Because of a bone marrow donation from a 20-year-old in Germany, Central Michigan University student Kyle Tanner has a new chance at life.

This is why we encourage students at CMU to become registered as acandidate to donate bone marrow or stem cells.

You can help save lives.

When Kyle Tanner learned he had Fanconi anemia at age 16, he didnt understand the toll the bone marrow disease would take on him.

It made definitely me anxious and it made me more inclined to do things that I wouldnt have otherwise did if I didnt know I had a life-threatening disease, Tanner said.

At any given moment, thousands of Americans are seeking an unrelateddonor for a potentially life-saving marrow transplant.

Donations help people diagnosed with blood cancers like Leukemia and other diseases.

For Tanner, a 22-year-old Hudson native, two transplants saved his life six years after he was diagnosed with a life-threatening bone marrow disease.

Donating bone marrow is not often talked about, but is vitally important especially on college campuses.

Because of our age, students are the bestdonors.

Young people have more and higher quality cells, which leads to a higher chance the patient receiving the transplant will survive.

While registries allow people ages 45-60 to donate, thosewho are18-44 are prime donors.It is also free to register for people in this age range.

The registration process has been made simple by organizations like Be The Match, which is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. It is how Tanner got paired with his donor.

If you're registering online, Be The Match mails you a mouth-swab kit. You mail it back to them and it goes to the lab. Results come back in 8-10 weeks. If you qualify, you are placed on the registry and are able to be called on to donate.

According to Be The Match, only 25 percent of people donate actual bone marrow, which is extracted from the pelvic bone. The other 75 percent of donations are peripheral blood stem cell donations. Donating marrow can sometimesinvolve an over-night stay at the hospital, while a stem cell donation is similar to donating blood or plasma.

Be The Match also has traveling drives, which can be hosted by individuals and organizations.

We think it's a great idea for our Student Government Association or other registered student organizations to consider hosting a drive at CMU.

Raising awareness of the necessity to donate marrow and stem cellsand the know-how is important. Many of us know someone diagnosed with Leukemia or other diseases that desperately need a stranger to be their savior.

For people like Tanner, it took someone to decide to make a difference in his case, it wasa 20-year-old from Germany.

CMU students can make the decision to save someones life, too. Consider getting registered and potentially saving someone's life.

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EDITORIAL: Donating bone marrow saves lives, students should consider becoming a match - Central Michigan Life

Inkjet printers and lasers are parts of a new wayto produce cells important to research on nerve regeneration.

Schwann cells, for example, form sheaths around axons, the tail-like parts of nerve cells that carry electrical impulses. They promote regeneration of those axonsand secrete substances that promote the health of nerve cells. But theyre hard to come by in useful numbers.

This technology could lead to a better way to differentiate stem cells.

So researchers have been taking readily available mesenchymal stem cells (also called bone marrow stromal stem cells that can form bone, cartilage, and fat cells) and using a chemical process to differentiate them into Schwann cells. But its an arduous and expensive process.

Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a nanotechnology that uses inkjet printers to print multi-layer graphene circuits and also uses lasers to treat and improve the surface structure and conductivity of those circuits.

It turns out mesenchymal stem cells adhere and grow well on the treated circuits raised, rough, and 3D nanostructures. Add small doses of electricity100 millivolts for 10 minutes per day over 15 daysand the stem cells become Schwann-like cells.

This technology could lead to a better way to differentiate stem cells, says co-first author Metin Uz, a postdoctoral research associate in chemical and biological engineering. There is huge potential here.

The electrical stimulation is very effective, differentiating 85 percent of the stem cells into Schwann-like cells compared to 75 percent by the standard chemical process, according to the paper. The electrically differentiated cells also produced 80 nanograms per milliliter of nerve growth factor compared to 55 nanograms per milliliter for the chemically treated cells.

The researchers report the results could lead to changes in how nerve injuries are treated inside the body.

These results help pave the way for in vivo peripheral nerve regeneration where the flexible graphene electrodes could conform to the injury site and provide intimate electrical stimulation for nerve cell regrowth, the researchers write in a summary of their findings.

The paper reports several advantages to using electrical stimulation to differentiate stem cells into Schwann-like cells:

A key to making it all work is a graphene inkjet printing process that takes advantages of graphenes wonder-material propertiesits a great conductor of electricity and heat, its strong, stable, and biocompatibleto produce low-cost, flexible, and even wearable electronics.

But there was a problem: once graphene electronic circuits were printed, they had to be treated to improve electrical conductivity. That usually meant high temperatures or chemicals. Either could damage flexible printing surfaces including plastic films or paper.

The research group of lead author Jonathan Claussen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and an associate of the US Department of Energys Ames Laboratory, solved the problem by developing computer-controlled laser technology that selectively irradiates inkjet-printed graphene oxide.

The treatment removes ink binders and reduces graphene oxide to graphenephysically stitching together millions of tiny graphene flakes. The process makes electrical conductivity more than a thousand times better.

That led to experimental attempts to grow stem cells on printed graphene and then to electrical stimulation experiments.

We knew this would be a really good platform for electrical stimulation, says Suprem Das, a postdoctoral research associate in mechanical engineering and an associate of the Ames Laboratory. But we didnt know it would differentiate these cells.

But now that it has, the researchers say there are new possibilities to think about. The technology, for example, could one day be used to create dissolvable or absorbable nerve regeneration materials that could be surgically placed in a persons body and wouldnt require a second surgery to remove.

The findings appear in Advanced Healthcare Materials. Funding came from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Iowa State.

Source: Iowa State University

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How inkjet printers help transform stem cells - Futurity: Research News

Virginia Western Community College will host a student-led Be the Match donor drive on April 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the courtyward between the Fralin Center and Business Science Building and the Pedestrian bridge. Through the drive, potential donors will learn if they could provide life-saving bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplants.

At the drive, potential donors will complete a registration form with contact information, health information and a signed agreement to join the Be The Match Registry. To help you complete the form, bring along:

Personal identification (such as a driver's license or passport)

Contact information for two family members or friends who would know how to reach you in the future if your contact information changes

You will provide a swab of cheek cells to be tissue-typed. We will use the results to match you to patients

During the drive, an individual who has battled leukemia and received a stem cell transplant will speak to perspective donors on the importance of donation. Please join us to learn how you could help those in need.

For more information on Be the Match, visit http://www.bethematch.org.

