Patients with severe ischemic heart disease and heart failure can benefit from a new treatment in which stem cells found in bone marrow are injected directly into the heart muscle, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.

"Our results show that this stem cell treatment is safe and it improves heart function when compared to placebo," said Anders Bruun Mathiasen, M.D., research fellow in the Cardiac Catherization Lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen, and lead investigator of the study. "This represents an exciting development that has the potential to benefit many people who suffer from this common and deadly disease."

Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. It results from a gradual buildup of plaque in the heart's coronary arteries and can lead to chest pain, heart attack and heart failure.

The study is the largest placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial to treat patients with chronic ischemic heart failure by injecting a type of stem cell known as mesenchymal stromal cells directly into the heart muscle.

Six months after treatment, patients who received stem cell injections had improved heart pump function compared to patients receiving a placebo. Treated patients showed an 8.2-milliliter decrease in the study's primary endpoint, end systolic volume, which indicates the lowest volume of blood in the heart during the pumping cycle and is a key measure of the heart's ability to pump effectively. The placebo group showed an increase of 6 milliliters in end systolic volume.

The study included 59 patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and severe heart failure. Each patient first underwent a procedure to extract a small amount of bone marrow. Researchers then isolated from the marrow a small number of mesenchymal stromal cells and induced the cells to self-replicate. Patients then received an injection of either saline placebo or their own cultured mesenchymal stromal cells into the heart muscle through a catheter inserted in the groin.

"Isolating and culturing the stem cells is a relatively straightforward process, and the procedure to inject the stem cells into the heart requires only local anesthesia, so it appears to be all-in-all a promising treatment for patients who have no other options," Mathiasen said.

Although there are other therapies available for patients with ischemic heart disease, these therapies do not help all patients and many patients continue to face fatigue, shortness of breath and accumulation of fluid in the lungs and legs.

Previous studies have shown mesenchymal stromal cells can stimulate repair and regeneration in a variety of tissues, including heart muscle. Mathiasen said in the case of ischemic heart failure, the treatment likely works by facilitating the growth of new blood vessels and new heart muscle.

The study also supports findings from previous, smaller studies, which showed reduced scar tissue in the hearts of patients who received the stem cell treatment, offering additional confirmation that the treatment stimulates the growth of new heart muscle cells.

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New human trial shows stem cells are effective for failing hearts: Bone marrow-derived stem cells injected directly ...

Graham Parker, 41, from County Durham is one of first to benefit from trial Some participants were given stem cells and the rest placebo Stem cells were taken from bone marrow in his hip and injected into heart Years later Graham feels better - but still classed as having heart failure

By Carol Davis

PUBLISHED: 18:04 EST, 31 March 2014 | UPDATED: 18:25 EST, 31 March 2014

Graham Parker took part in a trial using stem cells to repair heart damage

A major new trial is using patients' own stem cells to treat heart failure. One of the first to benefit is Graham Parker, 41, an archaeology student from Stanley, County Durham. He tells CAROL DAVIS his story.

Working as a supply teacher a few years ago, I started feeling exhausted. I couldn't walk more than 50 metres without pausing, was constantly breathless and would wake at night coughing.

At first I thought it was a cold or flu, or the stress of a house move. But my mum, a retired nurse, pointed out I'd been ill for two months, and sent me to the doctor.

The GP suspected asthma, and gave me an inhaler. But within a week it was worse and I couldn't walk more than a few yards without retching.

So I saw a second GP. She didn't say what she thought it was - she called an ambulance instead. I was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, then transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle while they ran several tests, including an ECG (electrocardiogram) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan.

Doctors explained I had heart failure: part of my heart muscle was damaged and the lower pumping chamber had become flabby so couldn't pump blood round my body properly. This was why I was so exhausted.

See the article here:
Revolutionary stem cell op to treat heart failure

Ontario student Moneet Mann is coming to Surrey in her search for a bone marrow donor. Submitted/Vancouver Desi

MANPREET GREWAL VANCOUVER DESI

Will you marrow me?

A 24-year-old Brampton, Ont. girl is bringing her desperate search for a bone marrow match to Surrey this weekend.

Moneet Mann was studying to be a teacher at Thunder Bays Lakehead University when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in October last year.

Although the news has been devastating for her and her family, she has chosen to see the blessing in her early diagnoses. With a stem cell transplant she can get back to her life, her school, her friends and passion to teach children.

But her challenge is that a perfect bone marrow match isnt always available in extreme cases, the odds of a match may be as little as one in 750,000.

Since her diagnosis shes started up her Will You Marrow Me? campaign to hunt for a donor, which will be holding a swabbing event alongside Canadian Blood Services at Surreys Dukh Nivaran Gurdwara on Sunday. Mann is particularly putting the call out to South Asian donors between the ages of 17 to 35.

According to Canadian Blood Services, matching between donor and patient happens on a genetic level. What this means is that if a patient is from a certain ethnic background, their donor is most likely going to be from the same ethnic group.

Doctors consider young men to be optimal donors because stem cells from young men can produce fewer chances of complications post-transplant. Also, men are typically physically bigger than women, so they can produce a greater volume of stem cells for the patient.

Link:
Ontario student's search for bone marrow donor brings her to Surrey

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Paul Walker will undergo an eye procedure next week that could give him back simple pleasures such as working in the garden or leafing through a magazine.

