Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

A pair of English bulldog puppies are the first patients to be successfully treated with a unique therapy a combination of surgery and stem cells developed at the University of California, Davis, to help preserve lower-limb function in children with spina bifida. (Editorsnote: Photos and b-roll available.) Because dogs with the birth defect frequently have little control of their hindquarters, they also have little hope for a future. They are typically euthanized as puppies. At their postsurgery re-check at 4 months old, however, the siblings, named Darla and Spanky, showed off their abilities to walk, run and play to their doctor, veterinary neurosurgeon Beverly Sturges. The initial results of the surgery are promising, as far as hind limb control, said Sturges. Both dogs seemed to have improved range of motion and control of their limbs. The dogs have since been adopted, and continue to do well at their home in New Mexico. Spina bifida occurs when spinal tissue improperly fuses in utero, causing a range of cognitive, mobility, urinary and bowel disabilities in about 1,500 to 2,000 children born in the U.S. each year. The dogs procedure, which involved surgical techniques developed by fetal surgeon Diana Farmer of UC Davis … Continue reading →

In an ideal situation, these humanized mice would reject foreign stem cells just as a human patient would. Wu shares senior authorship of the research, which was published Aug. 22 in Cell Reports, with Dale Greiner, PhD, professor in the Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Leonard Shultz, PhD, professor at the Jackson Laboratory. Former postdoctoral scholars Nigel Kooreman, MD, and Patricia de Almeida, PhD, and graduate student Jonathan Stack, DVM, share lead authorship of the study. Although these mice are fully functional in their immune response to HIV infection or after transplantation of other tissues, they are unable to completely reject the stem cells, said Kooreman. Understanding why this is, and whether we can overcome this deficiency, is a critical step in advancing stem cell therapies in humans. Humanized mice are critical preclinical models in many biomedical fields helping to bring basic science into the clinic, but as this work shows, it is critical to frame the question properly, said Greiner. Multiple laboratories remain committed to advancing our understanding and enhancing the function of engrafted human immune systems. Greiner and Shultz helped to pioneer the use of humanized mice in the 1990s to … Continue reading →

Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have developed a stem cell multiplication method that could double the states avocado production. The growing method could lead to 500 times more avocado plants being supplied to the industry, and could reduce the time it takes for avocado orchards to mature. Neena Mitter from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation, said the technology would be a potential game changer the global avocado industry,which is currently experiencing a backlog of plant orders until 2020. At present, to supply new trees, the avocado industry follows the same process they have for the last 40 years, which is to take cuttings from high quality trees and root them, Mitter said. However, this is a cumbersome, labour and resource intensive process, as it takes about 18 months from the cutting stage to having a plant for sale, which creates a huge bottleneck for nurseries across the globe in the number of trees that they can supply trees to growers." The non-GM and environmentally friendly technology, however, can grow and root multiple avocado plants from the shoot tip of an existing plant. [With the new technology] ten-thousand plants can be generated in a 10m2 room … Continue reading →

A team of Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered a key pathway that leads to recurrence and treatment resistance in endometrial cancer, providing the potential for much needed new therapies for women with limited options. For the past 25 years, standard therapy for endometrial and ovarian cancers has included surgery and the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. While these treatments typically are initially successful, the cancer often recurs and becomes resistant to cisplatin, leaving patients with limited treatment options. The Cleveland Clinic team studied the unique role of an immune regulatory protein, called CD55, which is abundant on the surface of endometrioid ovarian cancer and uterine cancer cells. Using human cells and patient-derived tissue models, they found CD55 to be the most prevalent on cancer stem cells, a subgroup of aggressive cancer cells that are thought to be responsible for recurrence and spread of many types of cancer. The researchers discovered that high levels of CD55 caused cancer stem cells to be more aggressive and resistant to cisplatin than non-stem cell cancer cells. The CD55 pathway is unique in that it controls both stem cell self-regulation/growth and therapeutic resistance, while other mechanisms control just one or the other. In addition, when CD55 was … Continue reading →

Bacterial infection activates hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow and significantly reduces the ability to produce blood through induced proliferation. Credit: Professor Hitoshi Takizawa It has been thought that only immune cells would act as the line of defense during bacterial infection. However, recent research has revealed that hematopoietic stem cells, cells that create all other blood cells throughout an individual's lifetime, are also able to respond to the infection. A collaboration between researchers from Japan and Switzerland found that bacterial infection activates hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow and significantly reduces their ability to produce blood by forcibly inducing proliferation. These findings indicate that bacterial infections might trigger dysregulation of blood formation, such as that found in anemia or leukemia. This information is important to consider in the development of prevention methods for blood diseases. Background: Bacterial Infection and the Associated Immune Reaction When a person becomes infected with a virus or bacteria, immune cells in the blood or lymph react to the infection. Some of these immune cells use "sensors" on their surfaces, called Toll-like receptors (TLR), to distinguish invading pathogens from molecules that are expressed by the host. By doing so, they can attack and … Continue reading →