Submitted by Josh Meyer

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VWCC to host bone marrow donor drive April 19 - Roanoke Times

Ottawa Sun

Jonathan Pitre 'anxious' as he readies for his second transplant Thursday Ottawa Sun Boileau goes into surgery at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital at 5:30 a.m. Thursday to have bone marrow drawn from her hip. Surgeons will bore two holes into her pelvis and withdraw the bone marrow, a material rich in stem cells; ... and more »

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Jonathan Pitre 'anxious' as he readies for his second transplant Thursday - Ottawa Sun

Eight young Otago people have won awards in the 2017 New Zealand Youth Awards.

The awards recognise young New Zealanders who have achieved outstanding results and given back to their communities, as well as those who have made a significant contribution to the support of young people.

Kelly Young (20) and Jo Mohan (19), both of Dunedin, won a Change Maker Cultural Award for co-founding the University of Otago Students Without Borders Club, which helps refugees integrate into the Dunedin community.

Damon Lillis (21), of Dunedin, won a Working for Youth Award for his work on the board of the Playhouse Children's Theatre and has directed several plays which helps young people to increase their confidence and self-esteem.

He also co-ordinates the Aspire programme which helps young people from low decile schools find out more about University life.

Bokyong Mun (20), of Dunedin, also won a Working for Youth Award for her support and development of the United Nations Youth Council.

Fawzan Dinnunhan (24), of Dunedin, won a Giving Back Award for his contribution to research and improving a number of key IT platforms for the Spinal Cord Society - a non-profit organisation that studies the use of stem cells as a cure for type-1 diabetes.

Leo Munro-Heward (16), of Wanaka, also won a Giving Back Award for his establishment of the Queer Straight Alliance in Wanaka, which aims to raise awareness and support.

Holly Robinson (22), of Dunedin, won a Youth with Disability Award for representing New Zealand as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

She also broke the world record for the F46 javelin, and placed second overall.

Casey Davies-Bell (23), of Dunedin, won a Leadership Award for establishing Global Energy Impact Assessment (Geia) Ltd - a New Zealand based start-up company which aims to accelerate New Zealand's transition towards a sustainable future.

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye said about 190 nominations from around the country were received, and 50 were given awards at a ceremony in Parliament last night.

''The calibre of the award winners in the new Youth Enterprise category was outstanding, with the recipients including a number of under-20-year-olds who have founded successful businesses which have achieved significant social or business impact, both locally and internationally,'' she said.

''It's particularly encouraging to see the way these young leaders and entrepreneurs have embraced new technology and social media, to develop innovative new approaches to achieve their business or social vision.

''When you look at the drive, skills, compassion and integrity evident in the winners across all the categories, it's clear that our young people have enormous talent and potential, and the future of our country is in safe hands.''

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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Eight from Otago receive NZ youth awards - Otago Daily Times

Alan Mackay-Sim, the 2017 Australian of the Year, told Tuesday's GE:Decoding Industry conference that too much university medical research languished for want of a different financing model.

Alan Mackay-Sim, the biomedical scientist who is 2017 Australian of the Year, has called for a new model of public-private partnership to fill the void left by major pharmaceutical companies withdrawing from neuroscience research.

Mr Mackay-Sim, a Griffith University researcher who led a team famed for proving the safety of using nasal cells to repair spinal cord damage, told a GE conference on Tuesday that all of the major pharmaceutical companies had closed or scaled back their neuroscience research units this decade because of the expense and risk in proving that drugs worked in the general population.

"Both Pfizer and Eli Lilly had treatments for Alzenheimer's Disease that failed at that finalstage of the [US Food & Drug Administration] approval process, and it had cost them each $US600million to getthere," he said.

With private enterprise less willing to solve complex neurological problems, Mr Mackay-Sim said it fell to "chumps like me" in the publicly-funded research sector.However, a fundamental mismatch between thebusiness model of universities and corporations had to be solved first.

"The problem is that for a university researcher today, the currency is to get your research published, that's how you get the next grant," he told the conference.

"But once it's published, it's no longer novel, it's not patentable and therefore private enterprise has no interest.Uni researchers are in it for the public good but unfortunately none of that good gets to the public without the commercial imperative."

Mr Mackay-Sim said universities could only afford to patent a fraction of the research they produced, and even then it too often languished for a lack of investors able to fund clinical trials. This happened to Mr Mackay-Sim's own 2001 patent for making stem cells from olfactory sheathing cells.

A new model was required which recognised the "value of future costs saved" in medical research and broadened the pool of potential financial backers, he told The Australian Financial Review on the sidelines of the GE conference.

"Our trial to prove that transplanting olfactory sheathing cells into the spinal cord was safe cost us $1 million, a second trial proving it works might costs us $20 million and the third trial to prove it works broadly might be $100 million or more - but we spend $2 billion a year in Australia caring for those with a spinal cord injury, so surely that's a good investment," Mr Mackay-Simsaid.

Insurance companies were a relatively untapped source of funding for medical research, he added, given their commercial interest in reducing the cost of medical care.

Patentable drugs had a hard enough time being commercialised, but it was even more difficult to fund trials for improved procedures.

"A friend of mine [University of WA Professor Sarah Dunlop] is trying to get up a clinical trial where people with spinal cord injuries are cooled as soon as the first responders get there, like what happens with heart attack patients," Mr Mackay-Sim said.

The slowing of the metabolism through cooling is thought to provide an opportunity for interventions that could increase the mobility of someone with a spinal cord injury.

"But it's a process, not a drug, it's not really patentable so it's proving a struggle to get funding despite this maybe meaning the difference between quadraplegiaand just having an arm immobilised."

The potential value of university-generated medical research couldbe recognised and supported by business earlier if a new kind of public-private partnership was supported and incentivised by government, spreading the risks and rewards, according to Mr Mackay-Sim.

"But it will take unis, government, investors, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and perhaps CSIRO coming together, to rethink this system where the patent and guarding all your IP is the model," he said.

Mr Mackay-Sim stressed he was "not a business guy", but said a benefit of being Australian of the Year was the access he was getting to people who could collaborate on a new funding model for medical research.

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Australian of the Year Alan Mackay-Sim calls for medical research funding change - The Australian Financial Review

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., April 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cesca Therapeutics Inc. (KOOL), a market leader in automated cell processing and point-of-care, autologous cell-based therapies, today announced that Dr. Xiaochun (Chris) Xu, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Boyalife Group, will present an overview of the Companys cardiovascular clinical research program at the 2017 International Symposium of Translational Medicine in Stem Cell Myocardial Repair, being held April 10-12, 2017 at the Hope Hotel in Shanghai, China.

