Body clock protects cells from metabolism-generated oxygen radical damage during division

Irvine, Calif., Jan. 6, 2015 -- UC Irvine scientists studying the role of circadian rhythms in skin stem cells found that this clock plays a key role in coordinating daily metabolic cycles and cell division.

Their research, which appears Jan. 6 in Cell Reports, shows for the first time how the body's intrinsic day-night cycles protect and nurture stem cell differentiation. Furthermore, this work offers novel insights into a mechanism whereby an out of synch circadian clock can contribute to accelerated skin aging and cancers.

Bogi Andersen, professor of biological chemistry and medicine, and Enrico Gratton, professor of biomedical engineering, focused their efforts on the epidermis, the outermost protective layer of the skin that is maintained and healed by long-lived stem cells.

While the role of the circadian clock in processes such as sleep, feeding behavior and metabolism linked to feeding and fasting are well known, much less is known about whether the circadian clock also regulates stem cell function.

The researchers used novel two-photon excitation and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy in Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics in UCI's Department of Biomedical Engineering to make sensitive and quantitative measurements of the metabolic state of single cells within the native microenvironment of living tissue.

They discovered that the circadian clock regulates one form of intermediary metabolism in these stem cells, referred to as oxidative phosphorylation. This type of metabolism creates oxygen radicals that can damage DNA and other components of the cell. In fact, one theory of aging posits that aging is caused by the accumulative damage from metabolism-generated oxygen radicals in stem cells.

The Andersen-Gratton study also revealed that the circadian clock within stem cells shifts the timing of cell division such that the stages of the cell division cycle that are most sensitive to DNA damage are avoided during times of maximum oxidative phosphorylation.

Other studies in animals have linked aging to disruption of circadian rhythms, and Andersen said that accelerated aging could be caused by asynchrony in the metabolism and cell proliferation cycles in stem cells.

"Our studies were conducted in mice, but the greater implication of the work relates to the fact that circadian disruption is very common in modern society, and one consequence of such disruption could be abnormal function of stem cells and accelerated aging," he said.

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Circadian rhythms regulate skin stem cell metabolism and expansion, UCI study finds

SAN FRANCISCO -

Mike Hinshaw and Katie Jackson have been a couple since college, but they've known each other much longer.

"We've been together forever. I've actually known Mike since I was five years old," Jackson said.

A marriage and three kids later, they've been through good times and bad. The worst came nine years ago when Hinshaw found out he had Huntington's disease.

"My father had it. He died from it," Hinshaw explained.

Huntington's causes uncontrollable movements and mental decline. There's no cure.

"Unfortunately, it ends in death. It's a fatal disease," said Dr. Vicki Wheelock, neurologist, health sciences clinical professor of neurology and director of HDSA Center of Excellence at UC Davis.

Now, researchers are gearing up for a new trial in humans. Patients will have special bone marrow stem cells injected directly into their brains.

"We've engineered them to make a growth factor that's like a fertilizer for the neurons," said Dr. Jan Nolta, professor and director of the Institute for Regenerative Cures at UC Davis.

That growth factor, BDNF, restored healthy brain cells and reduced behavior deficits in mice. Researchers hope the stem cells will also be the answer to slowing the disease in humans.

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Health Beat: Stem cells: A weapon for Huntington's?

12 hours ago

A powerful "genome editing" technology known as CRISPR has been used by researchers since 2012 to trim, disrupt, replace or add to sequences of an organism's DNA. Now, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine have shown that the system also precisely and efficiently alters human stem cells.

In a recent online report on the work in Molecular Therapy, the Johns Hopkins team says the findings could streamline and speed efforts to modify and tailor human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for use as treatments or in the development of model systems to study diseases and test drugs.

"Stem cell technology is quickly advancing, and we think that the days when we can use iPSCs for human therapy aren't that far away," says Zhaohui Ye, Ph.D., an instructor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "This is one of the first studies to detail the use of CRISPR in human iPSCs, showcasing its potential in these cells."

CRISPR originated from a microbial immune system that contains DNA segments known as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. The engineered editing system makes use of an enzyme that nicks together DNA with a piece of small RNA that guides the tool to where researchers want to introduce cuts or other changes in the genome.