The procedure, an experimental stem-cell treatment, has already restored some sight for two other central Ohioans and holds the same hope for Walker, a Bexley resident who is legally blind.

Are you kidding? was Walkers initial reaction when Susan Benes, a Columbus neuro-ophthalmologist, told him a few months ago that a clinical trial offered the promise of better vision.

The Stem Cell Ophthalmology Treatment Study is a federally approved trial being conducted at Retinal Associates, a medical practice near Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The study tests stem-cell treatment on people 18 and older with glaucoma, macular degeneration and various retinal disorders.

The trial, which began in August and is scheduled to run until 2017, can offer only anecdotal evidence of effectiveness at this point, said study director Steven Levy, a Connecticut doctor who is president of the consulting company MD Stem Cells.

Still, results have been encouraging in the 35 or so people treated to date.

Originally posted here:
Stem-cell treatment may help those with severe vision problems

Fayetteville, Arkansas (PRWEB) March 26, 2014

CardioWise, Inc. and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have signed a Beta Site Agreement to serve as a clinical test site for CardioWise Multiparametric Strain Analysis (MPSA) Software. The CardioWise software will be used in clinical research protocol number 12-H-0078, sponsored by the NHLBI entitled, Preliminary Assessment of Direct Intra-Myocardial Injection of Autologous Bone Marrow-derived Stromal Cells on Patients Undergoing Revascularization for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) with Depressed Left Ventricular Function. The Principle Investigator is Pamela G. Robey, Ph.D., and Dr. Keith A. Horvath is the Cardiothoracic Surgeon on the clinical trial. Details of the study are available here: http://clinicalstudies.info.nih.gov/cgi/wais/bold032001.pl?A_12-H-0078.html@mesenchymal@@@@.

Bone marrow stromal stem cells (also known as mesenchymal stem cells) have been isolated and are found to make large amounts of growth factors. Because they make growth factors, these cells can help regrow tissue and encourage repair of damaged tissue. Tests on damaged heart muscle suggest that injecting these cells directly into damaged heart muscle can improve heart function. Researchers want to give stem cells to people who are having open-heart surgery to see if they can help to repair heart muscle damage. The objectives of the study are to test the safety and effectiveness of bone marrow stromal stem cell injections given during heart surgery to treat heart muscle damage. The CardioWise MPSA software will be used to help to determine the efficacy of the stem cell treatment.

The patients who enroll in the protocol will receive one baseline cardiac MRI (CMR) scan and 3 additional follow up CMR scans. Those CMR scans will be analyzed by CardioWise analysis software and the analyses will be compared to determine whether the stem cell injections can improve the contractile function of the heart muscle. Dr. Andrew E. Arai, Chief of the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Research Group in the NHLBIs Division of Intramural Research will be leading the analysis of the CMR images using the CardioWise MPSA software. Dr. Arai is Past President of the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), the leading international professional organization focused on CMR.

The CardioWise analysis software is uniquely capable of analyzing the three-dimensional motion of the heart that is acquired from cardiac MRI images and then comparing the analysis at 15,300 points to the motion of a normal heart model. The analysis detects portions of the heart that are moving abnormally and demonstrates to what degree the heart muscle has been affected. Since MRI uses no ionizing radiation or contrast, it is completely non-invasive and poses minimal risk to the patient. This allows the patient to be followed through the course of treatment and to measure outcomes of interventions such as the stem cell therapy. In the near future, CardioWise MPSA may aid doctors to determine what intervention, such as surgery, stent insertion, or drug is most appropriate for the patient who presents with cardiovascular disease symptoms.

CardioWise is commercializing patent-pending, non-invasive Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR) analysis software that produces a quantified 4D image model of the human heart, called Multiparametric Strain Analysis (MPSA). CardioWise heart analysis software combined with cardiac MRI is a single diagnostic test that is able to provide quantitative analysis of the myocardium, arteries and valves with an unprecedented level of detail. It has the opportunity to become the new gold standard of care for heart health analysis. CardioWise is a VIC Technology Venture Development portfolio company.

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CardioWise and the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Complete Beta Site ...

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Ryan Manansala, 29, of San Joseis being treated in Houston for leukemia and awaiting a bone marrow transplant that may save his life. (Courtesy Quan Nguyen)

SAN JOSE -- Ryan Manansala spent much of his 29 years helping others, whether it was aiding autistic children or mentoring kids as a Big Brother. Now battling cancer, he's devoting his energy to promoting bone marrow drives that can help him and others find donor matches that can save their lives.

"Yeah, you could say I'm the poster boy right now," the 29-year-old San Jose resident said from a cancer center in Houston. "I personally don't like it, but there is an obligation to others. I don't want to see people have to wait and wait on the list and then die."

He learned two years ago he had acute myeloid leukemia, a form of blood cancer. He needs a bone-marrow transplant and he needs it now. Talking on his cellphone from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Manansala said he was there for special chemotherapy treatment to buy him some time.

While a local bone marrow registration drive is named after him, Operation Save Ryan is not only for him. The drives will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Great Mall in Milpitas, on Saturday night at the San Jose Earthquakes soccer game in Santa Clara and on April 15 and 16 at UC Santa Cruz, his alma mater. Donors should be 18 to 44 years old.

"If they find a match for me, fine," Manansala said. "But it's really about getting more people to register for the benefit of everyone on the transplant list."