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Despite recent therapeutic and surgical advances, the effects of peripheral arterial disease, including heart attack and critical limb ischemia (CLI), remain among the worlds leading causes of morbidity and mortality and represent a rapidly escalating public health crisis, noted Dr. Xu. I look forward to presenting a review of our latest findings, including key feasibility study results and an overview of our Phase 3 Critical Limb Ischemia Rapid Stemcell Treatment (CLIRST) trial, which we believe highlight the potential of Cesca Therapeutics proprietary AutoXpress point-of-care platform to deliver autologous cell-based therapies that may represent a new paradigm in patient treatment going forward.

About the Symposium of Translational Medicine in Stem Cell Myocardial Repair

The 2017 International Symposium of Translational Medicine in Stem Cell Myocardial Repair brings together more than 650 of the worlds cardiac disease thought leaders to discuss the potential of translational and regenerative medicine in treating myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiac failure. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Shanghai Society for Cell Biology, the Institute of Health Sciences, the Shanghai Cardiovascular Disease Institute, the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, and the Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Shanghai.

About Cesca Therapeutics Inc.

Cesca is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cellular therapies and delivery systems for use in regenerative medicine. The Company is a leader in the development and manufacture of automated blood and bone marrow processing systems that enable the separation, processing and preservation of cell and tissue therapeutics. Cesca is an affiliate of the Boyalife Group (http://www.boyalifegroup.com), a China-based industrial-research alliance among top research institutes for stem cell and regenerative medicine.

Forward-Looking Statement

The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on managements current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. A more complete description of risks that could cause actual events to differ from the outcomes predicted by Cesca Therapeutics' forward-looking statements is set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Cesca Therapeutics annual report on Form 10-K and other reports it files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, and you should consider each of those factors when evaluating the forward-looking statements.

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CESCA Therapeutics to Present at the 2017 International Symposium of Translational Medicine in Stem Cell ... - Yahoo Finance

First bone marrow stem cell transplantations performed in Armenia

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS. The first two stem cell transplantations of bone marrow in Armenia were performed in the Yolyan Hematology Center by Professor Dr. NicolausKrger, head of the transplantation department of Hamburgs Eppendorf Clinic and the Yolyan Hematology Clinics team.

Professor Smbat Daghbashyan, head of the Armenian transplantation doctors team, told reporters the transplantation passed successfully.

The patients, who trusted her health to the doctors, is a woman from Artsakh, who had to travel abroad for undergoing the same surgery. The second patient is a man, who had a repetition of the disease after chemotherapy, he said, adding that 60 patients annually need stem cell transplantation in Armenia.

We will continue cooperation with our colleagues from Hamburg. The patient who had to receive the transplantation in Hamburg, can get it here the same way. We will perform transplantations in 7-10 patients during this year, since this a gradual process, he said.

Dr. NicolausKrger congratulated the Armenian doctors in introducing the new treatment method in Armenia.

This method is considered to be innovative in the world and is used for treating cancerous diseases, he said.

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First bone marrow stem cell transplantations performed in Armenia - Armenpress.am

Credit: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Like private investigators on a stake out, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital scientists used patience and video surveillance-like tools to identify cells that trigger blood cell development. The findings offer clues for making blood-forming stem cells in the laboratory that may ultimately help improve access to bone marrow transplantation.

The research will likely open new avenues of investigation in stem cell biology and blood development and provide insight to aid efforts to make transplantable hematopoietic stem cells in the lab, said corresponding author Wilson Clements, Ph.D., an assistant member of the St. Jude Department of Hematology.

Blood-forming stem cells are capable of making any type of blood cell in the body. They are also used in transplant therapies for cancers like leukemia or other blood diseases like sickle cell. They are starting to be used to deliver gene therapy. However, a shortage of suitable donors limits access to treatment, and efforts to produce blood from pluripotent stem cells in the laboratory have been unsuccessful. Pluripotent stem cells are the master cells capable of making any cell in the body.

All blood-forming stem cells normally arise before birth from certain endothelial cells found in the interior blood vessel lining of the developing aorta. This processincluding how endothelial cells are set on the path to becoming blood stem cellsis not completely understood.

Clements and first author Erich Damm, Ph.D., a St. Jude postdoctoral fellow, have identified trunk neural crest cells as key orchestrators of the conversion of endothelial cells to blood stem cells. Trunk neural crest cells are made in the developing spinal cord and migrate throughout the embryo. They eventually give rise to a variety of adult cells, including neurons and glial cells in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, which control feeding, fighting, fleeing and procreating.

Using time-lapse video, the researchers tracked the migration of neural crest cells in the transparent embryos of zebrafish. Zebrafish and humans share nearly identical blood systems, as well as the programming that makes them during development. After about 20 hours, the neural crest cells had reached the developing aorta. After hour 24, the migrating cells had cozied up to the endothelial cells in the aorta, which then turned on genes, such as runx1, indicating their conversion to blood stem cells.

The investigators used a variety of methods to show that disrupting the normal migration of neural crest cells or otherwise blocking their contact with the aorta endothelial cells prevented the birth of blood stem cells. Meanwhile, other aspects of zebrafish development were unaffected.

Researchers have speculated that the endothelial cells that give rise to blood-forming stem cells are surrounded by a support niche of other cells whose identity and origins were unknown, Damm said. Our results support the existence of a niche, and identify trunk neural crest cells as an occupant.

Adult bone marrow includes niches that support normal function and notably feature cells derived from trunk neural crest cells.

The findings also suggest that trunk neural crest cells use a signal or signals to launch blood stem cell production during development. The researchers have eliminated adrenaline and noradrenaline as the signaling molecules, but work continues to identify the signaling proteins or small molecules involved.

The research was supported in part by a grant (R00HL097) from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; the March of Dimes; and ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude.

Reference:

Damm, E. W., & Clements, W. K. (2017). Pdgf signalling guides neural crest contribution to the haematopoietic stem cell specification niche. Nature Cell Biology. doi:10.1038/ncb3508

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Cells Essential for 'Birth' of Blood Stem Cells Revealed - Technology Networks

Science Daily

Graphene, electricity used to change stem cells for nerve regrowth ... Science Daily Iowa State University researchers, left to right, Metin Uz, Suprem Das, Surya Mallapragada and Jonathan Claussen are developing technologies to promote ... and more »

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Graphene, electricity used to change stem cells for nerve regrowth ... - Science Daily

(NAPSI)You may be surprised to learn that multiple myeloma is the second most common cancer of the blood, after leukemia. It starts in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. In time, myeloma cells collect in the bone marrow and may damage the solid part of the bone and eventually harm other tissues and organs, such as the skeleton and the kidneys.