Previous research has shown that CRISPR can generate genomic changes or mutations through these interventions far more efficiently than other gene editing techniques, such as TALEN, short for transcription activator-like effector nuclease.

Despite CRISPR's advantages, a recent study suggested that it might also produce a large number of "off-target" effects in human cancer cell lines, specifically modification of genes that researchers didn't mean to change.

To see if this unwanted effect occurred in other human cell types, Ye; Linzhao Cheng, Ph.D., a professor of medicine and oncology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and their colleagues pitted CRISPR against TALEN in human iPSCs, adult cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells. Human iPSCs have already shown enormous promise for treating and studying disease.

The researchers compared the ability of both genome editing systems to either cut out pieces of known genes in iPSCs or cut out a piece of these genes and replace it with another. As model genes, the researchers used JAK2, a gene that when mutated causes a bone marrow disorder known as polycythemia vera; SERPINA1, a gene that when mutated causes alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited disorder that may cause lung and liver disease; and AAVS1, a gene that's been recently discovered to be a "safe harbor" in the human genome for inserting foreign genes.

Their comparison found that when simply cutting out portions of genes, the CRISPR system was significantly more efficient than TALEN in all three gene systems, inducing up to 100 times more cuts. However, when using these genome editing tools for replacing portions of the genes, such as the disease-causing mutations in JAK2 and SERPINA1 genes, CRISPR and TALEN showed about the same efficiency in patient-derived iPSCs, the researchers report.

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'CRISPR' science: Newer genome editing tool shows promise in engineering human stem cells

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Newswise In a groundbreaking study that provides scientists with a critical new understanding of stem cell development and its role in disease, UCLA researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research led by Dr. Kathrin Plath, professor of biological chemistry, have established a first-of-its-kind methodology that defines the unique stages by which specialized cells are reprogrammed into stem cells that resemble those found in the embryo.

The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Cell.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (known as iPSCs) are similar to human embryonic stem cells in that both cell types have the unique ability to self-renew and have the flexibility to become any cell in the human body. iPSC cells, however, are generated by reprogramming skin or blood cells and do not require an embryo.

Reprogramming is a long process (about one to two weeks) and largely inefficient, with typically less than one percent of the primary skin or blood cells successfully completing the journey to becoming an iPSC. The exact stages a cell goes through during the reprogramming process are also not well understood. This knowledge is important, as iPSCs hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine, as they can provide a single source of patient-specific cells to replace those lost to injury or disease. They can also be used to create novel disease models from which new drugs and therapies can be developed.

This research has broad impact, because by deepening our understanding of cell reprogramming we have the potential to improve disease modeling and the generation of better sources of patient-specific specialized cells suitable for replacement therapy, said Plath. This can ultimately benefit patients with new and better treatments for a wide range of diseases.

Drs. Vincent Pasque and Jason Tchieu, postdoctoral fellows in the lab of Dr. Plath and co-first authors of the study, developed a roadmap of the reprogramming process using detailed time-course analyses. They induced the reprogramming of skin cells into iPSC, then observed and analyzed on a daily basis or every other day the process of transformation at the single-cell level. The data were collected and recorded over a period of up to two weeks.

Plaths team found that the changes that happen in cells during reprogramming occur in a sequential stage-by-stage manner, and that importantly, the stages were the same across all the different reprogramming systems and different cell types analyzed.

The exact stage of reprogramming of any cell can now be determined, said Pasque. This study signals a big change in thinking, because it provides simple and efficient tools for scientists to study stem cell creation in a stage-by-stage manner. Most studies to date ignore the stages of reprogramming, but we can now seek to better understand the entire process on both a macro and micro level.

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Scientists Develop Pioneering Method to Define Stages of Stem Cell Reprogramming

In a groundbreaking study that provides scientists with a critical new understanding of stem cell development and its role in disease, UCLA researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research led by Dr. Kathrin Plath, professor of biological chemistry, have established a first-of-its-kind methodology that defines the unique stages by which specialized cells are reprogrammed into stem cells that resemble those found in the embryo.

The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Cell.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (known as iPSCs) are similar to human embryonic stem cells in that both cell types have the unique ability to self-renew and have the flexibility to become any cell in the human body. iPSC cells, however, are generated by reprogramming skin or blood cells and do not require an embryo.