Not that his case can be pushed aside. Chemotherapy worked for him early, but then the leukemia came back with a vengeance. Along the way, the illness cost the Yerba Buena High graduate his job working with disabled children. Then his father lost his job. Although his mother continued to work, the Manansala family lost its house in East San Jose.

"It's been a roller coaster in the extreme," he said. But looking on the bright side, "My father losing his job allowed him to become my full-time caregiver."

For severely afflicted AML patients, bone marrow transplants are often the last hope. In the procedure, healthy stem cells from a compatible donor are inserted into the bone marrow of leukemia patients to create normal blood cells.

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A leukemia patient from San Jose becomes a reluctant crusader for bone marrow drives

by Mark Carter on Wednesday, Mar. 26, 2014 1:49 pm

CardioWise CEO Jack Coats

CardioWise has partnered with federal agencies to provide its cardiac analysis software for a national clinical research study, the Fayetteville startup announced Wednesday.

The beta site agreement is with the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. It will study the use of bone marrow stem cells during cardiac surgery to treat heart muscle dysfunction associated with ischemic heart disease or damage from heart attack, according to a news release.

Details of the study are available here. The study will be conducted at the NIH Heart Center at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md. Suburban Hospital is a member of the Johns Hopkins Medicine system.

The software,Multiparametric Strain Analysis (MPSA), was developed to analyze the three-dimensional motion of the heart acquired from cardiac MRI images. It then compares the analysis to the motion of a normal heart model.

"The objectives of the study are to test the safety and effectiveness of bone marrow stromal stem cell injections given during heart surgery to treat heart muscle damage," said CardioWise CEO Jack Coats. "The CardioWise MPSA software will be used to help to determine the efficacy of the stem cell treatment."

Coats said the analysis detects portions of the heart that are moving abnormally and demonstrates to what degree the heart muscle has been affected.

"Since MRI uses no ionizing radiation or contrast, it is completely non-invasive and poses minimal risk to the patient," he said. "This allows the patient to be followed through the course of treatment and to measure outcomes of interventions such as the stem cell therapy. In the near future, CardioWise MPSA may aid doctors to determine what intervention, such as surgery, stent insertion or drug, is most appropriate for the patient who presents with cardiovascular disease symptoms."

CardioWise is a client firm of Innovate Arkansas and a portfolio company of VIC Technology Venture Development of Fayetteville.

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CardioWise Software Chosen for National Heart Study

The trials involve injecting adult stem cells derived from adipose tissue or fat into cartilage to stimulate its regeneration

Researchers in Galway predict that stem cells could be used to treat osteoarthritis within five years, following successful initial clinical trials.

The trials involve injecting adult stem cells derived from adipose tissue or fat into cartilage to stimulate its regeneration.

Osteoarthritis affects some 70 million people across the EU, and current treatment is limited to surgery or pain management.

Some 400,000 people in Ireland are affected by this most common form of human arthritis, which is characterised by the often very painful degeneration of cartilage in joints.

Successful trial NUI Galway (NUIG) scientists, who are part of a 9 million EU-funded project, have just finished the successful phase one clinical trial.

Prof Frank Barry, scientific director of NUIGs Regenerative Medicine Institute (Remedi), yesterday said the positive early results indicate a treatment was in sight.

From the clinical trials conducted so far, we have seen the first signs of finding a cure for this truly incapacitating disease which affects so many, Prof Barry said. Using the patients own stem cells we have been able to treat their diseased joints, and relieve their suffering and burden of pain.

Whilst we are still in the early stages of clinical trials, the results so far are extremely positive such that the use of stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis could become a reality for patients within the next five years, he said.

Adipose stem cells Stem cells can be harvested in large quantities from adipose tissue or fat, with minimally invasive surgery. These cells have emerged in recent years as a good alternative to stem cells derived from bone marrow, Prof Barry notes.

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Stem cell trials on tackling osteoarthritis may lead to treatment in five years

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Mar-2014

Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research

Studies have shown that the differentiation rate of grafted bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into mature neuron-like cells is very low. Therefore, it is very important to establish an effcient and stable induction protocol to promote the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neuron-like cells in vitro and elucidate the mechanisms underlying differentiation for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Jie Du and colleagues from Sichuan University in China found that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor/bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have a higher rate of induction into neuron-like cells, and this enhanced differentiation into neuron-like cells may be associated with up-regulated expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor and growth-associated protein-43. The researchers provide experimental support for the therapeutic use of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in transplantation strategies for central nervous system diseases. The relevant paper has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014).

###

Article: " Transfection of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene promotes neuronal differentiation," by Jie Du1, 2, Xiaoqing Gao3, Li Deng3, Nengbin Chang2, Huailin Xiong2, Yu Zheng1 (1 Department of Physiology, West China School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China; 2 Department of Anatomy, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China; 3 Research Center for Preclinical Medicine, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China)

Du J, Gao XQ, Deng L, Chang NB, Xiong HL, Zheng Y. Transfection of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene promotes neuronal differentiation. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(1):33-40.

