Category Archives: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Utah positioned to become leader in cancer therapeutics industry By Elenor Heyborne, KSL.com Contributor July 23rd, 2014 @ 11:45am Cancer therapeutics and drug discovery are vital areas of research and are constantly evolving as we seek to find new methods to cure the disease and develop new treatment options. With its world-class research institutions and a history of genetic discovery, Utah is positioned to become a leader in the cancer therapeutics industry. Two Utah companies, Mesagen and TheraTarget, are ahead of the curve in Utah when it comes to the advancement of cancer therapeutics. Mesagen is a Salt Lake City-based biological company working on cancer stem cell therapeutics, based in the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) supported by BioInnovations Gateway. The company has acquired a proteomic database from Myriad Pharmaceuticals which contains 35,000 different protein-protein interactions representing over 5,500 different human proteins. The database is used to discover protein ligands that bind to therapeutic targets for cancer stem cell therapy. Scott Morham, CEO and CSO of Mesagen, said we get cancer every day, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Our immune systems mostly wipe the cancer out, but every now and again an early progenitor … Continue reading →

A new study in mice reveals that mesenchymal (mezz-EN-chem-uhl) stem cells (MSCs) help rejuvenate skeletal muscle after resistance exercise. By injecting MSCs into mouse leg muscles prior to several bouts of eccentric exercise (similar to the lengthening contractions performed during resistance training in humans that result in mild muscle damage), researchers were able to increase the rate of repair and enhance the growth and strength of those muscles in the exercising mice. The findings, described in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, may one day lead to new interventions to combat age-related declines in muscle structure and function, said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, who led the research. "We have an interest in understanding how muscle responds to exercise, and which cellular components contribute to the increase in repair and growth with exercise," she said. "But the primary goal of our lab really is to have some understanding of how we can rejuvenate the aged muscle to prevent the physical disability that occurs with age, and to increase quality of life in general as well." MSCs occur naturally in the body and may differentiate into several different cell types. They form part … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 21-Jul-2014 Contact: Diana Yates diya@illinois.edu 217-333-5802 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A new study in mice reveals that mesenchymal (mezz-EN-chem-uhl) stem cells (MSCs) help rejuvenate skeletal muscle after resistance exercise. By injecting MSCs into mouse leg muscles prior to several bouts of eccentric exercise (similar to the lengthening contractions performed during resistance training in humans that result in mild muscle damage), researchers were able to increase the rate of repair and enhance the growth and strength of those muscles in the exercising mice. The findings, described in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, may one day lead to new interventions to combat age-related declines in muscle structure and function, said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, who led the research. "We have an interest in understanding how muscle responds to exercise, and which cellular components contribute to the increase in repair and growth with exercise," she said. "But the primary goal of our lab really is to have some understanding of how we can rejuvenate the aged muscle to prevent the physical disability that occurs with age, and to increase quality of life in general as well." MSCs … Continue reading →

DR ANDREW J ROCHMAN: ON STEM CELL THERAPY By: Len Promoter … Continue reading →

Paul Laikind, CEO of ViaCyte, which is making a treatment for diabetes from human embryonic stem cells. In an historic announcement for the stem cell field, San Diego's ViaCyte said Thursday it has applied to start human clinical trials of its treatment for Type 1 diabetes. ViaCyte grows replacement insulin-producing cells from human embryonic stem cells. The cells are packaged while maturing in a semi-permeable device and implanted. In animal trials, the cells produce insulin, relieving diabetes. Now the company proposes to take what could be a cure for diabetes into people. ViaCyte has asked to begin a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, which would assess both safety and efficacy of its product. ViaCyte is targeting Type 1 diabetes, in which the insulin-producing cells are destroyed. Patients require multiple injections of insulin daily to survive. The announcement is good news for California's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The agency has awarded nearly $39 million to ViaCyte to ready its device for human use. Paul Laikind, ViaCytes chief executive, said if all goes smoothly, the first patients will be treated in August or September. Based on animal studies, it will take a few months to see results, and … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Jul-2014 Contact: Cristy Lytal lytal@med.usc.edu 323-442-2172 University of Southern California - Health Sciences One in every 2,000 babies is born with a skull that can't grow normally. Various sections of these babies' skulls are fused together at joints called sutures, constricting the developing brain and disrupting vision, sleep, eating and IQ. For these young patients, risky skull-expanding surgeries become an almost annual event. Now, three leading universities for stem cell research the University of Southern California (USC); the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have joined forces to find better solutions for these and other patients with craniofacial defects. All three institutions have leading stem cell research centers established with support from Eli and Edythe Broad, and all three are home to top scientists and clinicians in the field of craniofacial biology. "The value of this collaboration is bringing together a bunch of interested scientists from three major institutions in California around really important problems," said Andy McMahon, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. "It's really going to take a group of scientists across these different places with … Continue reading →