Reprogramming is a long process (about one to two weeks) and largely inefficient, with typically less than one percent of the primary skin or blood cells successfully completing the journey to becoming an iPSC. The exact stages a cell goes through during the reprogramming process are also not well understood. This knowledge is important, as iPSCs hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine, as they can provide a single source of patient-specific cells to replace those lost to injury or disease. They can also be used to create novel disease models from which new drugs and therapies can be developed.

"This research has broad impact, because by deepening our understanding of cell reprogramming we have the potential to improve disease modeling and the generation of better sources of patient-specific specialized cells suitable for replacement therapy," said Plath. "This can ultimately benefit patients with new and better treatments for a wide range of diseases.

Drs. Vincent Pasque and Jason Tchieu, postdoctoral fellows in the lab of Dr. Plath and co-first authors of the study, developed a roadmap of the reprogramming process using detailed time-course analyses. They induced the reprogramming of skin cells into iPSC, then observed and analyzed on a daily basis or every other day the process of transformation at the single-cell level. The data were collected and recorded over a period of up to two weeks.

Plath's team found that the changes that happen in cells during reprogramming occur in a sequential stage-by-stage manner, and that importantly, the stages were the same across all the different reprogramming systems and different cell types analyzed.

"The exact stage of reprogramming of any cell can now be determined," said Pasque. "This study signals a big change in thinking, because it provides simple and efficient tools for scientists to study stem cell creation in a stage-by-stage manner. Most studies to date ignore the stages of reprogramming, but we can now seek to better understand the entire process on both a macro and micro level."

Plath's team further discovered that the stages of reprogramming to iPSC are different from what was expected. They found that it is not simply the reversed sequence of stages of embryo development. Some steps are reversed in the expected order; others do not actually happen in the exact reverse order and resist a change until late during reprogramming to iPSCs.

"This reflects how cells do not like to change from one specialized cell type to another and resist a change in cell identity," said Pasque. "Resistance to reprogramming also helps to explain why reprogramming takes place only in a very small proportion of the starting cells."

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Pioneering method developed to define stages of stem cell reprogramming

Seal Beach, Laguna Hills, and Lake Forest, California (PRWEB) January 05, 2015

The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center announces a series of free public seminars on the use of adult stem cells for various degenerative and inflammatory conditions. They will be provided by Dr. Thomas A. Gionis, Surgeon-in-Chief.

The seminars will be held on Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 2:30pm and 4:30pm at Marie Callenders Grill, 12489 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, CA 90740; Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 2:00pm and 4:00pm at Pollys Pies, 23701 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653; Friday, January 16, 2015, at 1:30pm and 3:30pm at Marie Callenders Grill, 12489 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, CA 90740; Saturday, January 17, 2015, at 2:30pm and 4:30pm at Dennys Restaurant, 23515 El Toro Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630. Please RSVP at (949) 679-3889.

The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center, along with sister affiliates, the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center and the Manhattan Regenerative Medicine Medical Group, abide by investigational protocols using adult adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) which can be deployed to improve patients quality of life for a number of chronic, degenerative and inflammatory conditions and diseases. ADSCs are taken from the patients own adipose (fat) tissue (found within a cellular mixture called stromal vascular fraction (SVF)). ADSCs are exceptionally abundant in adipose tissue. The adipose tissue is obtained from the patient during a 15 minute mini-liposuction performed under local anesthesia in the doctors office. SVF is a protein-rich solution containing mononuclear cell lines (predominantly adult autologous mesenchymal stem cells), macrophage cells, endothelial cells, red blood cells, and important Growth Factors that facilitate the stem cell process and promote their activity.

ADSCs are the body's natural healing cells - they are recruited by chemical signals emitted by damaged tissues to repair and regenerate the bodys injured cells. The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center only uses Adult Autologous Stem Cells from a persons own fat No embryonic stem cells are used. Current areas of study include: Emphysema, COPD, Asthma, Heart Failure, Parkinsons Disease, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohns Disease, and degenerative orthopedic joint conditions. For more information, or if someone thinks they may be a candidate for one of the adult stem cell protocols offered by the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center, they may contact Dr. Gionis directly at (949) 679-3889, or see a complete list of the Centers study areas at: http://www.IrvineStemCellsUSA.com.