Contact:

Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research http://www.nrronline.org/

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GDNF transfection promotes neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

San Jose, California (PRWEB) March 25, 2014

Follow us on LinkedIn High prevalence of cancer worldwide and growing number of related casualties is creating an immediate need for effective diagnosis and therapy. Despite continuous research and the development of novel drugs, cancer remains unbeatable in most cases. The discovery of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) and Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) and their molecular mechanism is forecast to play an indispensable role in the future of cancer diagnostics and treatment. CTCs are cells dispersed from the primary tumor and found in peripheral blood circulation. The detection of CTCs and their numbers present important clues on the presence of cancer and the extent of its spread within the body. Clinical applications of CTC diagnostics are currently limited with high cost being the primary limiting factor. Unmet medical needs in the field of effective screening is however expected result in continuous flow of R&D investments in CTCs and CSCs. CTC based diagnostics involve a simple blood test and is increasingly being preferred over painful bone marrow aspirations and surgical biopsies to diagnose and analyze cancer metastasis.

CTC quantification and analyses based on molecular research also provides the potential to develop personalized cancer treatment regimens, which is garnering interest among scientific communities. Better, faster, and more user-friendly methods to detect and characterize CTCs will witness increased demand in the coming years. PCR-based (nucleic acid-based) identification methods are the most effective and sensitive for CTC genetic profiling, scoring over immunocytometric (protein-based) methods for molecular characterization of CTCs. RT-PCR and qPCR are highly specific techniques that are widely used to identify and amplify CTCs. CellSearch is the only FDA-approved automated system that offer combined enrichment, staining, and scanning of CTCs.

Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are the bulk cells within a tumor carrying its proliferative capability. CSCs remain unaffected by cancer treatment strategies, including chemotherapy and cause tumor relapse or re-occurrence thereby creating the need for new therapeutic drugs that destroy CSCs. The technology is still under extensive research. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly shifting focus to anti-cancer therapeutics that target cancer stem cells and their regenerative mechanisms.

As stated by the new market research report on Circulating Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells Technologies, the United States and Europe are the largest markets worldwide. The United States remains the undisputed leader in CTC diagnostics. Asia-Pacific is forecast to emerge as the fastest growing market driven by developing healthcare infrastructure, growing patient awareness, increasing per capita healthcare spends, focus on quality healthcare services, and the urgent need for advanced cancer diagnostics.

Key players covered in the report for CTC diagnostics include Adnagen GmbH, ApoCell Inc., Biocep LTD, Biocept Inc., Biofluidica Microtechnologies LLC, Celltrafix Inc., Clearbridge Biomedics, Creatv Microtech Inc., Cynvenio Biosystems Inc., Ikonisys Inc., IVDiagnostics Inc., Janssen Diagnostics LLC, Epic Biosciences Inc., Rarecells SAS, Screencell, Stemcell Technologies Inc. Market participants in CSC research include Alchemia Limited, Amgen Inc., Exelixis Inc., Formula Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Geron Corp, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Kalobios Pharmaceuticals Inc., Novartis AG, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., Roche Diagnostics, and Verastem Inc., among others.

The research report titled Circulating Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells Technologies: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, key issues and challenges. The study also provides insights into CTC biology and CTC detection technologies, including CellSearch, ISET, CTC Chip, FAST, FISH, etc. The report provides market estimates and projections for CTC Diagnostics for all major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Exclusive coverage is presented on Cancer Stem Cells biology, Surface Markers, Signaling Pathways, and Pipeline drugs.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit http://www.strategyr.com/Circulating_Tumor_Cells_CTCs_and_Cancer_Stem_Cells_CSCs_Technologies_Market_Report.asp

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world's largest and reputed market research firms.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Telephone: 408-528-9966 Fax: 408-528-9977 Email: press(at)StrategyR(dot)com Web Site: http://www.StrategyR.com/

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Need for Advanced Cancer Diagnostics Drives Demand for Circulating Tumor Cells & Cancer Stem Cells Technologies ...

Tuesday 25 March 2014 11.44

Scientists at NUI Galway have achieved positive early stage results from a study looking at a possible treatment for osteoarthritis using stem cells.

Researchers at the Regenerative Medicine Institute said the results indicate that the treatment could be ready for use in patients within five years.

Osteoarthritis affects more than 400,000 people in Ireland, and 70 million across the EU. The disease causes the painful degeneration of cartilage in joints and is the most common form of arthritis.

The NUI Galway team are part of an EU funded projectinvolving partners in seven countries, which is examining whether stem cell therapy can help treat osteoarthritis by regenerating joints.

The group is testing stem cells derived from fat, which is injected into joints.

Fat stem cells are considered a good alternative to bone-marrow derived stem cells, as they are available in large quantities and can be harvested using minimally invasive techniques.

The scientists, who are involved in the 10m EU funded ADIPOA project, have just completed first phase clinical trials which sought to determine how adipose or fat-derived stem cells injected into diseased joints can activate the regeneration of cartilage.

According to Scientific Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute, Professor Frank Barry, if the treatment continues to show promiseit could eventually lead to a cure for osteoarthritis.

Currently the only options for sufferers are joint replacement or life-long pain management.

Original post:
Osteoarthritis breakthrough at NUI Galway

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Children being treated for blood cancer at Medical University Hospital will get a taste of hope Thursday.

A 5k run to raise awareness of the need for bone marrow donations is set for Saturday. The children are not strong enough to participate in that. So a Tot Run will be held on their hospital floor Thursday morning.

Several dozen children, their families and staff will run around the oncology floor as they are able from 11 a.m. to noon, said Ashley Collier, community representative for Be The Match, the state's bone marrow bank.

"It's a way the children to be involved," she said.