Two months after winding down development of its lead candidate for lack of funds, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics says it will cut jobs and facilities in a restructuring designed to lower costs and refocus the company on its program to generate cancer-killing T cells by engineering hematopoietic stem cells. The company gave no details on how many jobs will be eliminated or which facilities would be jettisoned in a statement yesterday. ImmunoCellular has seven full-time and two part-time employees, according to its Form 10-Q for the second quarter, filed August 14. The board and management of ImmunoCellular remain committed to pursuing a viable strategic path forward for the Company, with the goal of realizing the value of our immuno-oncology technology platform and assets, stated ImmunoCellular president and CEO Anthony J. Gringeri, Ph.D. To that end, ImmunoCellular said, it will shift its attention to developing its Stem-to-T-Cell research program, which could potentially treat both solid and blood tumors. Stem-to-T-Cell uses the immune system to manufacture antigen-specific killer T cells that target and destroy cancer cells, as well as prevent tumor recurrence through long-term immunosurveillance. Stem-to-T-Cell is expected to achieve two milestones by years end: During the third quarter, ImmunoCellular anticipates completion of loading … Continue reading →

University of North Carolina Health Careresearchers have made strides toward a stem cell treatment for lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, and cystic fibrosis. In fact, they are discussing the start of clinical trials with regulatory authorities. The team discussed its work in two recent studies. One provedthat it is possible to isolate lung stem cells with a relatively non-invasive procedure. The other showed that stem cells reduce fibrosis in rats with pulmonary fibrosis. The first study, in the journal Respiratory Research, was titledDerivation of therapeutic lung spheroid cells from minimally invasive transbronchial pulmonary biopsies.The second, inStem Cells Translational Medicine, was Safety and Efficacy of Allogeneic Lung Spheroid Cells in a Mismatched Rat Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis. This is the first time anyone has generated potentially therapeutic lung stem cells from minimally invasive biopsy specimens, Dr. Jason Lobo, director of the universitys lung transplant and interstitial lung disease program,said in a press release. Hewas co-senior author of both studies. We think the properties of these cells make them potentially therapeutic for a wide range of lung fibrosis diseases, added Dr. Ke Cheng, who led the studies with Lobo. He is anassociate professor in North Carolina State Universitys Department of … Continue reading →

Two new studies look at using stem cells from lungs to combat fibrosis and other lung-related diseases. Stem cell treatments for lung diseases may have taken a big step forward according to a pair of studies published earlier this month. In one animal study, researchers did transbronchial biopsies, sending miniscule tweezers down the throats of rats in order to obtain lung cells. The researchers were able to culture tens of millions of cells and inject them into rats that had a condition similar to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Rats that received the injected cells showed less lung inflammation and overall healthier lung cells than those that didnt receive the cells. Both studies, published in the journals Respiratory Research and Stem Cells Translational Medicine, built upon research into stem cell therapies for heart diseases, and less successful work on lung diseases like emphysema. Both offer new hope for fibrosis patients, whose current treatment options are medications to reduce symptoms, or a lung transplant. The new research raises the possibility of reversing the impacts of fibrosis and similar diseases that cause lung inflammation, which gradually damages lung tissue and makes internal organs less able to transfer oxygen to the blood. Its also the … Continue reading →

Dr. Michalis Agathocleous (left) and Dr. Sean Morrison. Credit: UT Southwestern Not much is known about stem cell metabolism, but a new study from the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) has found that stem cells take up unusually high levels of vitamin C, which then regulates their function and suppresses the development of leukemia. "We have known for a while that people with lower levels of ascorbate (vitamin C) are at increased cancer risk, but we haven't fully understood why. Our research provides part of the explanation, at least for the blood-forming system," said Dr. Sean Morrison, the Director of CRI. The metabolism of stem cells has historically been difficult to study because a large number of cells are required for metabolic analysis, while stem cells in each tissue of the body are rare. Techniques developed during the study, which was published in Nature, have allowed researchers to routinely measure metabolite levels in rare cell populations such as stem cells. The techniques led researchers to discover that every type of blood-forming cell in the bone marrow had distinct metabolic signatures - taking up and using nutrients in their own individual way. One of the main metabolic … Continue reading →

Not much is known about stem cell metabolism, but a new study from the Childrens Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) has found that stem cells take up unusually high levels of vitamin C, which then regulates their function and suppresses the development of leukemia. We have known for a while that people with lower levels of ascorbate (vitamin C) are at increased cancer risk, but we havent fully understood why. Our research provides part of the explanation, at least for the blood-forming system, said Dr. Sean Morrison, the Director of CRI. The metabolism of stem cells has historically been difficult to study because a large number of cells are required for metabolic analysis, while stem cells in each tissue of the body are rare. Techniques developed during the study, which was published in Nature, have allowed researchers to routinely measure metabolite levels in rare cell populations such as stem cells. The techniques led researchers to discover that every type of blood-forming cell in the bone marrow had distinct metabolic signatures taking up and using nutrients in their own individual way. One of the main metabolic features of stem cells is that they soak up unusually high levels … Continue reading →