About the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center: The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center, along with sister affiliates, the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center and the Manhattan Regenerative Medicine Medical Group, is an affiliate of the Cell Surgical Network (CSN); we are located in Irvine and Westlake, California. We provide care for people suffering from diseases that may be alleviated by access to adult stem cell based regenerative treatment. We utilize a fat transfer surgical technology to isolate and implant the patients own stem cells from a small quantity of fat harvested by a mini-liposuction on the same day. The investigational protocols utilized by the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center have been reviewed and approved by an IRB (Institutional Review Board) which is registered with the U.S. Department of Health, Office of Human Research Protection; and the study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). For more information, visit our websites: http://www.IrvineStemCellsUSA.com, http://www.MiamiStemCellsUSA.com or http://www.NYStemCellsUSA.com.

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The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces Adult Stem Cell Public Seminars in Orange County, California

Some people say that osteoarthritis, cartilage degradation, and chronic joint pains degenerative diseases associated with agingare conditions with no cure, but Dr. Charlie Poblete and Dr. Jae Pak say otherwise.

It is a new era of medicine, opens Dr. Jae Pak, one of Koreas premier orthopedic stem cell surgeons and a visiting expert consultant of the Stem Care Orthopedics Department under Aivee Institute (AI). He was recently in the country to shed light on stem cell therapy and how it offers more accessible treament options for patients suffering from degenerative orthopedic conditions.

Dr. Pak was joined by Dr. Charlie Poblete, one of the countrys leading orthopedic surgeon who has a special interest on regenerative medicine and stem cells. Incidentally, Dr. Poblete is the head of the Stem Care Orthopedic Department of AI. Stem cells are not really part of alternative medicine. Its part of a modern medicine because we are talking about the biochemistry that goes on in the body with stem cell treatment, Dr. Charlie relates while adding, the good thing about medicine nowadays is its starting to look at the molecular aspect of the body, the molecular and cellular side of medicine.

Over the years, stem cell therapy has been touted as one procedure that can heal multitude of bone, cartilage, and joint ailments. Stem cells are the bodys natural healing cells. They are recruited by chemical signals emitted by damaged tissues to repair and regenerate the damaged cells. Stem cells derived from an individuals tissues may well be the next major development in medicine. In the right environment, these stem cells can change into bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, collagen, neural tissue, blood vessels, and even some organs. Stem cells may also effect healing by secreting special chemical messengers that repair damaged tissue.

There are many clinical conditions that benefits from stem cell therapy: heart attack patients have shown quicker healing period, improved condition for patients with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinsons disease, ALS, and stroke. Stem cells may also be effective in the treatment of macular degeneration, Crohns disease, and numerous pulmonary conditions. Also, stem cells are now used for patients with kidney failure and in the treatment of critical limb ischemia.

Stem Cell therapy is a simple procedure. Fat is aspirated from the tummy or the thighs, and then we separate the stem cells from them. It is then activated and injected into joints to restore and regenerate, explains Dr. Jae.

Stem Care by The Aivee Group is the countrys pioneer in advanced Autologous Stem Cell Therapy with an esteemed orthopedic team of doctors and surgeons regarded with international qualifications. The institute, with its CEO and medical director Dr. Z. Teo, together with his wife dermatologist Dr. Aivee Teo, now features a stronger multifaceted protocol in treating orthopedic ailments with a faster rate of positive patient response. They are also adept in complimentary therapies to further intensify the restorative powers of stem cells through the effective use of Growth Factors, Shockwave, Radio Frequency, and Electro Magnetic Therapies. 4033245, 4031982, 09209665613, 09175210222. http://www.stemcareinstitute.com

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Restore and Regenerate

TUCSON Dr. Zain Khalpey stands next to a ghostly white lung pumping rhythmically on the table next to him. Thats pretty damn good, actually, Khalpey says as he gazes at the data recorded by the lungs ventilator.

The ventilator indicates that the pig lung is inflating and deflating like a normal lung. Experiments such as this bring research a step closer to the operating room.

Khalpey, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Arizona, focuses his research on making more organs available to patients who need a transplant. Every day, 18 people on organ transplant lists die, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In Arizona patients have to wait two to three years for a lung transplant, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. This waiting period is emotionally and financially draining for patients.

