Science Daily | Your brain's got rhythm: Synthetic brain mimics Science Daily To model these complex neural circuits, the Pfaff lab prompted embryonic stem cells from mice to grow into clusters of spinal cord neurons, which they named circuitoids. Each circuitoid typically contained 50,000 cells in clumps just large enough to ... |
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Your brain's got rhythm: Synthetic brain mimics - Science Daily
New research investigates the role of calcium production in Alzheimer's disease. The neurodegenerative process may be caused by a calcium imbalance within the brain cell.
Mitochondria - sometimes referred to as the "powerhouse of the cell" - are small structures that transform energy from food into cell "fuel."
In the mitochondria of a brain cell, calcium ions control how much energy is produced for the brain to function. Previous research has shown that an excessive production of calcium can cause neurons to die, therefore linking a calcium imbalance with the neurodegenerative process involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Until now, however, the exact mechanism that links Alzheimer's-related neurodegeneration and mitochondrial calcium imbalance was unknown. The new research - led by Pooja Jadiya, a postdoctoral fellow at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA - sheds light on this association.
The study was carried out by researchers from the Center for Translational Medicine at Temple University, and the findings were presented at the 61st Meeting of the Biophysical Society in New Orleans, LA.
Jadiya and colleagues studied brain samples from Alzheimer's patients, a mouse model genetically modified to replicate Alzheimer's-like symptoms, and a mutant Alzheimer's-affected cell line.
They examined the mitochondrial alterations in calcium processing, together with reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the metabolism of the active amyloid precursor protein, membrane potential, and cell death. They also looked at the activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pores and oxidative phosphorylation.
In a healthy brain, calcium ions leave a neuron's mitochondria to prevent an excessive buildup. A transporter protein - called the mitochondrial sodium-calcium exchanger - enables this process.
In Alzheimer's-affected tissue, Jadiya and team found that the sodium-calcium exchanger levels were extremely low. In fact, the protein was so low that it was difficult to detect.
The researchers hypothesized that this would cause an overproduction of ROS, which would, in turn, contribute to neurodegeneration.
ROS are molecules that, in high levels, have been shown to damage proteins, lipids, and DNA, thus causing oxidative stress.
The team did find a correlation between the reduced activity of the sodium-calcium exchanger and increased neuronal death.
Additionally, in the mouse model, the scientists found that right before the onset of Alzheimer's, the gene that encodes the exchanger was significantly less active. A decrease in this gene's expression further suggests that the protein exchanger plays a key role in the progression of the disease.
Finally, the scientists also tested this mechanism in an Alzheimer's-affected cell culture model, by artificially boosting the levels of the exchanger.
As hypothesized, the affected cells recovered to a point where they were almost identical to healthy cells. Furthermore, the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) increased, the ROS levels decreased, and fewer neurons died.
ATP is a molecule considered to be the "energy currency of life" by some biologists, as it is required by every activity our body engages in.
John Elrod, a co-author of the study, explains the significance of the findings:
"No one has ever looked at this before using these model systems. It is possible that alterations in mitochondrial calcium exchange may be driving the disease process."
The study may also pave the way for new treatment options, Elrod explains. The team is currently working to reverse the neurodegeneration typical of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models by stimulating the expression of the gene that encodes the sodium-calcium exchanger. This could be achieved with new drugs or gene therapy.
"Our hope is that if we can change either the expression level or the activity of this exchanger, it could be a viable therapy to use early on to perhaps impede Alzheimer's disease development - that is the home run," Elrod says. "We are not even close to that, but that would be the idea."
Learn how scientists can stop and reverse Alzheimer's-related brain damage in mice.
Written by Ana Sandoiu
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Calcium imbalance within brain cells may trigger Alzheimer's disease - Medical News Today
Researchers have discovered a way to tag cancer cells of tumors that are difficult to target because they lack suitable receptors. They suggest that their approach, which they tested in mice, could lead to new targeted therapies for cancers that do not respond to those currently available, such as triple-negative breast cancer.
The team - including scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and research centers in China - reports the findings in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
The method uses small-molecule sugars to produce unique, artificial cell surface receptors on cancer cells.
Study leader Jianjun Cheng, a professor in materials science and engineering at Illinois, explains that there is a lack of targeted therapies for certain cancers because they do not have any of the receptors that available treatments normally target.