For every child that gets a bone marrow transplant, two more don't get one because a matching donor can't be found, Collier said.

The Match to Marrow 5K Run starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Wannamaker County Park in North Charleston. The entry fee is $25. Representatives will also be on hand to explain how to donate blood from which stem cells for bone marrow are harvested.

Reach Dave Munday at 937-5553.

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Tot Run set for children with blood cancer

Durham, NC (PRWEB) March 19, 2014

In a study just published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, a group of researchers have discovered what appears to be an easy way to collect large quantities of viable stem cells that can be banked for future regenerative medicine purposes all from the simple prick of a finger.

We show that a single drop of blood from a finger-prick sample is sufficient for performing cellular reprogramming, DNA sequencing and blood typing in parallel. Our strategy has the potential of facilitating the development of large-scale human iPSC banking worldwide, said Jonathan Yuin-Han Loh, Ph.D., of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. He is principal investigator on the study that also included scientists from other Singapore facilities as well as those in the United States and Great Britain.

The medical world in general is excited about the potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for studying diseases and for therapeutic regenerative medicine. Stem cells harvested from bone marrow and cord blood are highly amenable to reprogramming.

Some methods can result in negative side effects, and then you have bone-marrow harvesting, which is invasive, while cord blood is limited to individuals who have deposited their samples at birth, Dr. Loh explained. The large amount of blood needed to collect enough cells for reprogramming has also deterred many potential donors.

"We gradually reduced the starting volume of blood (collected using a needle) and confirmed that reprogramming can be achieved with as little as .25 milliliters, Hong-kee Tan, lead author on the study and a research officer in the Loh lab reported.

This then made the team wonder whether a DIY (do-it-yourself) approach to blood collection might work too.

To test this idea, we asked donors to prick their own fingers in a normal room environment and collect a single drop of blood sample into a tube, Tan said. The tube was placed on ice and delivered to the lab for reprogramming.

The cells were treated with a buffer at 12-, 24- or 48-hour increments and observed under the microscope for viability and signs of contamination. After 12 days of expansion in medium, the cells appeared healthy and were actively dividing. The team next tested what happened when they reprogrammed the cells and succeeded in forcing them to become mesodermal, endodermal and neural cells. They were even able to induce some into giving rise to rhythmically beating cardiomyocytes.

Interestingly, we did not observe any noticeable reduction in reprogramming efficiency between the freshly collected and the DIY finger-prick samples, Dr. Loh said. In summary, we derived healthy iPSCs from tiny volumes of venipuncture and a single drop finger-prick blood samples. We also report a high reprogramming yield of 100 to 600 colonies per milliliter of blood.

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DIY Finger Prick Yields Ample Stem Cells for Banking

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Newswise The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Universit de Montral (UdeM), in collaboration with the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospitals Quebec Leukemia Cell Bank, recently achieved a significant breakthrough thanks to the laboratory growth of leukemic stem cells, which will speed up the development of new cancer drugs.

In a recent study published in Nature Methods, the scientists involved describe how they succeeded in identifying two new chemical compounds that allow to maintain leukemic stem cells in culture when these are grown outside the body.

This important advance opens the way to the identification of new cancer drugs to fight acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most aggressive forms of blood cancer.

The ability to grow leukemic stem cells in culture is a major breakthrough. The next step is to study the molecular mechanisms that regulate the survival and proliferation of leukemic cells as well as the resistance to cancer drugs.

This study is the work of the Leucgne research group. This group is co-directed by Dr. Guy Sauvageau, chief executive officer and principal investigator at IRIC as well as professor in the Department of Medicine at the UdeM; by Dr. Jose Hbert, director of the Quebec Leukemia Cell Bank, hematologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and professor in the Department of Medicine at the UdeM; and by Sbastien Lemieux, principal investigator at IRIC. The first author of the study is Caroline Pabst, a postdoctoral fellow at IRIC and associate of the Leucgne research group.

This research breakthrough demonstrates the advantage of working in a multidisciplinary team like the Leucgne research group, stated Drs. Sauvageau and Hbert. Access to cells of leukemia patients and to IRICs state-of-the-art facilities are also key factors in pursuing ground-breaking research.

Background to the study Stem cells located in the bone marrow are responsible for the production of blood cells. Unfortunately, deregulation of those cells often produces disastrous consequences when one of them develops mutations that transform it into a malignant cell called leukemic. The result is an abnormal proliferation of blood cells and the development of leukemia. Leukemic stem cells are also one of the likely causes of patient relapse because they are especially resistant to cancer treatments.

The major obstacle before this discovery was growing stem cells and keeping them intact in vitro, because they quickly lost their cancer stem cell character. As a result, it was very difficult to effectively study the multiplication of cells that cause leukemia.