Khalpey is trying to shrink the wait time. He is taking damaged organs and refurbishing them so they end up in a needy patients body. Other organs too damaged to be refurbished are stripped of their cells and used to grow new organs with the patients stem cells.

In the future, donor organs may not even be needed. Khalpey is working on hybrid organs that are 3-D printed and then seeded with the patients stem cells.

From London

to Tucson

Khalpeys passion for transplant surgery started on a rainy day in 1990s London. A 16-year-old boy lay on the operating table about to undergo a heart-and-lung transplant. Cystic fibrosis caused his lungs to become a breeding ground for infection that whittled away his ability to breathe.

A team of surgeons replaced the boys lungs as well as his heart because he was more likely to survive with donor organs. The medical team rushed the boys viable heart to a second operating room, where it gave new life to another patient.

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Research looks to build organ stockpiles

Fat cells shield against skin infections

(IANS) / 3 January 2015

For the study, the researchers exposed mice to Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium and major cause of skin and soft tissue infections in humans.

New York: Researchers have discovered that fat cells below the skin help protect you from bacteria.

These skin fat cells known as adipocytes produce antimicrobial peptides that help fend off invading bacteria and other pathogens, the findings showed, pointing to a previously unknown role for the dermal fat cells.

It was thought that once the skin barrier was broken, it was entirely the responsibility of circulating (white) blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages to protect us from getting sepsis, said principal investigator Richard Gallo, professor at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

But it takes time to recruit these cells (to the wound site). We now show that the fat stem cells are responsible for protecting us, Gallo added.

It was not known that adipocytes could produce antimicrobials, let alone that they make almost as much as a neutrophil, Gallo said.

For the study, the researchers exposed mice to Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium and major cause of skin and soft tissue infections in humans.

They detected a major increase in both the number and size of fat cells at the site of infection within hours.

Originally posted here:
Fat cells shield against skin infections

Turning 10 years old may not quite mark adolescence for a human child, but for a major government research effort such as California's stem cell program, it's well past middle age.

So it's a little strange to hear C. Randal Mills, the new president and chief executive of the program known formally as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, say it's time to instill in CIRM "a clear sense of mission."

But that's what Mills is planning for the coming year, as he launches CIRM 2.0, a comprehensive reboot of the program.

Mills, a former biotech company chief executive, took over as CIRM's president last May. His first task, he told me, was to "take a step back and look broadly at how we do our business." He reached the conclusion that "there was a lot of room for improvement."

That's a striking admission for a program that already has allocated roughly two-thirds of its original $3-billion endowment.

Biomedical researchers are sure to find a lot to like about CIRM 2.0, especially Mills' commitment to streamline the program's grant and loan approval process for projects aimed at clinical trials of potential therapies. Reviews of applications take about 22 months on average; Mills hopes to cut that to about three months. The process can be made more efficient without sacrificing science: "We need to do it quickly and also focus on quality," he says in a videotaped presentation on the CIRM website. The CIRM board last month approved a six-month, $50-million round of funding under the new system, all to be aimed at testing new therapies.

Yet the focus on drug development shows that CIRM remains a prisoner of the politics that brought it into existence. The Proposition 71 campaign in 2004 employed inflated promises of cures for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other therapy-resistant conditions to goad California voters into approving the $3-billion bond issue ($6 billion with interest) for stem cell research.

CIRM says it has funded clinical trials of 10 therapies and has backed an additional 87 projects "in the later stages of moving toward clinical trials." In scientific terms that's progress, but it may fall short of the public expectations of "cures" stoked by the initiative's promoters 10 years ago.

And that poses a political problem. At its current rate of grant and loan approvals of about $190 million a year, CIRM has enough funding to last until 2020. What happens after that is an open question, but any campaign to seek new public funding may depend on CIRM's having a successful therapy to show off to voters.

Mills says winning approval for more public funding isn't the goal of CIRM 2.0. "It's not our job at CIRM to extend the life of CIRM," he told me. Instead, he couches the need for urgency in terms of serving patients. As chief executive of Maryland-based Osiris Therapeutics, where he worked before joining CIRM, he says, he had "a firsthand view into the significance of stem cell treatment, and of how important urgency is in this game." Osiris received approval from the Food and Drug Administration and Canadian regulators for a stem cell drug to treat children with severe complications from bone marrow and other blood transplants.