For breast cancer patients, the era of personalized medicine may be just around the corner, thanks to recent advances by USC Stem Cell researcher Min Yu and scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In a July 11 study in Science, Yu and her colleagues report how they isolated breast cancer cells circulating through the blood streams of six patients. Some of these deadly cancer cells are the "seeds" of metastasis, which travel to and establish secondary tumors in vital organs such as the bone, lungs, liver and brain. Yu and her colleagues managed to expand this small number of cancer cells in the laboratory over a period of more than six months, enabling the identification of new mutations and the evaluation of drug susceptibility. If perfected, this technique could eventually allow doctors to do the same: use cancer cells isolated from patients' blood to monitor the progression of their diseases, pre-test drugs and personalize treatment plans accordingly. In the six estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients in the study, the scientists found newly acquired mutations in the estrogen receptor gene (ESR1), PIK3CA gene and fibroblast growth factor receptor gene (FGFR2), among others. They then tested either alone or … Continue reading →

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) July 10, 2014 The Lung Institute works to help people who have received a diagnosis of debilitating lung disease get their quality of life back. The latest case study demonstrates how stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat interstitial lung disease. After his recent stem cell treatment at the Lung Institute, Al Corter can now complete his daily tasks on his horse farm much faster, and finally attend the Silver Spur Riding Club Open Horse Show the weekend of July 12th in Fonda, NY. Twelve years ago, Al was exposed to toxic fumes in the workplace and subsequently diagnosed with interstitial lung disease and bronchiectasis, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Living in upstate New York and running his horse farm, Als serious pulmonary conditions had a major effect on his life. Shortness of breath, coughing, reliance on supplemental oxygen and fatigue were taking a toll. Al needed a new solution. Al decided to travel to Florida to undergo stem cell treatment at the Lung Institute facility in Tampa. He was seeking an alternative treatment to help with his symptoms. Stem cell therapy is a minimally invasive process that involves extracting stem cells, … Continue reading →

Bench to Bedside: Mesenchymal Stem Cells and ARDS, Part 2 - Michael Matthay http://www.ibiology.org/ibioeducation/taking-courses/bench-to-bedside/mesenchymal-stem-cells-acute-respiratory-distress-syndrome.html In Part 1, Dr. Calfee b... By: iBioEducation … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Jul-2014 Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research There is evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants can promote neuronal cell proliferation and enhance neuroplasticity both in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Javad Verdi and his team, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran proposed that citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, can increase the efficacy of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) differentiating into neuronal-like cells. Experimental results confirmed that citalopram can improve the neuronal-like cell differentiation of BMSCs by increasing cell proliferation and survival while maintaining their neuronal characteristics. These results were published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 8, 2014). ### Article: "Citalopram increases the differentiation efficacy of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neuronal-like cells" by Javad Verdi1, 2, Seyed Abdolreza Mortazavi-Tabatabaei1, 2, Shiva Sharif 2, 3, Hadi Verdi2, Alireza Shoae-Hassani1, 2 (1 Department of Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2 Department of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3 Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran) … Continue reading →