In fact, there are approximately 114,000 new cases diagnosed every year. If you or a loved one is among the 230,000 people living with multiple myeloma worldwide there are a few facts you should know.

What Can Be Done

For many people with the disease, an autologous stem cell transplant may be an answer for eligible patients. This involves collecting the patient's own blood-forming stem cells and storing them. He or she is then treated with high doses of chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. This kills cancer cells but also eliminates the remaining blood-producing stem cells in the bone marrow. Afterward, the collected stem cells are transplanted back into the patient, so the bone marrow can produce new blood cells.

To help people learn more about the disease and its treatments, the Multiple Myeloma Journey Partners Program was created.

This peer-to-peer education program for patients, caregivers and health care providers leverages storytelling as a tool to improve the patient experience. Journey Partners are multiple myeloma patients who have experienced similar emotions, faced the same challenges and asked the same questions about living with the disease. A Multiple Myeloma Journey Partner will come to any community in which 10 or more people would like to attend the free one-hour educational seminar. The main benefit is that multiple myeloma patients know they're not alone, and the program provides educational resources and services that help patients and families navigate their journey to achieve the best possible outcomes.

As John Killip, a Multiple Myeloma Journey Partner, puts it, "It was conversations with my support group, family and health care providers that influenced my decision to have a stem cell transplant in 2008, when I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, at the age of 65. Mentoring other multiple myeloma patients is one of the highlights of my life. I became a Journey Partner to share my story and help others with the disease make sense of the diagnosis and overcome the fear of the unknown."

Learn More

For more information or to request a program, you can visit http://www.mmjourneypartners.com. Anyone interested in becoming a Multiple Myeloma Journey Partner can contact the program coordinator listed on the website. The program is sponsored by Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi focused on rare diseases, multiple sclerosis, immunology, and oncology.

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)

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Understanding Multiple Myeloma - Caswell Messenger

Written by AZoNanoApr 11 2017

Iowa State University researchers, left to right, Metin Uz, Suprem Das, Surya Mallapragada and Jonathan Claussen are developing technologies to promote nerve regrowth. The monitor shows mesenchymal stem cells (the white) aligned along graphene circuits (the black). CREDIT: Photo by Christopher Gannon.

Scientists searching for the means to regenerate nerves might find it difficult to acquire the important tools needed for research. One such example is Schwann cells that form sheaths enclosing axons, which are tail-like portions of nerve cells that convey electrical impulses. In addition to promoting regeneration of the axons, the Schwann cells discharge substances, boosting the health of nerve cells.

To put it differently, the Schwann cells prove to be helpful to researchers working towards the regeneration of nerve cells, particularly peripheral nerve cells located outside the spinal cord and brain. However, the count of Schwann cells is too low to be of any use.

Scientists have been using noncontroversial, readily available mesenchymal stem cells that is, bone marrow stromal stem cells with the ability to form cartilage, bone, and fat cells by differentiating them into Schwann cells by means of a chemical process. Unfortunately, this process is costly and laborious.

The Iowa State University research team have been looking for a better way to transform the stem cells into Schwann-like cells, and have created a nanotechnology that employs inkjet printers for printing multi-layer graphene circuits. It also employs lasers to treat and enhance conductivity and the surface structure of the circuits.

The mesenchymal stem cells have been found to adhere and grow in a better manner on the rough, raised, and 3-D nanostructures of the treated circuit. When small doses of electricity of about 100 mV were applied for 10 minutes per day, for a time period of 15 days, the stem cells transformed into Schwann-like cells.

This discovery has made it to the front cover of Advanced Healthcare Materials, a scientific journal. The lead author of the study is Jonathan Claussen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energys Ames Laboratory. The first authors of the study are Suprem Das, a postdoctoral research associate in mechanical engineering and an associate of the Ames Laboratory, and Metin Uz, a postdoctoral research associate in chemical and biological engineering.

The research has been funded by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Iowa States College of Engineering, including the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The research has also been supported by The Carol Vohs Johnson Chair in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Surya Mallapragada. She is a co-author of the study, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering, as well as an associate of the Ames Laboratory.

This technology could lead to a better way to differentiate stem cells. There is huge potential here.

Metin Uz

When compared to the standard chemical process with the ability of differentiating only 75% of the stem cells into Schwann-like cells, the highly effective electrical stimulation carried out in the new technique can differentiate 85%. In addition, the electrically differentiated cells generated a nerve growth factor of 80 ng/mm when compared with 55 ng/mm in the case of the chemically treated cells.

The research team believes the outcome might result in changes in the ways nerve injuries are cured inside the body.

These results help pave the way for in vivo peripheral nerve regeneration, where the flexible graphene electrodes could conform to the injury site and provide intimate electrical stimulation for nerve cell regrowth.

The research team

Various benefits of using electrical stimulation for transforming stem cells into Schwann-like cells are reported in the paper:

A graphene inkjet printing process, created in Claussens research lab, is an important part of making the process work. Flexible, inexpensive, and wearable electronics can be produced through the process by making appropriate use of the benefits of wonder-material graphene, namely high stability, high strength, biocompatibility, and higher electrical and heat conductivity.

The research team confronted one major challenge after printing the graphene electronic circuits, the circuits mandated further treatment to enhance the electrical conductivity, normally done using chemicals or high temperatures. Both of these methods can damage the flexible printing surfaces which include paper or plastic films.

Claussen and his colleagues overcame the challenge by developing a computer-controlled laser technology with the ability to selectively irradiate inkjet-printed graphene oxide. This step eliminates ink binders and converts the graphene oxide to graphene by physically connecting millions of tiny graphene flakes together. This improves the electrical conductivity by over a thousand times.

The cooperation between Claussens team of nanoengineers (who developed printed graphene technologies), and Mallapragadas team of chemical engineers (who investigated nerve regeneration), started as a consequence of informal conversations on campus.

This resulted in experimental efforts to grow stem cells on printed graphene and then to perform electrical stimulation experiments.

We knew this would be a really good platform for electrical stimulation. But we didnt know it would differentiate these cells.