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Ten years in, California's stem cell program is getting a reboot

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Newswise Researchers Recreate Stem Cells From Deceased Patients to Study Present-Day Illnesses Cedars-Sinai research scientists have developed a novel method to re-create brain and intestinal stem cells from patients who died decades ago, using DNA from stored blood samples to study the potential causes of debilitating illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease. The lab research, published in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, could yield new therapies for people who suffer from aggressive motor-neuron and gut-related conditions that proved fatal to the deceased patients who long-ago volunteered their blood samples. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Physician-Researcher Awarded National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant to Develop Prevention Strategies for Deadly Heart Condition One of medicines most prominent experts in sudden cardiac arrest has received a new $2.36 million grant to study how to better predict the deadly heart condition that kills an estimated 300,000 Americans each year. Over recent years, Sumeet S. Chugh, MD, and his team of researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have identified several risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest, including levels of sex hormones in the blood, genetics and electrical and structural abnormalities of the heart. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org

Study Shows More Patients With Lou Gehrigs Disease Have Genetic Origin Than Previously Thought Genetics may play a larger role in causing Lou Gehrigs disease than previously believed, potentially accounting for more than one-third of all cases, according to one of the most comprehensive genetic studies to date of patients who suffer from the condition also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The study, conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai and Washington University in St. Louis, also showed that patients with defects in two or more ALS-associated genes experience disease onset about 10 years earlier than patients with single-gene mutations. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com

Computer System More Effective Than Doctors at Producing Comprehensive Patient Reports A computer system was more effective than doctors at collecting information about patient symptoms, producing reports that were more complete, organized and useful than narratives generated by physicians during office visits, according to a Cedars-Sinai study. Investigators said the research, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, highlights the potential of computers to enhance the quality of medical care and improve outcomes by harnessing accurate and thorough patient information. CONTACT: Duke Helfand, 310-248-6608; Email: duke.helfand@cshs.org

Double Lung Transplant Patient Pays Tribute to Donors Family in the Rose Parade Hours before receiving a lung transplant he thought would never happen, Michael Adams told his surgical team at Cedars-Sinai that hed be happy to live just one more year. Adams, 51, had suffered from cystic fibrosis since he was a baby. Hed been in and out of hospitals for as long as he could remember. By Thanksgiving of 2002, the former wheelchair company worker had end-stage disease. His lungs barely worked. Even eight liters of oxygen left him gasping for air. Then Adams received the call that saved his life: Two healthy lungs had suddenly become available. They belonged to a 15-year-old boy who had been shot and killed on the steps of his church 78 miles away in San Bernardino. Adams was transferred immediately to Cedars-Sinai, where he underwent a double lung transplant. He and his transplant surgeons are available for interviews CONTACT: Laura Coverson, 310-423-5215 Email: laura.coverson@cshs.org

# # #

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Tip Sheet for Jan., 2015

Stem cells are very early blood cells. They are normally found in the bone marrow. Doctors use growth factor injections to make some of them move into the bloodstream. This makes it easier to collect them. You have growth factors as an injection just under the skin, usually in your tummy (abdomen), or into an arm or a leg. You have these once a day, for up to 10 days at a time and can learn to give them yourself at home.

Growth factor injections can cause itching around the injection site. You may have some aching in your bones after you have had a few injections. This is because there are a lot of blood cells being made inside the bones. The aching is usually easy to control with a mild painkiller, such as paracetamol. The pain will go away after a day or so.

After your course of injections, you will have regular blood tests to see how many stem cells are in your blood. When there are enough, you will have them collected. Collecting stem cells takes 3 or 4 hours. You sit in a chair or lie down on a couch and have a fine tube put into a vein in each of your arms. The nurse attaches these to a machine called a stem cell separator. Your blood passes out of one drip, through the machine and back into your body through the other drip. The machine filters the stem cells out of your blood but gives you the rest of the cells and the plasma back. The donor stem cells are frozen and stored. Most donors need to have another collection the following day, to make sure there are enough cells.

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Bone marrow and stem cell transplants for chronic myeloid ...