One such cancer is triple-negative breast cancer - an aggressive cancer with a low survival rate.
Prof. Cheng says that this got them thinking that perhaps they could create an artificial receptor.
Targeted cancer therapies are treatments that target specific molecules involved in the growth, progression, and spread of cancer. They belong to a relatively new field called precision medicine.
There are several differences between targeted cancer therapy and conventional chemotherapy, the main one being that most chemotherapy treatments target all rapidly dividing cells, including healthy ones.
Targeted cancer therapy aims to single out only cancer cells and leave healthy cells intact. In order to do this, researchers must find features that distinguish the tumor cells of a particular cancer from healthy cells, so that the treatment can target those features specifically.
One feature that can differentiate cancer cells from healthy cells is the cell surface receptor, a type of molecule that protrudes on the outside of the cell and acts as a conduit for signals between the cell and its environment.
Scientists can devise antibodies that seek out the receptors that are specific to cancer cells in order to deliver targeted drugs or imaging agents.
However, some cancers are notoriously difficult to distinguish in this way because they lack suitable surface receptors.
One such cancer is triple-negative breast cancer. Tumor cells of this type of cancer lack the three most common types of receptor known to drive most breast cancer growth: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).
Prof. Cheng and colleagues found a way to insert unique molecules into cancer cells that the cells metabolize into cell surface receptors, without the molecules affecting healthy cells.
The molecules belong to a class of small-molecule sugars called azides. The cancer cell metabolizes the molecules and expresses them on their cell surfaces, where they can be uniquely targeted by another molecule called DBCO, as Prof. Cheng explains:
"It's very much like a key in a lock. They are very specific to each other. DBCO and azide react with each other with high specificity. We call it click chemistry. The key question is, how do you put azide just on the tumor?"
To ensure that the azide would only be expressed by the cancer cells, the team attached a chemical group to the azide that only enzymes in the cancer cell can remove.
The modified azide just passes through healthy tissue. In tumor cells, however, the enzymes digest the attached group and express the azide as a cell surface receptor that binds uniquely to DBCO, which can be used to deliver cancer drugs or imaging agents.
After showing that the method works in cells cultured in the laboratory, the team tested it in mice with triple-negative breast cancer, colon cancer, and metastatic breast cancer tumors, and they found that the tumors expressed very strong signals compared with other types of tissue.
"For the first time, we labeled and targeted tumors with small molecule sugars in vivo, and we used the cancer cell's own internal mechanisms to do it."
Prof. Jianjun Cheng
Learn how a prolactin receptor screen may lead to new treatments for triple-negative breast cancer.
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Cancer: New method tags elusive tumors for targeted therapy - Medical News Today
Silene Biotech co-founders Alex Jiao, left, and Jenna Strully. (Silene Biotech Photo)
Silene Biotech wants to help you grow a new heart or liver, in case those organs fail when you get older. The ambitious Seattle startup founded two years ago and a member of the 2017 TechStars Seattle class today is launching a new service that freezes and stores your white blood cells so they can be used decades later when troubling ailments set in.
The big idea? You could preserve the cells from your 23-year-old body for use when you are 65, and possibly facing life-threatening diseases.
Founded by four Seattleites, including two former University of Washington researchers, Silene is on the cutting-edge of a new field of regenerative medicine, which rebuilds parts of the body.
While growing a new heart with your own cells may be decades off, two of Silenes co-founders, Alex Jiao and Jenna Strully, believe preparing for those medical breakthroughs now could be a huge advantage.
Jiao and Strully came up with the idea for Silene after meeting in a science business class at the University of Washington, where Jiao was studying bioengineering and Strully, who is also a medical doctor, was in the MBA program.
They competed in the UWs business plan competition and won some initial funding during the process. The startup has raised $450,000 in total from UW grants and awards, angel investments, the founders own cash and funds from TechStars.
Jiao, who is just28 years old, said he hopes the startup will educate and raise awareness and provide a service, along with pushing the needle towards personalized medicine, a kind of medicine that tailors treatments to specific individuals.
The company was originally named miPS Labs, a nod to its focus on induced pluripotent stem (iPS)cell technology. Unlike most stem cells, which naturally occur in the body, these cells are engineered from an average adults white blood cells and could be used in regenerative medicine to grow extra tissue or even entire organs.
The first applications of this regenerative medicine technology are starting to hit clinical trials, Jiao said.