Suprem Das

Since the process has been successful in differentiating the stem cells, the scientists believe that there may be further prospective applications to consider. For instance, in future, the technology could be applied to develop absorbable or dissolvable nerve regeneration materials. These could be surgically positioned inside a patients body without the need for subsequent surgery to remove the materials.

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Innovative Process for Differentiating Stem Cells into Schwann-Like Cells - AZoNano

Pennsylvania state trooper Matt Uram was talking with his wife at a July Fourth party in 2009 when a misjudged spray of gasoline burst through a nearby bonfire and set him alight. Flames covered the entire right side of his body, and after he fell to the ground to smother them, his wife beat his head with her bare hands to put out his burning hair. It was only on the way to the ER, as the shock and adrenaline began to wear off, that the pain set in. It was intense, he says. If you can imagine what pins and needles feel like, then replace those needles with matches.

From the hospital, Uram was transferred to the Mercy Burn Center in Pittsburgh, where doctors removed all of the burned skin and dressed his wounds. It was on the border between a second- and third-degree burn, and he was told to prepare for months of pain and permanent disfigurement. Not long after this assessment, however, a doctor asked Uram if he would be willing to take part in an experimental trial of a new device.

The treatment, developed by German researcher Dr. Jrg Gerlach, was the worlds first to use a patients stem cells to directly heal the skin. If successful, the device would mend Urams wounds using his bodys ability to regenerate fully functioning skin. Uram agreed to the procedure without hesitation.

Five days after the accident, surgeons removed a small section of undamaged skin from Urams right thighabout the size of a postage stampand used it to create a liquid suspension of his stem cells that was sprayed in a fine mist onto the damaged skin. Three days later, when it was time to remove the bandages and re-dress the wounds, his doctor was amazed by what he saw. The burns were almost completely healed, and any risk of infection or scarring was gone.

Pennsylvania State Trooper Matt Uram's arm eventually healed without scarring. RenovaCare

A study subsequently published in the scientific journal Burns described how the spray was able to regrow the skin across the burn by spreading thousands of tiny regenerative islands, rather than forcing the wound to heal from its edge to the inside. The technique meant reducing the healing time and minimizing complications, with aesthetically and functionally satisfying outcomes, the paper stated.

Dozens more burn victims in Germany and the U.S. were successfully treated with the spray following Urams procedure, and in 2014 Gerlach sold the technology to RenovaCare. The medical technology startup has now transformed the proof-of-concept device from a complicated prototype into a user-friendly product called a SkinGun, which it hopes clinicians will be able to use outside of an experimental setting. For that to happen, RenovaCare is preparing clinical studies for later this year, with the aim of Food and Drug Administration approval for the SkinGun.

Once these obstacles are overcome, RenovaCare CEO Thomas Bold believes, the SkinGun can compete with, or even replace, todays standard of care.

Current treatment of severe burns involves transplanting healthy skin from one area of the body and stitching it to another in a process called skin grafting or mesh skin grafting. It is a painful procedure that creates an additional wound at the donor site and can cause restricted joint movement because the transplanted skin is unable to grow with the patient. It is able to cover an area only two to three times as large as the harvested patch. The current standard of care is just horrible, says Bold. We are part of regenerative medicineit is the medicine of the future and will be life-changing for patients.

RenovaCare's SkinGun sprays a liquid suspension of a patient's stem cells onto a burn or wound in order to regrow the skin without scars. RenovaCare

Beyond regulatory matters, there are also limitations to the technology that make it unsuitable for competing with treatments of third-degree burns, which involve damage to muscle and other tissue below the skin. Still, stem cell researcher Sarthak Sinha believes that while the SkinGun may not be that advanced yet, it shows the vast potential of this form of regenerative medicine. What I see as the future of burn treatment is not skin repair but rather functional regeneration of skin and its appendagessuch as hair follicles, glands and fat, says Sinha. This could be achieved by engaging deeper layers of skin and its resident stem cells to partake in tissue regeneration.

Research is already underway at RenovaCare to enable treatment of third-degree burns, which Bold describes as definitely within the range of possibility. Bold claims the adaptations to the SkinGun would allow it to treat other damaged organs using a patients stem cells, but for now the company is focusing solely on burns and wounds to skinthe largest organ of the human body.

Urams burns are now completely unnoticeable. There is no scar tissue or even pigment discoloration, and the regenerated skin even tans. If I show someone where I was burnt, I bet $100,000 they couldnt tell, he says. Theres no scars, no residual pain; its like the burn never happened. Its a miracle.

Uram is frustrated that the treatment is not available to other burn victims, particularly children. I want to see the FDA get off their butts and approve this, he says. A grown man like me to be scarred is OK, but think about the kids that have to live the rest of their lives with pain and scarring. Thats not OK.

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Spray-On Skin: 'Miracle' Stem Cell Treatment Heals Burns Without ... - Newsweek

Mouse heart section showing human progenitor cells that formed functional human blood vessels. Purple color signifies human blood vessels, red staining signifies the blood vessels of the mouse that received the human cell implants. Credit: UIC

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified a molecular switch that converts skin cells into cells that make up blood vessels, which could ultimately be used to repair damaged vessels in patients with heart disease or to engineer new vasculature in the lab. The technique, which boosts levels of an enzyme that keeps cells young, may also circumvent the usual aging that cells undergo during the culturing process. Their findings are reported in the journal Circulation.

Scientists have many ways to convert one type of cell into another. One technique involves turning a mature cell into a pluripotent stem cell one that has the ability to become any type of cell and then using chemical cocktails to coax it into maturing into the desired cell type. Other methods reprogram a cell so that it directly assumes a new identity, bypassing the stem-cell state.

In the last few years, scientists have begun to explore another method, a middle way, that can turn back the clock on skin cells so that they lose some of their mature cell identity and become more stem-like.

They dont revert all the way back to a pluripotent stem cell, but instead turn into intermediate progenitor cells, says Dr. Jalees Rehman, associate professor of medicine and pharmacology at UIC, who led the team of researchers. Progenitor cells can be grown in large quantities sufficient for regenerative therapies. And unlike pluripotent stem cells, progenitor cells can only differentiate into a few different cell types. Rehman calls this method to produce new cells partial de-differentiation.

Other groups have used this technique to produce progenitor cells that become blood vessel cells. But until now, researchers had not fully understood how the method worked, Rehman said.

Without understanding the molecular processes, it is difficult for us to control or enhance the process in order to efficiently build new blood vessels, he said.

His group discovered that the progenitors could be converted into blood vessel cells or into red blood cells, depending on the level of a gene transcription factor called SOX17.

