...

Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Ron O #39;Leary

By: RegenocyteStemCells

Read more:
Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Ron O'Leary - Video

Till June of 2013, our department has treated 1508 patients with sequela of spinal cord injury, including 713 patients with cervical cord injury, 562 patients with thoracic cord injury (do not include T12-L1), 51 patients with both cervical cord and thoracic cord injury, and 182 patients with thoracic and lumbar cord injury (mainly T12-L1). We invented CT-guided intraspinal injection in 2006 and stem cell transplantation via endovascular intervention in 2011 to treat sequela of spinal cord injury, which apparently improved the treatment effect. Form the end of 2011 to now, the improvement rate of patients with sequela of cervical cord injury is 91.9%; 82.4% improvement rate of patients with sequela of thoracic cord injury (do not include T12-L1); 70.3% improvement rate of patient with sequela of thoracic and lumbar cord injury (mainly T12-L1); the total improve rate of patients with sequela of spinal cord injury is 87.4%. The improvement can be seen from 1) increase of muscle strength under the injured surface, better motor function than before. 2) Lower sensory level and skin temperature come back to almost normal. 3) Improvement in postural hypotension which was caused by damaged vegetative nerve function (especially for high-level spinal cord injury patients), and the body temperature is close to or back to normal. 4) A certain degree of improvement in dysdefecation and urinate disorder which were caused by sphincter disturbances, patients will have better bowls movement than before and can be aware of and control urinating. 5) Reduction of abnormal high muscular tension.

Our department work closely with CT room, and by using advanced 64 rank CT and double source CT, we performed more than 800 CT-guided intraspinal stem cell injections for patients with sequela of spinal cord injury. This is a new transplantation method invented by our department, which has many advantages such as minimally invasive, short time of surgery (only about half an hour), precise localization, little pain, no need of general anesthesia, fast recovery time (only need to stay in bed for 12 hours), and obviously effective. This treatment covers patients with injury of cervical cord, thoracic cord and thoracic lumbar cord.

In addition, our department started using transplantation via endovascular intervention to treat sequela of spinal cord injury in the end of 2011, and our treating effect keeps improving.

These new methods help us to improve our treating effect and increase the improvement rate, now these methods are becoming the unique feature and main means of our department to treat sequela of spinal cord injury.

Excerpt from:
Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Status | Stem Cell ...