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Major Breakthrough in Developing New Cancer Drugs: Capturing Leukemic Stem Cells

Immature cells' regenerative prowess injects new excitement into the field

Image: CDC

More than a century after scientists embarked on the quest to find an alternative to the blood coursing through our veins, the dream still will not die. Not after a major study dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the fielddetermining that the top synthetic blood candidates at the time were all more likely to kill you than to save your life. Not after billions of dollars in public and private investments dried up. And not after multiple companies ran aground. Starting in 2011, however, the moribund field received yet another revival, this time from a group of French researchers with a new approach to boosting blood supplies. Their principal insight: dont try to re-create millions of years of evolution. Instead, they proposed to piggyback off of what nature already made by coaxing stem cells into taking on the job. The appeal of creating blood alternatives is obvious. Certainly after a battlefield trauma or a car accident a ready transfusion of artificial blood that could theoretically work with any blood type and not require refrigeration would be a welcome medical tool. A synthetic product outlasting the typical 42-day shelf life of red blood cells and sidestepping even the miniscule risk of transmitting a blood-borne disease would also be high on the medical wish list. But such a product has not yet been created and proved safe in humans. Its not for lack of trying. Although blood cells serve multiple roles in the body and have complex interactions with other cellular materials, most synthetic blood products have aimed to just stick to the bare basicsshuttling oxygen from the lungs to different vital organs and then bringing carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled. When the red cell count gets low, bodily organs may not get the oxygen they need, making a person weak and eventually resulting in serious health problems. The most popular approach taken to replicate that function has been to create artificial hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers, tapping proteins in red blood cells called hemoglobin that act as oxygens transport service, and chemically modifying them to increase oxygen-carrying capacity. But the new idea is to get the body to grow its own substitutea product that would not be the same as whole blood but could fit the bill in a pinch. A Paris-based research group, headed up by Luc Douay, professor of hematology at University Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medicine, has already had some success. They culled stemlike cells from blood circulating through a patients body and manipulated them into becoming red blood cells nearly identical to those that normally transport oxygen in the body. The team injected two milliliters of the stem-cell derived blood cells back into the patientan amount far smaller than would be needed in a typical transfusion. The creations had stored well at refrigerated temperatures and circulated in the body with survival time on par with that of original red cells. Jackpot. In short, the workalbeit on one person, tapping cells from his own bodyproved that it could be done. Its a promising approach, says Harvey Klein, chief of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. There is a school of pessimists who believe that because of costs it will never materialize on a practice level, but Ive heard that all my life about different areas of medicine including bone marrow transplants in the 60s. Still, he and others caution that the field is far from being able to forgo the need for blood donors for day-to-day care. In fact, the market for artificial blood products would likely be limited to people with rare blood types and those who, due to blood diseases, require new transfusions, perhaps every couple months. Its an encouraging step forward for a field littered with odd and sometimes cringe-worthy efforts to get at the lifesaving power of blood. Animal to human blood transfusions received a short-lived audition in 1667. But the first human-to-human blood transfusion was not performed until 1818before we learned about blood types and how and when the body rejects certain transfusions. Blood-product research also included attempts in the late 1800s to hook up ailing patients to infusions of fresh cows milk. Milk, like blood, had fats that emulsify in fluid, the reasoning went. Plus, milk would be safer than blood because it would not clot. When patients died, physicians figured it was due to other complications. Needless to say, milk injections, like those from animal blood, never really took off. In the U.S. there is no shortage of blood products available for most patients, thanks to blood donors. After a healthy person donates blood that fluid is typically whirred in a centrifuge and separated out into several parts. Most commonly, patients receive transfusions of red blood cells, the component of blood that shuttles oxygen to tissues throughout the body. (Patients may also receive infusions of white cells that help fight infection or platelets, the small, colorless cell fragments that help stanch bleeding by clotting.) Although most people only get transfusions once or twice in their lives (if at all), individuals with conditions like sickle-cell anemia require consistent blood transfusions of red cells. But with each infusion theres a small risk that the body could develop an infection, reject the foreign blood or form antibodies that will lead to the body rejecting and destroying certain bloods in the future. A key threat, however, is that each transfusion contributes to the risk of iron overload in the body. All red blood cells contain iron, but after the body takes what it needs it has no easy way to dispose of the excess. It gets stored, instead, in organs including the heart, liver and pancreas. That buildup of increased iron with each transfusion can damage the organs and eventually prove fatal. The French researchers hope that using freshly created blood cells made from stem cells could help alleviate those iron buildup concerns. We think it could be transfused at least three to five times less each year because of the efficiency of the transfusion, Douay says. The secret lies in the age of the red blood cells derived from stem cells. Although red cells from donors have a typical shelf life of 42 days, they are a mix of older and newer cells, which means a number of them may not last long in the body. With stem cellderived options all of the blood product would be new, which could theoretically give patients more bang for each infusion. The only thing that would appear different to a patient receiving the transfusions, ideally, is that he would be receiving them less often. If you have brand-new cells, you should be able to increase the intervals between transfusions so you can make it longer, says David Anstee, director of the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in England. You might be able to improve the quality of life in those situations. Its not a perfect fix because it would likely add months, not years, between transfusions, but it could be a start. Also, researchers could carefully select which blood types to culture with each batch of stem cells, creating stockpiles of needed blood products for people with extremely rare blood types whose blood cell makeup makes it challenging to find good blood matches for transfusions because they would reject most other types of blood. But so far all this remains theoreticalsince that initial breakthrough no new blood product has inched close to regulatory approval in the U.S. or Europe. The greatest hurdles are arguably more monetary than technical, but the monetary obstacles are massive. To match the current prices of high-quality blood products the process would have to become at least fivefold more cost-effective, Douay notes in a recent study published in Biotechnology Journal. Although the current price tag for an average hospital to create one unit of red blood cells from donor blood comes in at about $225, more expensive, unique stockpiles of red cells, kept for individuals with rare blood needs, can cost anywhere from $700 to $1,200 per unit. By comparison, with Douays method the price for equivalent amounts of blood cells (assuming that much product could be made successfully) would likely be around $8,330. It could even cost up to $15,000 per unit if all does not go according to plan, Douay estimates. Moreover, the idea of using Douays earlier process, which involved growing the cells in culture, at a larger scale would be delusional, he says. To make just one unit of bloodroughly a pintit would require growing cells in about 400 flasks that were about 30 centimeters by 20 centimeters, he says. But even with endless space for those flasks it would still be impossible because the constant pH and temperature controls that would be needed would be impossible to maintain. What would be needed, he says, is an automated, stirred large-scale bioreactor (something his team hopes to one day produce themselves). Even something as seemingly simple as red blood cells that dont have a nucleus evolved a structure and a function that is much more complicated than we can perceive by looking under the microscope, says Jason Acker, associate director of development for Canadian Blood Services. Douay, for his part, is not surprised it has taken more than a century for science to get even to this point, where the future of subbing in stem cells for blood products still remains little more than a reverie. For years, he says, we tried to replace nature and do as well as nature does. The regenerative powers of stem cells may just yet inject new options into the field.