The researchers measured the levels of several genes important for blood vessel formation. They saw that as progenitor cells were differentiating into blood vessel cells, levels of the transcription factor SOX17 became elevated.

When they increased levels of SOX17 even more in the progenitor cells, they saw that differentiation into blood vessel cells was enhanced about five-fold. When they suppressed SOX17, the progenitor cells produced fewer endothelial cells and instead generated red blood cells.

It makes a lot of sense that SOX17 is involved because it is abundant in developing embryos when blood vessels are forming, Rehman said.

When the researchers embedded the human progenitor cells into a gel and implanted the gels in mice, the cells organized into functional human blood vessels. Skin cells that had not undergone a conversion did not form blood vessels when similarly implanted.

When they implanted the progenitor cells into mice that had sustained heart damage from a heart attack, the implanted cells formed functional human blood vessels in the mouse hearts and even connected with existing mouse blood vessels to significantly improve heart function.

The human adult skin cells used by Rehmans team can easily be obtained by a simple skin biopsy.

This means that one could generate patient-specific blood vessels or red blood cells for any individual person, Rehman said. Using such personalized cells reduces the risk of rejection, he said, because the implanted blood vessels would have the same genetic makeup as the recipient.

Rehman and his colleagues noticed something else about the progenitor cells they had elevated levels of telomerase the anti-aging enzyme that adds a cap, or telomere, to the ends of chromosomes. As the caps wear away a little bit each time a cell divides, they are believed to contribute to aging in cells, whether in the body or growing in culture in the laboratory.

The increase in telomerase we see in the progenitor cells could be an added benefit of using this partial de-differentiation technique for the production of new blood vessels for patients with cardiac disease, especially for older patients, Rehman said. Their cells may already have shortened telomeres due to their advanced age. The process of converting and expanding these cells in the lab could make them age even further and impair their long-term function. But if the cells have elevated levels of telomerase, the cells are at lower risk of premature aging.

While telomerase has benefits, the enzyme is also found in extremely high levels in cancer cells, where it keeps cell division in overdrive.

We were concerned about the risk of tumor formation, Rehman said, but the researchers didnt observe any in these experiments. But to truly determine the efficacy and safety of these cells for humans, one needs to study them over even longer time periods in larger animals.

Reference:

Zhang, L., Jambusaria, A., Hong, Z., Marsboom, G., Toth, P. T., Herbert, B., . . . Rehman, J. (2017). SOX17 Regulates Conversion of Human Fibroblasts into Endothelial Cells and Erythroblasts via De-Differentiation into CD34 Progenitor Cells. Circulation. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.116.025722

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

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Partial De-differentiation Converts Skin Cells into Blood Vessel Cells ... - Technology Networks

As a kid, I was always intrigued with potions and products. My father worked as a scientist, whose specialty was chemistry as well as business. For many years he worked as the Director of Research and Development for the Mennen Company. Perhaps this is where my love of products and researching products began.

Like many women, my skin can be difficult at times. I have eczema which makes it intermittently sensitive, so I have to be careful of the products I use. While researching these products, I also looked into the science supporting them.

As fate would have it while exploring some interesting articles on my Twitter feed recently, I came across an intriguing tweet I just couldnt ignore. It was a tweet by a glamorous NYC dermatologist who was talking about how excited she was to receive her Lifeline Skin Care products in the mail. Her excitement was so infectious; I decided to look into these products for myself, and looking into them, ultimately led me to buy them and to contact the company to see if we could collaborate together, so I could spread the word.

While researching Lifeline Skin Cares products, I also looked into the science supporting them. Lifeline Skin Care products use something I had never heard of before; they use human, non-embryonic stem cells as one of the main ingredients to help tone and reduce the signs of aging.

Science

As a therapist, I not only look for products that work well and that I believe in, but also look at the philosophy of the company. Lifeline Skin Care was a socially conscious company and fit that standard.

Clinical Trials

The original goal for these researchers was to find a cure for diabetes and Parkinsons disease. These scientists created the first non-embryonic human stem cells. This discovery made finding cures for Parkinsons disease and corneal disease more promising. Currently, some of ISCOs most promising research is in the field of Parkinsons disease.

Parkinsons disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disease of the central nervous system. It mainly affects the motor system and its symptoms usually have a slow-onset. In early stages, the disease is characterized by shaking, slow movement, difficulty in walking, and rigidity. In time, thinking and behavioral problems may occur. Advanced stages of the disease bring dementia.

istock jm1366

International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO), is the parent company of Lifeline Skin Care and has devoted many years of research to improve this terrible disease. The company has developed a unique method of creating human neural stem cells which when introduced into the brain, promote the recovery of dopaminergic neurons, the brain cells that are originally affected and cause the disease symptoms. ISCOs preclinical studies showed that the administration of these neural stem cells were safe and improved motor symptoms. To date, 3 of the planned total of 12 patients, have entered the clinical trial and have received neural stem cells. At this point in time, all patients have been discharged from their hospital settings and are observed to be meeting clinical expectations.

Lifeline Skin care (LSC) - a subsidiary of ISCO - uses the extracts from human stem cells, (produced by ISCO), and developed for the skin in order to improve the signs of ageing. The latest technology being used to advance a cure for PD is now available for the skin in a line of products produced by LSC. The profits from the sale of these skin care products go directly to ISCO in order to fund the development of a therapy for PD.

From a skincare perspective, not only did Lifeline Skin Cares products feel good on my face, but I started to notice that my skin appeared brighter and less wrinkles, especially around my eyes (love that!).

From a psychological perspective, the younger we look and feel, the more optimistic and hopeful we tend to be about life and future options. I like the idea of feeling young, looking forever fabulous and most of all, being healthy.

Fortunately, Lifeline Skin Care found a way to help women and men look and feel their very best while scientists from their parent company work toward eradicating illness by using their special non-embryonic stem cell technology. Beauty is more than skin-deep; beauty can be on a mission, too.

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The International Stem Cell Corporation, a Company Dedicated to Curing Parkinson's Disease - Huffington Post

Over recent years, I have seen a growing interest in stem cells and a particular preparation called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). Many famous athletes including Tiger Woods have received PRP for various musculoskeletal problems and some have credited it with their accelerated healing and more rapid return to play.

PRP is plasma, the liquid part of blood, concentrated with many more platelets than typically found there. Platelets are known for their importance in clotting blood, but they also contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors. These are responsible for the cascade of events naturally involved in tissue repair. Your own innate stem cells are attracted to the site of injury and play a critical role in the healing process.