But the older we get, the less effectively the process works, he said. Silene Biotech is collecting and storing cells now, so customers can use them years or decades down the line.
Part of their plan is a newly-developed collection system. Instead of collecting urine samples, which the startup did in their beta trial, it is now partnering with Bloodworks Northwest to collect samples of customers blood.
Starting Thursday, customers can sign up to have blood drawn at Bloodworks Northwests downtown Seattle location.Jiao said they will soon also be taking samples at other Bloodworks locations throughout the Northwest.
The sample will then be processed by the company and stored in a facility in Indianapolis, far from Seattles threat of disruptive earthquakes. The service costs $299 for the initial processing and first year of storage, and $50 per year after that.
Customers can access their cells at any time, retrieving them to be used in medical procedures. The cells areanonymized during processing to protect patient confidentiality, and customers also retain the right to have the cells destroyed at any time.
Theres no way to know exactly what these cells could be used for in the future, but early possibilities includegrowing tissue to repair organs, using lab-grown tissue to test patients for drug resistance, and even growing entire organs for patients who need transplants.
To explain the possible uses of these specialized cells, Jiao cited the first clinical trial in which they were studied. In the trial, researchers took skin cells from a patient with vision loss and converted them into lab-grown stem cells. The cells were then grown into retinal cells and implanted in the patients eye, and halted her vision loss.
Maybe a decade or so off is when well really start seeing the fruits of this research turn into viable therapies that can treat and cure diseases, and maybe a couple more decades until we can regrow entire organs, Jiao said. Were not going to grow a heart tomorrow, he said, but trials are about to begin that aim to growing parts of a heart.
While iPS cells are the area of Jiaos expertise, he said the company changed its namebecause itrealized there were many more applications to its service than just iPS cells. Stored white blood cells are being studied as a treatment for Leukemia, for example.
But the switch was also inspired by a remarkable story.
In 2007, in the Northern reaches of Siberia, Russian scientists dug up a cache of seeds hidden by a squirrel. The seeds were estimated to be 32,000 years old.
A few years later, scientists were able togerminate one of the seeds and grow it into an adult plant: the silene stenophylla. That seed is officially the oldest living organism to survive being frozen.
Jiao said he hopes Silene Biotech will do a better job than squirrels did 32,000 years ago.
We caught up with Silenes founders for this Startup Spotlight, a regular GeekWire feature. Keep reading for a Q&A with Jiaoand Strully, and check out all our Startup Spotlights here.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it:We store your younger cells today so you can use them in personalized therapies and diagnostics in the future.
Inspiration hit us when: Alex (Jiao) worked on deriving patient stem cells and turning them into heart cells and he realized he could be doing this easily for himself.
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: Bootstrap and angels. Need a fair amount of capital to start a lab, now trying to prove the market.
Our secret sauce is: Our passion, backgrounds, and our partnerships with UW and BloodworksNW
The smartest move weve made so far: Switching to blood and partnering with BloodworksNW
The biggest mistake weve made so far: Not moving faster
Would you rather have Gates, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: Zuckerberg. Goals are more in line regarding biotech, pretty audacious (Chan + Zuckerberg initiative).
Our favorite team-building activity is: Grabbing snacks or meals (team loves food).
The biggest thing we look for when hiring is: Chemistry
Whats the one piece of advice youd give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: Meet and talk to everyone and keep an open mind.
Company Site: http://www.silenebiotech.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/silenebiotech
Team owner A.J. Foyt watches his drivers during practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Monday, May 23, 2016, afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)Buy Photo
Racing legend A.J. Foyt is hoping to find the"fountain of youth."
The 82-year-old four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 toldVerizon IndyCarmedia that he plans to undergo stem-cell therapy to help repair his ankles and shoulder. He also will have stem cells injected into hisblood.
Foyt's body has taken quite a beating over the years. According to the story, he suffered a broken back during a NASCAR race in 1964 and broken feet and legs during a 1991 IndyCar crash. In 2005, hewas stung more than 200 times by bees while trapped under his bulldozer at his Texas ranch. He's had knee and hip replacements, and in 2014 underwent triple-bypass heart surgery.
Foyt will undergo the therapy in Cancun, Mexico, as the treatment is not available in the United States.