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Using stem cells derived from a patient's own bone marrow, researchers have repaired a fistula -- a potentially fatal tissue abnormality -- in the man's lower airway.

"This is another interesting new therapeutic approach for stem cells," said lead researcher Dr. Francesco Petrella, deputy director of thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy.

The patient, a 42-year-old firefighter, developed the fistula after surgeons removed a lung as part of treatment for mesothelioma cancer. A fistula is abnormal tissue connecting an organ, blood vessel or intestine to another structure. In this case, the fistula developed between the lower airway and the tissue that surrounds the lungs.

"Our clinical experience supports the idea that stem cells could be effectively used to close some tissue defects developing after very complex surgical procedures, thus restoring a functioning airway," Petrella said.

A fistula that develops after chest surgery is serious and even deadly, Petrella said. Current treatments involve removing ribs and taking medications for months or years, he explained.

"Less invasive approaches like endoscopic glue injections have only poor results, so our proposed techniques could improve quality of life in these patients," Petrella said.

Sixty days after stem cell therapy, the firefighter's fistula was healed, the researchers said. The hole seen before stem cell therapy was no longer visible, having been replaced by new tissue created by the stem cell implant, they explained.

Some people are born with a fistula. Other causes of fistulas include complications from surgery, injury, infection and diseases, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

Petrella believes that this same stem cell technique could be used to treat fistulas that develop elsewhere in the body.

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Stem Cell Therapy Fixes Post-Surgical Airway Abnormality

January 2, 2015

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Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Fat cells located beneath a persons skin could help protect them from bacterial infections, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science.

In the study, Dr. Richard Gallo, a professor and chief of dermatology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues report that they had discovered a previously unknown function of these dermal fat cells, also known as adipocytes: they produce antimicrobial peptides that help combat bacteria and other types of pathogens.

It was thought that once the skin barrier was broken, it was entirely the responsibility of circulating (white) blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages to protect us from getting sepsis, explained Gallo. But it takes time to recruit these cells (to the wound site).

We now show that the fat stem cells are responsible for protecting us. That was totally unexpected, he added. It was not known that adipocytes could produce antimicrobials, let alone that they make almost as much as a neutrophil.

A persons body launches a complex, multi-tiered defense against microbial infection, the authors said. Several different types of cells are involved, and the process ends with the arrival of specialized cells known as neutrophils and monocytes that target and destroy pathogens.

Before any of that can happen, a more immediate response is required one that can counter the ability of pathogens to rapidly increase their numbers, however. That task is typically performed by epithelial cells, mast cells and leukocytes residing in the area of infection.

Previous research conducted in Gallos lab detected Staphylococcus aureus, a common type of bacteria and a major source of skin infection on humans, in the fat layer of the skin. Antibiotic-resistant forms of this bacterial have become a significant health issue throughout the world, so the study authors looked to see what role adipocytes played in preventing skin infections.

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Fat cells may actually not be so bad

Why are some types of cancer so much more common than others? Sometimes its due to faulty genes inherited from ones parents and sometimes to behaviors like smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. But in most cases, it comes down to something else stem cells.

This is the intriguing argument made by a pair of researchers from Johns Hopkins University. In a study published Friday in the journal Science, they found a very high correlation between the differences in risk for 31 kinds of cancer and the frequency with which different types of stem cells made copies of themselves.

Just how strong was this link? On a scale that goes from 0 (absolutely no correlation) to 1 (exact correlation), biostatistician Cristian Tomasetti and cancer geneticist Bert Vogelstein calculated that it was at least a 0.8. When it comes to cancer, thats high.

No other environmental or inherited factors are known to be correlated in this way across tumor types, Tomasetti and Vogelstein wrote.

Researchers have long recognized that when cells copy themselves, they sometimes make small errors in the billions of chemical letters that make up their DNA. Many of these mistakes are inconsequential, but others can cause cells to grow out of control. That is the beginning of cancer.

The odds of making a copying mistake are believed to be the same for all cells. But some kinds of cells copy themselves much more often than others. Tomasetti and Vogelstein hypothesized that the more frequently a type of cell made copies of itself, the greater the odds that it would develop cancer.

The pair focused on stem cells because of their outsided influence in the body. Stem cells can grow into many kinds of specialized cells, so if they contain damaged DNA, those mistakes can spread quickly.