Typically, PRP is isolated from your own blood, drawn in the office while you wait. The highly concentrated growth factors are then delivered back into the body at the site of interest. PRP injections have been used for musculoskeletal problems such as sprained knees, osteoarthritis, and chronic tendon injuries. Previously, these types of conditions were treated with medications, physical therapy, and surgery, but PRP recipients commonly report less pain and stronger, more stable joints. It may even promote new cartilage formation in aging joints enabling you to put off joint replacement surgery.

PRP can also be very effective in treating chronic tendon injuries, especially tennis elbow, a common injury of the tendons on the outside of the elbow. Previously, cortisone injections were commonly used, but we know steroids will ultimately weaken tendons and promote rupture. In contrast, now PRP treatments lead to stronger tendons.

Promoting healing after tendon surgery is another use for PRP. For example, an athlete with a completely torn heel cord may require surgery to repair the tendon. Healing of the torn tendon can potentially be improved by treating the injured area with PRP during surgery. With a shorter recovery time, less chronic pain and stronger tissue, you can see why athletes love PRP!

More recently, PRP is being used extensively in aesthetic medicine to keep us looking younger and to promote hair growth. In the same ways the growth factors in PRP facilitate tissue repair from injury or surgery, they also regenerate aging skin. PRP injected into the facial skin has been called the vampire facial made famous by some Hollywood stars.

Today we use a more advanced technique called micro-needling. The PRP is layered across your face and delivered to the skin using a handheld device called a Micropen. This device has 12 tiny micro-needles that drive the PRP in, calling in the tissue repair team to get to work! The result is accelerated collagen production with new, thicker, stronger collagen. The procedure is well tolerated and done in the office while you are awake. It takes less than a couple of hours to complete and usually two to three treatments are recommended spaced four to six weeks apart. The collagen repair process can take four to six weeks, we expect to see the full results blossom over the course of months and continue to improve over a year.

The best thing about PRP Micropen Facelift is that theres not serious downtime like you get with laser resurfacing or surgery. Plus, unlike dermal fillers, which will fade in months, these results will continue to improve over the year. Most commonly we treat faces, but the procedure is safe to use all over the body including necks, chests, hands, and even eye lids. It is also quite helpful for minimizing and fading stretch marks.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about PRP for musculoskeletal or skin rejuvenation, please plan to attend our free interactive community lecture on this topic at the Coronado Library Winn Room from 6-7PM on Thursday 04/06/2017!

Lauren Mathewson, ND is Board certified in naturopathic medicine and Patrick Yassini, MD is board certified in family medicine, integrative and holistic medicine. They practice at Peak Health Group, 131 Orange Avenue, #100, Coronado, Calif.; the office number is (619) 522-4005.

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Now You Can Harness Your Own Stem Cells - Coronado Eagle ... - Coronado Eagle and Journal

April 10, 2017 06:00 ET | Source: Mesoblast Limited

NEW YORK and MELBOURNE, Australia, April 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO) (ASX:MSB) today announced that thePhase 3 trial ofits allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cell (MPC) product candidate MPC-150-IM in patients with moderate to advanced chronic heart failure (CHF)was successful in thepre-specified interim futility analysisof the efficacy endpoint in the trial's first 270 patients. It is expected that the trial will enroll in total approximately 600 patients. After notifying the Company of the interim analysis results, thetrials Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) additionally stated that they had no safety concerns relating to MPC-150-IM and formally recommended that the trial should continue as planned.

Dr. Emerson C. Perin,Director, Research in Cardiovascular Medicine and Medical Director, Stem Cell Center at the Texas Heart Institute, and a lead investigator on the ongoing Phase 3 trial said: "It is very pleasingto see that thislarge and rigorously conducted Phase 3 trialof Mesoblast's cell therapy was successful in the pre-specified interim futility analysis for the trial's efficacy endpoint in the first 270 patients. Advancedheart failure is a very serious and life-threatening disease, and there is an urgent need to develop a safe and effective new therapy for these patients that may halt or reverse disease progression and prevent the high associated mortality.

Mesoblast Chief Executive Silviu Itescucommented: Passing this interim futility analysis for MPC-150-IM is an important milestone for Mesoblast and our cardiovascular disease program. This validates our strategy and our prioritization of this valuable program.

This ongoing double-blinded randomized (1:1) trial is currently being conducted across multiple study sites in the United States and Canada.It is evaluating MPC-150-IM in adult patients with moderate to advanced New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II/III chronic heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The trials primary efficacy endpoint is a comparison of recurrent non-fatal heart failure-related major adverse cardiac events (HF-MACE) in moderate to advanced CHF patients receiving either MPC-150-IM by catheter injection into the damaged left ventricular heart muscle or sham control. A Joint Frailty Model is the statistical method that evaluates multiplenon-fatal heart failure-relatedevents per patient (such as repeated hospitalizations for decompensated heart failure) while accounting for increased likelihood of a terminal cardiac event (such as death, implantation of a mechanical heart assist device or a heart transplant) for patients with multiple non-fatal heart failure events. In line with best practice for blinded Phase 3 clinical trials, the interim analysis data are only reviewed by the IDMC. Mesoblast, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and trial investigators are blinded to grouped safety and efficacy data for the ongoing trial as well as the numerical results of this interim analysis.

About Mesoblasts MPC-150-IM Cardiovascular Program MPC-150-IM is Mesoblast's lead allogeneic, cell-based product candidate for the treatment of moderate to advanced chronic heart failure (CHF) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

In Phase 2 results, a single injection of MPC-150-IM into the myocardium of patients with moderate to advanced chronic heart failure prevented any HF related hospitalizations or cardiac deaths over three years of follow-up.1 Nonclinical studies showed that intramyocardial administration of MPCs in animal models of heart failure improved cardiac function and attenuated pathological ventricular remodelling. These effects were attributable, at least in part, to MPC secretion of biomolecules that stimulate reparative processes in the failing heart including new blood vessel formation, cardiac muscle cell survival, and reduction in tissue fibrosis.

MPC-150-IM is also being studied in a Phase 2b trial in 159 patients with NYHA Class IV end-stage heart failure patients in conjunction with implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).A major objective of this trial, which is being sponsored by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), is to assess the ability of MPC-150-IM to help wean patients from a LVAD dependent existence for survival (so-called bridge to recovery).

