Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

2 hours ago Associate Professor Akira Shimamoto and Professor Hidetoshi Tahara at the Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science in Hiroshima University, Professor Koutaro Yokote at the Graduate School of Medicine in Chiba University, Visiting Professor Makoto Goto at the Medical Center East in Tokyo Women's Medical University, and collaborators including the staff at the Cancer Chemotherapy Center in the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tottori University, and Keio University established induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from the fibroblasts of Werner Syndrome patients. These results were published in PLOS ONE in an article entitled "Reprogramming Suppresses Premature Senescence Phenotypes of Werner Syndrome Cells and Maintains Chromosomal Stability over Long-Term Culture." Werner syndrome is characterized by the premature appearance of features associated with normal aging and cancer predisposition. This syndrome occurs frequently in Japan, affecting 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 40,000 people. The therapeutic methods for this disease are very limited and it is expected that iPS cells can be used for the development of innovative therapies. Dr. Shimamoto and his collaborators analyzed patient-derived iPS cells and found that telomeric abnormalities in the fibroblasts of these patients, which were caused by the lack of WRN helicase encoded by the … Continue reading →

New York, New York (PRWEB) November 17, 2014 Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (BBDF) and the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) have been selected as a national innovator by the Milken Institute and will present their breakthrough findings about juvenile Batten disease at the 6th annual Partnering for Cures, November 16-18 in New York City. The presentation will highlight the collaborative efforts of NYSCF, BBDF and Batten Disease Support and Research Association. Craig and Charlotte Benson established Beyond Batten Disease Foundation in August 2008 after their then five-year-old daughter, Christiane, was diagnosed with juvenile Batten disease. Together with hundreds of families affected by Batten disease, and many more supporters who share their hope and resolve, they are working tirelessly to create a brighter future for Christiane, and all children with Batten disease. Watch the Benson Family story: The Benson Family Story Beyond Batten Disease and the New York Stem Cell Foundation hope to ramp up funding and partnerships to develop stem cell resources to investigate and explore new treatments and ultimately find a cure for juvenile Batten disease, a fatal illness-affecting children as they convene at the FasterCures, conference. The Washington, D.C.-based center of the Milken Institute will bring together … Continue reading →

Eli Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA In a specially designed facility that is compliant with FDA Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) requirements, scientists with the Eli and Edythe Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell... By: UCLA Eli Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Research: Fund it Created with WeVideo Video Editor (http://www.wevideo.com). Download Android App at http://bit.ly/10xf4Ec. By: Mike Ewing … Continue reading →

Welcome to the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, one of the largest and most comprehensive programs of its kind in the United States. In some 125 labs, scientists are carrying out studies, in cell culture and animals, aimed at understanding and developing treatment strategies for such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, Lou Gehrigs disease, spinal cord injury and cancer. While the scientific foundation for the field is still being laid, UCSF scientists are beginning to move their work toward human clinical trials. A team of pediatric specialists and neurosurgeons is carrying out the second brain stem cell clinical trial ever conducted in the United States, focusing on a rare disease, inherited in boys, known as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. Others are working to develop strategies for treating diabetes, brain tumors, liver disease and epilepsy. The approach for treating epilepsy potentially also could be used to treat Parkinsons disease, as well as the pain and spasticity that follow brain and spinal cord injury. The center is structured along seven research pipelines aimed at driving discoveries from the lab bench to the patient. Each pipeline focuses on a different organ … Continue reading →

UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center 8th Annual Symposium Dr. Owen Witte, Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA announced a $1 million gift from Margaret... By: UCLA Eli Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research … Continue reading →

Dr. Marissa on Passion, Purpose, Music and Stem Cell Research with Tina Guo and Deven Patel So what does a popular radio talk show host and a stem cell research pioneer and a electric cellist have in common? Two things...first they are all three rec... By: Marissa Pei … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Led by Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research member Dr. Hanna Mikkola, UCLA scientists have discovered a unique protein that is integral to the self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during human development. This discovery lays the groundwork for researchers to generate HSCs in the lab (in vitro) that better mirror those that develop in their natural environment (in vivo). This could lead to improved therapies for blood-related diseases and cancers by enabling the creation of patient-specific blood stem cells for transplantation. The findings are reported online November 13, 2014, ahead of print in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The research community has long sought to harness the promise of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to overcome a significant roadblock in making cell-based therapies blood and immune diseases more broadly available, which has been hampered by the inability to generate and expand human HSCs in culture. HSCs are the blood forming cells that serve as the critical link between PSCs and fully differentiated cells of the blood system. The ability of HSCs to self-renew (replicate themselves) and differentiate to all blood cell types, is determined in part … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise One remarkable quality of pluripotent stem cells is they are immortal in the lab, able to divide and grow indefinitely under the right conditions. It turns out this ability also may exist further down the development path, with the workhorse progenitor cells responsible for creating specific tissues. A team from the Morgridge Institute for Research regenerative biology group, led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and stem cell pioneer James Thomson, discovered a way to impose an immortal-like state on mouse progenitor cells responsible for producing blood and vascular tissue. By regulating a small number of genes, the cells became trapped in a self-renewing state and capable of producing functional endothelial, blood and smooth muscle cells. The finding, to be published in the December 9, 2014 issue of Stem Cell Reports, points to a potential new approach to developing cells in the lab environment for use in drug screening, therapies and as a basic research tool. The biggest takeaway for me is the ability to arrest development of these cells, says David Vereide, a Morgridge fellow in regenerative biology and lead author on the paper. Normally, these cells are ephemeral and get used … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 12-Nov-2014 Contact: Scott Maier scott.maier@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco @ucsf A protein that may partly explain why human brains are larger than those of other animals has been identified by scientists from two stem-cell labs at UC San Francisco, in research published in the November 13, 2014 issue of Nature. Key experiments by the UCSF researchers revealed that the protein, called PDGFD, is made in growing brains of humans, but not in mice, and appears necessary for normal proliferation of human brain stem cells growing in a lab dish. The scientists made their discovery as part of research in which they identified genes that are activated to make specific proteins in crucial stem cells in the brain known as radial glial cells. The discovery stems from a collaboration between the laboratories of leading radial glial cell scientist Arnold Kriegstein MD, PhD, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, and Michael Oldham, PhD, who recently made a rapid career leap from graduate student to principal investigator and Sandler Fellow at UCSF. Radial glial cells make the neurons in the growing brain, including the neurons in … Continue reading →