It used to be you would have to go to Germany to get this procedure, but now it's available in Cancun and that is probably where I'll have it done, Foyt said Saturday during the Verizon IndyCar Series open test at Phoenix Raceway. I'm not in good health like I used to be and, if my son Larry hadn't taken over (running) the team four years ago, I would have had to shut it down. It's something he likes to do and I'm backing him 100 percent.
I feel better this year than I did last year, Foyt continued. If I get to feeling bad, I probably won't show up at the race. But I'm going to do that stem cell deal. My wife, Lucy, has been pretty sick lately. Dan Pastorini (the former NFL quarterback) did it and it helped him. Peyton Manning (the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback) did it for his neck and it really helped him. Tony Dorsett (the former Dallas Cowboys running back) did it, so I think we should try it.
Read the full story at indycar.com.
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A.J. Foyt planning to undergo stem-cell therapy - The Indianapolis Star - Indianapolis Star
A.J. Foyt during practice for the 2016 Indianapolis 500. (The Indianapolis Star)
Auto racing legend A.J. Foyt is hoping to find thefountain of youth for a body that has taken quite a beating over the years. And like a handful of athletes before him, its a journey that will take him outside the United States.
Foyt, 82, told IndyCar.com Saturday during a Verizon IndyCar Series test at Phoenix International Raceway that he plans to undergo stem cell therapy, likely in Cancun, Mexico, with injections into both ankles and shoulders as well as his blood.
Foyt suffered a broken back during a NASCAR race in 1964 and broken feet and legs during a 1991 IndyCar crash. In 2005, hewas stung more than 200 times by bees while trapped under his bulldozer at his Texas ranch. Hes had knee and hip replacements, and in 2014 underwent triple-bypass heart surgery.
Hes hopeful that stem cell therapy will help heal the lingering effects of some of those ailments.
They have to cut away some of the tissue from my stomach and it takes 8-10 weeks for it to grow back to produce the stem cells, Foyt told IndyCar. Ill probably have it done soon so that we can begin the treatment within the next two to three months.
Adult stem cells are able to grow and become a cell for a specific tissue or organ, according to the National Institutes of Health. They are different from embryonic stem cells, which come from fertilized eggs or aborted fetuses. Embryonic stem cells can turn into cells for nearly any tissue in the body.
But the procedure Foyt seeks has not yet been approved by the FDA for use in the United States, so he will head south of the border where several former football players have received these treatments.
MORE:Companies offer athletes hope with questionable stem cell treatments
It used to be you would have to go to Germany to get this procedure, but now its available in Cancun and that is probably where Ill have it done, Foyt said. Dan Pastorini (the former NFL quarterback) did it and it helped him. Peyton Manning (the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback) did it for his neck and it really helped him. Tony Dorsett (the former Dallas Cowboys running back) did it, so I think we should try it.
Dorsett underwent a procedure where stem cells were extracted from his own stomach fat then cultured and multiplied with the help of a serum derived from cattle. The cells were then purified and injected back into him, about 200 million at a time, in Cancun.
When I was taking the stem cells, I was able to figure things out a little better and not get as frustrated, Dorsett told USA TODAY Sports in November of 2015. But Dorsett also admitted the effects of the therapy faded over time.
Stem cell treatments are largely untested and unproven by U.S. standards. In general, the FDA has a critical threshold for adult stem cell therapies.
If the cells are more than minimally manipulated when extracted from a patients body, they are classified as biological drugs that must go through long and costly testing to make sure they are safe and effective for widespread use in the USA.
Contributing:Brent Schrotenboer and Jarrett Bell
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A.J. Foyt planning to undergo stem cell therapy | USA TODAY Sports - USA TODAY
EASTON, Conn. --Hope is a big word in the Standen household in Easton these days.
Through a procedure at the Cell Medicine Institute in Panama, there is a 60 percent to 70 percent chance that Zach Standen a 17-year-old who became paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident last summer may regain some feeling and movement in his legs.
In the procedure, The stem cells are taken from your own bone marrow and human umbilical cords and are re-injected into your body," Zachs mother, Christine Standen, said in a phone interview.
The ultimate goal is for the stem cells from Zach's body to regenerate the nerves and neural connections for him to regain some feeling and function in his legs.
It's extremely important that Zach gets the treatment as soon as possible, his mother said. "He should get the stem cell therapy within a year of the accident since this is when the most healing occurs and before scar tissue is laid down," Christine Standen said. Once this happens, she said, muscle mass is lost and muscles begin to atrophy.