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Could Stem Cells Breathe New Life into the Field of Blood Substitution?

16 hours ago by Bob Yirka Mesenchymal stem cell displaying typical ultrastructural characteristics. Credit: Robert M. Hunt/Wikipedia

(Phys.org) A team of researchers working at the University of Colorado has found that human stem cells appear to remember the physical nature of the structure they were grown on, after being moved to a different substrate. In their paper published in the journal Nature Materials, the researchers describe how they grew human stem cells on different substrates. In so doing, they discovered that the stem cells continued to express certain proteins related to a substrate even after its hardness was changed.

Scientists have known for some time that stem cells respond to their environment as they growthose grown on hard material, such as glass or metal for example, are more amenable to growing into bone cells. In this new effort, the researchers sought to discover if changes to a stem cell brought about by environment are retained if the stem cell is moved to a different environment.

To find out, the researchers used mesenchymal cells which are known to be able to grow into almost any human body part. They placed the stem cells on a stiff substrate then moved them to one less stiff over differing numbers of days. In so doing, they found that the longer the cells were left on the stiff substrate the more a protein connected to bone growth (RUNX2) was expressed. Conversely, cells that were first placed on a soft surface and subsequently moved to a hard surface demonstrated a tendency to develop either bone or adipogenic tendencies.

In another experiment, the researchers applied the stem cells to a substrate coated with a phototunable hydrogelit grows softer when exposed to lightusing it allowed for changing the stiffness of the substrate without having to move the cells. Using this approach the team found that if the cells were allowed to grow on the gel in its stiff state, for just one day, switching to a soft state caused the expression of RUNX2 to cease immediately. When they allowed the cells to grow for ten days on the stiff base, however, before switching to a soft one, expression of RUNX2 continued for another ten days before finally ceasing. This shows, the researchers contend, that stem cells have a memory component that is not yet understood.

The researchers note that their findings could be applied to other stem cell research areas such as cases where unintentional consequences may be arising in experiments due to the stiffness of the substrate in which they are being grown. It also raises the question of whether other environmental factors might be impacting cell growth and if so, if they have a memory component as well.

Explore further: Heart cells respond to stiff environments

More information: Mechanical memory and dosing influence stem cell fate, Nature Materials (2014) DOI: 10.1038/nmat3889

Abstract We investigated whether stem cells remember past physical signals and whether these can be exploited to dose cells mechanically. We found that the activation of the Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding domain (TAZ) as well as the pre-osteogenic transcription factor RUNX2 in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) cultured on soft poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels (Young's modulus E ~ 2 kPa) depended on previous culture time on stiff tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS; E ~ 3 GPa). In addition, mechanical dosing of hMSCs cultured on initially stiff (E ~ 10 kPa) and then soft (E ~ 2 kPa) phototunable PEG hydrogels resulted in either reversible orabove a threshold mechanical doseirreversible activation of YAP/TAZ and RUNX2. We also found that increased mechanical dosing on supraphysiologically stiff TCPS biases hMSCs towards osteogenic differentiation. We conclude that stem cells possess mechanical memorywith YAP/TAZ acting as an intracellular mechanical rheostatthat stores information from past physical environments and influences the cells' fate.

Journal reference: Nature Materials

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Researchers find stem cells remember prior substrates

The parents of a 2-year-old Pasadena girl who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia have renewed their call for help in the search for a bone marrow donor, after stem cells taken from the girls father did not match.

Sofia Flores, shown in a family photo, needs a bone marrow donor.

The latest in a series of donor drives was held Saturday at Orchard Supply Hardware, located at 3425 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.

Sofia Flores story first came to light in October 2013 when her parents asked for help in finding a bone marrow donor for their daughter.

Sofia needed a marrow transplant to combat acute myeloid leukemia, according to A3M, a Los Angeles nonprofit that is helping Sofias parents seek a match for the little girl.

However, after an extensive search, no match was found.

On Jan. 23, her father donated his stem cells to her, which was the only alternative available at the time, according to Erica Westfall, Sofias mother.

But the treatment was not successful and Sofias cancer relapsed.

Sofias last chance for survival would be a transplant from an unrelated donor in the next two months, according to her mother.

Weve been searching for a bone marrow match even harder because this is her last chance, her father Ignacio Flores said in a video released to news media on Monday.