Additionally, the FDA recently cleared the commencement of a 24-patient trial which is being sponsored by Bostons Childrens Hospital. This study combines Mesoblast's proprietary allogeneic MPC-150-IM product with corrective heart surgery in children under the age of 5 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

About Chronic Heart Failure In 2016, more than 15 million patients in the seven major global pharmaceutical markets are estimated to have been diagnosed with CHF.2 Prevalence is expected to grow 46% by 2030 in the United States alone, affecting more than 8 million Americans.3 CHF is a progressive disease and is classified in relation to the severity of the symptoms experienced by the patient. The most commonly used classification system was established by the NYHA and ranges from Class I (mild) to Class IV or end stage (severe). Approximately half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis.4 Patients with late NYHA Class II or Class III CHF continue to represent a significant unmet medical need despite recent advances in new therapies. CHF causes severe economic, social, and personal costs. In the United States, it is estimated that CHF results in direct costs of $60.2 billion annually when identified as a primary diagnosis and $115 billion as part of a disease milieu.5

1.Perin EC, Borow KM, Silva GV, et al. A phase II dose-escalation study of allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells in patients with ischemic or nonischemic heart failure. Circ Res. 2015; 117:576-84

2.GlobalData-PharmaPoint (2016): Heart Failure-Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2025

3.AHA Statistical Update Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-(2017). Circulation. 2017;131:00-00. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000485

4.Mozzafarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al. on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics2016 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;133:e38-e360

5.A Re-Evaluation of the Costs of Heart Failure and its Implications for Allocation of Health Resources in the United States. Voigt J. Clinl.Cardiol. 37, 5, 312-321 (2014)

About Mesoblast Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO) (ASX:MSB)is a global leader in developing innovative cell-based medicines. The Company has leveraged its proprietary technology platform, which is based on specialized cells known as mesenchymal lineage adult stem cells, to establish a broad portfolio of late-stage product candidates. Mesoblasts allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell product candidates target advanced stages of diseases with high, unmet medical needs including cardiovascular conditions, orthopedic disorders, immunologic and inflammatory disorders and oncologic/hematologic conditions.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements that relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and actual results may differ from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material and adverse. You should read this press release together with our risk factors, in our most recently filed reports with the SEC or on our website. Uncertainties and risks that may cause Mesoblast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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Successful Interim Analysis of Efficacy Endpoint in Mesoblast's Phase 3 Trial for Chronic Heart Failure - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Science Daily

Time-lapse video reveals cells essential for 'birth' of blood stem cells Science Daily The findings offer clues for making blood-forming stem cells in the laboratory that may ultimately help improve access to bone marrow transplantation. "The research will likely open new avenues of investigation in stem cell biology and blood ... and more »

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Time-lapse video reveals cells essential for 'birth' of blood stem cells - Science Daily

Newswise Hematologist-oncologist Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi MD, MBA, will lead a new bone marrow transplantation program at NYU Langones Perlmutter Cancer Center for treating blood-borne cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and potentially utilize transplantation as an adjunct to immunotherapy for solid tumors. He also will investigate ways to reduce graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), in which immune cells in donated blood and marrow attack the tissues of a recipient.

In addition, Al-Homsi will facilitate NYU Langones collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to institute haploidentical transplantation at PCC, in which less perfectly matched individuals can serve as donors. The advent of haplo-transplantation at Perlmutter Cancer Center will vastly expand the potential donor pool for patients who require a transplant.

Al-Homsi, who officially joins NYU Langone on June 1, 2017, most recently co-founded the blood and bone marrow transplantation program at Spectrum Health, a major multi-site health system in West Michigan. Prior to joining Spectrum, he was chief of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies & Blood and Marrow Transplantation and director of the stem cell laboratory at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, RI, an academic affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine. Al-Homsi also directed the blood and marrow transplantation program and held several clinical and academic posts at the University of Massachusetts and its affiliated medical center.

Al-Homsis research is focused on preventing GvHD, a potentially life-threatening complication of bone marrow transplantation. He has led clinical trials examining innovative combinations of medications to prevent GvHD , including cyclophosphamide and proteasome inhibitors. Such combinations can omit the need for extended and burdensome prophylactic traditional agents and are applicable to patients with limited kidney function who are often denied blood and marrow transplantation.

At Perlmutter Cancer Center, Al-Homsi will work closely with a strong hematology-oncology team that has made important advances in the study and treatment of blood-borne cancers. Patients requiring bone marrow transplantation undergo their treatment at the medical centers Rita J. and Stanley H. Bone Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant Center.

His appointment also complements important programmatic and research efforts underway at NYU Langones Transplant Institute.

Our understanding of hematologic malignancies has advanced greatly over the past decade, to the point that many cases are curable, says Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, director of Perlmutter Cancer Center. Bone marrow transplantation plays a critical role in these advances -- but it doesnt come without risk. Dr. Al-Homsis research holds tremendous promise to curtail negative interactions between host and transplanted cells and make this form of treatment safer and more effective.

About Dr. Al-Homsi

Al-Homsi earned his medical degree from the University of Damascus in his native Syria. He received training in Hematology at the University of Tours in Paris and in Clinical Oncology from the University of Paris VI in France. He then completed his training in the United States, serving an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and a fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

His published studies have appeared in Transplantation, Leukemia, Transplant Immunology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, International Journal of Molecular Medicine, Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He also has authored many book chapters and review articles, and has served on editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals in his medical specialty.

Al-Homsi also is a lead inspector for the Federation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) and a member of its Clinical Standard Sub-Committee and Outcomes Improvement Committee.

I am delighted to join NYU Langone and its Perlmutter Cancer Center to build a nationally recognized bone marrow transplantation program, Al-Homsi says. We are defeating leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma at increasing rates. At the same time, we must continue to discover ways to ameliorate problems that sometimes come with treatment. I am confident we can make important strides.

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Clinician-Researcher to Lead New Bone Marrow Transplantation Initiative - Newswise (press release)

Renal and Urology News

Stem Cell-Sheet Transplantation Possible for Heart Failure Renal and Urology News In the new study, researchers used stem cells from the patient's own thigh muscle to create a patch they placed on the heart. That's in contrast to many past studies, where researchers have injected stem cells often from a patient's bone marrow ... PERSONALIZED CELL THERAPY MARKET GLOBAL INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, TRENDS, OUTLOOK, AND ...satPRnews (press release) all 12 news articles »

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Stem Cell-Sheet Transplantation Possible for Heart Failure - Renal and Urology News