Related story: Easton teen is left paralyzed after car crash.
Zach's family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the nearly $40,000 needed to pay for the treatment. So far, the page has been shared 687 times. With 313 donations, it has raised $18,194 out of a $100,000 goal.
The family is hoping to raise enough money to get Zach two stem cell treatments, which would greatly increase his chances for recovery.
In addition, a fundraiser has been established to benefit the cause for Zach. Through Feb. 28, a total of 15 percent of the cost of the Arbonne products from this page will be donated to Zach Standens Stem Cell Therapy Fund.
Zach and his mother, as well as Zachs girlfriend, Constance Rude, plan on taking the month-long trip to Panama.
We are hoping that Zach [who attends Joel Barlow High School in Redding] will get his homework assignments ahead of time," she said, adding that he will most likely have to take summer classes or make up some timein the fall.
In a post on Zachs GoFundMe Page, his mother wrote, As of right now, there has been very little progress physically and I can't see him being like this for the rest of his life. No walking, no bowel or bladder control, no sexual function, no feeling. This is no way to live if we can help it, especially for a 17 year old."
She said Zach's spirits are waning. "He is finding it difficult to study and is trying to maintain hope."
Aside from his medical issues, Zach has the life of a typical teenager he goes to school and hangs out with his friends.
Related story: A family seeks support for treatment for paralyzed son.
Zach goes twice a week to physical therapy at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford. "He is working really hard, every day," said his mother.
Another fundraiser for Zachwill be a concert by the Grayson Hugh & The Moon Hawks & The Bobby Paltauf Band on March 11 at 7 p.m. at the Fairfield Theatre Company. A total of 25 percent of ticket sales will go toward Zach's Stem Cell Therapy Fund.
Christine Standen said she feels extreme gratitude toward for the support the family has received through this tough time. "We are so grateful to the entire community," she said.
For previous Daily Voice articles on Zach Standen, click here and here .
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Paralyzed Easton Teen Seeking Stem Cell Treatment In Bid To ... - Wilton Daily Voice
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KUWAIT: Sheikha Salwa Al-Sabah Center for Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord will pave the way forward to develop services and researches in the healthcare sector, said Kuwait Holding Projects Company (KIPCO) Yesterday. The center will help advance research within the stem cell and umbilical cord domains and will aid in developing a strong partnership between the public and private sectors within health services, KIPCO Vice Chairman Faisal Hamad Al-Ayyar said in a statement.
Hopefully, this facility will make it easy for the public to access necessary healthcare in Kuwait, said Ayyar who affirmed stem cell and umbilical cord researches will be crucial to the treatment of various Intractable diseases. According to the company, KIPCO and its Group companies will hand over the Sheikha Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord Center in mid-September 2017, with 70 per cent of the construction of the building now complete. The center, financed through a KD seven million donation made to the Ministry of Health by Masharee Al-Khair Charity Organization on behalf of KIPCO Group, is the Gulf regions first-ever center to be dedicated to stem cell research and the storage of umbilical cords.
The Sheikha Salwa Sabah Al Ahmad Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord Center is being built over a 12,000-square-meters plot of land in the Al Sabah Health Zone, opposite the Maternity Hospital. It has a total built up area of 7,800-square-meters and includes a three-floor main building, a utilities building, in addition to external landscaping and parking. The facility includes testing and research laboratories, blood and cord storage banks, research and medical libraries, as well as a lecture theater. In addition to KD 7 million donation, the Advanced Technology Company, a member of the KIPCO Group, has pledged to provide state-of-the-art equipment for the centers specialized laboratories, cooling systems and stem cell storage facilities. ATCs contribution is valued at KD 1 million. KUNA
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Center to develop stem cell research - Kuwait Times | Kuwait Times - Kuwait Times
Stem cell transplantation for leukemia
A stem cell transplant can be used to restore healthy bone marrow in patients with leukemia. Stem cells help stimulate new bone marrow growth and restore the immune system.
Before a stem cell transplant for leukemia, you will undergo a conditioning regimen, which involves intensive treatment to destroy as many leukemia cells as possible. You may receive high doses of chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation therapy. You may also receive reduced-intensity conditioning (a mini-allogeneic transplant), which uses lower, less toxic doses of chemotherapy and/or total body irradiation (TBI) before the transplant.