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Donor Drive Held for Pasadena Girl, 2, in Need of Bone Marrow Transplant

Each day is a gift for Chris Taylor and every phone call could be the one that saves his life.

Thats why the 36-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia keeps his cellphone within reach, waiting to hear that a stem cell donor has been found and hell get the bone marrow transplant he needs.

Taylor, who was diagnosed in July 2012, has already had two false alarms but is confident a match will become available before its too late.

Getting the call is a miracle in itself. It comes after an online search of unrelated people by the Canadian Blood Services OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. The registry has access to 22 million potential volunteer donors in 71 countries, strangers prepared to help those like Taylor.

Despite popular belief, family members are matches only 25 per cent of the time, said Mary-Lynn Pride, a patient transplant liaison specialist at OneMatch.

More than 800 Canadians currently await transplants. OneMatch has more than 333,000 registered Canadian donors.

Taylor signed up after a second round of chemotherapy last summer, when doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital advised he needed a bone marrow transplant.

Taylor received the first call last November. The timing was perfect because his cancer was in remission, the only time a transplant can be done.

Two days before he was to be admitted to hospital, Taylor got bad news. The procedure was cancelled because the donor had unspecified medical complications, he said. OneMatch does not say why donors decide to abandon the procedure.

The second call came last month, but the donor withdrew for reasons unknown to Taylor.

The rest is here:
Leukemia patient pins hopes on OneMatch stem cell donor registry

Watch the video above:Leukemia patient Chris Taylor loses 2nd bone marrow transplant donor. Angie Seth reports.

TORONTO A 36-year-old leukemia patient is searching for a bone marrow donor for the third time, after his first two donors backed out for medical or unknown reasons.

Chris Taylor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. He originally went to Mount Sinai hospital with chest pains and spent several days in the ICU though doctors couldnt figure out what was wrong with him, he said.

But several weeks later, Princess Margaret Hospital found his cancer at the chromosomal level. HE immediately started chemotherapy and it went into remission.

It came back after ten months, he said. I was starting to feel better and the side effects were starting to wear off and then the cancer came back.

They found a match around Christmas of 2013, he said. They started preliminary testing and even got a proposed date but two days before, the donor pulled out.

Unfortunately that donor was medically unfit to donate, Taylor said.

So they went back to searching. They found another donor.

We began again the process of getting ready to go in for the transplant, he said. Unfortunately for unknown reasons that donor had to opt-out of the procedure.

I was disappointed but I dont hold any ill-will or anything like that.

Originally posted here:
Man hoping for third stem cell match after first 2 donors back out

Richard France has been visiting Pine Island for 18 years. Each winter he escapes the Ohio winters for the sunny warmth of Pine Island for about six months a year.

"In 2008 I was diagnosed when I was 68 years old with acute leukemia," France said. "I underwent treatments for a fair amount of time, 4 or 5 months - chemotherapy. We usually come down in January but that year we were here for March and April."

He continued, "After that I was in remission for three years but then in 2011 we were here in Florida and I got a call from my doctor. He said the cancer had returned and that I needed to get back to Ohio. They recommended that I have a bone marrow transplant and I got on the transplant list. I think it was under a year when I got word that they had a donor. By then they had decided against a bone marrow transplant and were looking for a stem cell donor. It was the day before Thanksgiving that I went into the hospital and I stayed until almost Christmas. On Nov. 30, I got Laurie Burnworth's stem cells."

Laurie Burnworth stem cell donor and Richard France recipient.

PHOTO PROVIDED

A stem cell (blood or marrow) transplant is the infusion, or injection, of healthy stem cells into your body to replace damaged or diseased stem cells. A stem cell transplant may be necessary if your bone marrow stops working and doesn't produce enough healthy stem cells. A stem cell transplant also may be performed if high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy is given in the treatment of blood disorders such as leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma.

"I've been donating blood for years," Burnworth said. "I think I may have signed up for this at one of those times I signed up for blood but I really don't remember. It seems one thing led to another and I believe we were matched up in 2008 and they called me. But that's when Richard went into remission and they held off. Then in 2011 they contacted me again and said 'You are the perfect match for this gentleman and if you're still interested we're going to do this.' After extensive testing we went ahead.

"I think a lot of people don't sign up because they think they take the material from the bone," Burnworth continued. "But in my case you just go to the blood bank, which for me was in Rockford, Ill., and sit in a chair and then you just get hooked up like you're donating blood the difference being though is you're hooked up with both arms. One arm collects the blood where it is sent to a centrifuge that separates the platelets and then the blood is returned through the other arm to your body.

"It's really not a bad process," Burnworth said. "It takes a little time but this is the result. For the first year you can correspond with each other anonymously. Then after a year you sign forms releasing the information. It was Christmas 2012 that I got my phone call from Richard. And, of course, I didn't recognize the phone number so I didn't answer but he left a message and I immediately called back. That's when it really hit me and I cried because Richard and his family got to celebrate Christmas. Then this year they got to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and I cried again."

"We meant to get together last year but didn't," France said. "My wife urged that we get together this year and here we are. It's been two years since I got my transplant and I've got another three to go before I'm considered cured. I'm getting pretty much everything back and I feel wonderful and I'm so thankful for Laurie. I wish more people would look into donating organs in general."

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Stem cell donor, recipient get together