The researchers combed through the scientific literature and found studies that described the frequency of stem cell division for 31 different tissue types. Then they used data from the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database to assess the lifetime cancer risk for each of those tissue types. When they plotted the total number of stem cell divisions against the lifetime cancer risk for each tissue, the result was 31 points clustered pretty tightly along a line.

To put this notion in concrete terms, consider the skin. The outermost layer of the skin is the epidermis, and the innermost layer of the epidermis contains a few types of cells. Basal epidermal cells are the ones that copy themselves frequently, with new cells pushing older ones to the skins surface. Melanocytes are charged with making melanin, the pigment that protects the skin from the suns damaging ultraviolet rays.

When sunlight hits bare skin, both basal epidermal cells and melanocytes get the same exposure to UV. But basal cell carcinoma is far more common than melanoma about 2.8 million Americans are diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma each year, compared with roughly 76,000 new cases of melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. A major reason for this discrepancy, Tomasetti and Vogelstein wrote, is that epidermal stem cells divide once every 48 days, while melanocytes divide only once every 147 days.

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Scientists explain how stem cells and 'bad luck' cause cancer

When it comes to skin infections, a healthy and robust immune response may depend greatly upon what lies beneath. In a new paper published in the January 2, 2015 issue ofScience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the surprising discovery that fat cells below the skin help protect us from bacteria.

Richard Gallo, MD, PhD, professor and chief of dermatology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have uncovered a previously unknown role for dermal fat cells, known as adipocytes: They produce antimicrobial peptides that help fend off invading bacteria and other pathogens.

"It was thought that once the skin barrier was broken, it was entirely the responsibility of circulating (white) blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages to protect us from getting sepsis," said Gallo, the study's principal investigator.

"But it takes time to recruit these cells (to the wound site). We now show that the fat stem cells are responsible for protecting us. That was totally unexpected. It was not known that adipocytes could produce antimicrobials, let alone that they make almost as much as a neutrophil."

The human body's defense against microbial infection is complex, multi-tiered and involves numerous cell types, culminating in the arrival of neutrophils and monocytes - specialized cells that literally devour targeted pathogens.

Skin graphic image via Shutterstock.

Read more at EurekAlert.

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The good role fat cells play in protecting us from disease

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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Shares of Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) surged more than 75% to a 52-week high of $8.47 on Fridayahead of the biotech company's data release on Monday.

Brainstorm intends to release the final results from its Phase 2a trial of its stem cell therapy NurOwn. The company describes NurOwn as an "autologous, adult stem cell therapy technology" designed to treat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The company will host a conference call on Monday to discuss the results.

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Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) Stock Hits One-Year High Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares ofNeuralstem (CUR) continue to rise, up 6.25% to $2.89, in morning trading Friday in sympathy with peer company Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI) , which touched a one-year high on Friday.

Brainstorm intends to release the final results from its Phase 2a trial of its stem cell therapy NurOwn on Monday. The company describes NurOwn as an "autologous, adult stem cell therapy technology" designed to treat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The company will host a conference call on Monday to discuss the results.

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Neuralstem (CUR) Stock Rises Today as Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Soars

IT was a wish that most teenagers take for granted.

Under-going gruelling treatment for a rare form of leukaemia in a hospital isolation chamber, Kitty Aplin-Haynes longed for the freedom to live life to the full like most girls her age.

But the cancer, which had spread to her brain and central nervous system, was so aggressive, her only hope of that freedom was a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

However, today the 18-year-old is at home and her wish has come true.

She can now look forward to laughing with friends and starting college after being told she is in remission thanks to the ultimate gift from a stranger, the gift of life.

Kitty is recovering after the bone marrow transplant plus a second procedure to boost her immune system from the same anonymous donor and she has another reason to smile.

Campaign Her family and friends desperate campaign to raise awareness of her plight will also save other lives as more than 130 people have signed up to the bone marrow register.

Kitty said: Many young people die waiting for a donor because only half of those who need a bone marrow transplant every year in the UK are lucky enough to find a match so I feel incredibly lucky.

Im overwhelmed my donor has donated his stem cells to me, not once, but twice.

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Teenager celebrating New Year after being given the gift of life