Once this preparative regimen is complete, you are ready to undergo the transplant. Much like a blood transfusion, youll receive the stem cells intravenously. The procedure takes about an hour. After entering the bloodstream, the stem cells travel to the bone marrow and start to make new blood cells in a process known as engraftment.
In the months following the transplant, your care team will monitor your blood counts. You may need transfusions of red blood cells and platelets. Sometimes, the intensive treatments you receive before the stem cell transplantation for leukemia can cause side effects, like infection. In this case, your doctor may administer IV antibiotics.
If you had an allogeneic stem cell transplant, your doctor may prescribe certain drugs to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), a condition where the donated cells attack the patient's tissues.
Recovery from a leukemia stem cell transplant can take several months. Dr. Redei and his team will work together with the rest of your care team to support you throughout the entire process.
For example, your dietitian will recommend a healthy diet to nutritionally fortify your body, and your naturopathic clinician will recommend natural therapies to help reduce side effects, such as neuropathy. Your rehabilitation therapist will recommend safe levels of physical activity to help you stay active and independent.
Additionally, your pain management practitioner will use various techniques to help alleviate discomfort and control bone and neuropathic pain, while your mind-body therapist will provide counseling and relaxation techniques.
A stem cell transplant (also called hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation) infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into the body. Stem cells can be collected from the bone marrow, circulating (peripheral) blood, and umbilical cord blood.
There are two main types of stem cell transplants:
An advantage of an allogeneic transplant is that the stem cells come from a healthy donor with no malignant cells. However, since it can be difficult to find a matching donor, an autologous transplant is usually more common.
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Leukemia Stem Cell Transplantation | CTCA
February 13, 2017 Microscopy reveals the tree-like arrangement of the milk-producing cells in the mammary gland during pregnancy. Credit: Dr Anne Rios, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have used advanced cellular, bioinformatics and imaging technology to reveal a long-lived type of stem cell in the breast that is responsible for the growth of the mammary glands during pregnancy.
The newly discovered stem cells, which respond to the 'ovarian hormones' progesterone and oestrogen, may also be linked to a high-risk form of breast cancer.
The discovery was made by Dr Nai Yang Fu, Dr Anne Rios, Professor Jane Visvader and Professor Geoff Lindeman as part of a 20-year research program into how the breast develops from stem cells, and how breast cancers can arise from stem cells and developing breast tissue. The research was published today in Nature Cell Biology.
Dr Fu said the team had been able to build on their earlier discovery of breast stem cells, by defining subsets of stem cells with different functions, a project that was conducted in collaboration with bioinformatics researchers Dr Matthew Ritchie and Professor Gordon Smyth.
"When we looked at the genes that were switched on in these stem cells, we could distinguish subsets of stem cells that differed in their expression of genes encoding two proteins called Tetraspanin8 and Lgr5," he said. "By looking at the levels of Tetraspanin8 and Lgr5 protein on the surface of the cells, we could divide the stem cells into three separate groups."
The team used advanced technologies including three-dimensional imaging to show that the three groups of stem cells are located in different parts of the breast and function differently, Dr Rios said.
"We focused particularly on one stem cell subtype that had the highest levels of Tetraspanin8 and Lgr5 protein, which were located in the 'proximal' region of the breast around the nipple," Dr Rios said.
Professor Visvader said these stem cells were normally dormant - sitting quietly and not dividing - and remained in the proximal region throughout life. "However, when they were exposed to the hormones progesterone and oestrogen these cells awakened and could rapidly give rise to new breast cells," she said.
The research also revealed that the stem cells with high levels of Tetraspanin8 and Lgr5 protein had many similarities to a subtype of 'triple negative' breast cancers known as claudin-low cancers.
"Compared to other types of breast cancer, claudin-low cancers have a high chance of recurrence after treatment, leading to a poor prognosis for patients" Professor Visvader said.
Professor Lindeman, who is also a medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The Royal Melbourne Hospital, said the research may lead to future improved outcomes for people with claudin-low cancers, "We hope that our discovery can be used to understand how cancers may arise from long-lived stem cells, and potentially lead to better outcomes for breast cancer patients in the future," he said.
Explore further: Long-lived breast stem cells could retain cancer legacy
More information: Identification of quiescent and spatially restricted mammary stem cells that are hormone responsive, Nature Cell Biology, nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncb3471
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Ovarian hormones awaken newly discovered breast stem cells - Medical Xpress