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Inducible Site-Specific Recombination in Neural Stem …

By Adult Stem Cells

Genesis. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 Jul 10.

Published in final edited form as:

PMCID: PMC2708938

NIHMSID: NIHMS128325

Department of Developmental Biology and Kent Waldrep Foundation Center for Basic Neuroscience Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

Jian Chen and Chang-Hyuk Kwon contributed equally to this work.

To establish a genetic tool for manipulating the neural stem/progenitor cell (NSC) lineage in a temporally controlled manner, we generated a transgenic mouse line carrying an NSC-specific nestin promoter/enhancer expressing a fusion protein encoding Cre recombinase coupled to modified estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain (ERT2). In the background of the Cre reporter mouse strain Rosa26lacZ, we show that the fusion CreERT2 recombinase is normally silent but can be activated by the estrogen analog tamoxifen both in utero, in infancy, and in adulthood. As assayed by -galactosidase activity in embryonic stages, tamoxifen activates Cre recombinase exclusively in neurogenic cells and their progeny. This property persists in adult mice, but Cre activity can also be detected in granule neurons and Bergmann glia at the anterior of the cerebellum, in piriform cortex, optic nerve, and some peripheral ganglia. No obvious Cre activity was observed outside of the nervous system. Thus, the nestin regulated inducible Cre mouse line provides a powerful tool for studying the physiology and lineage of NSCs.

Keywords: Cre-ERT2, nestin, neural stem cells, tamoxifen, transgenic mouse, recombination

The recognition that the adult brain retains stem cells (NSCs) has fundamentally changed our view of brain plasticity (Lie et al., 2004; Ming and Song, 2005; Zhao et al., 2008). It also raises the hope of cell replacement therapy for neurodegenerative disease (Lie et al., 2004). Adult neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles serves to replenish olfactory bulb (OB) interneurons via the rostral migratory stream (RMS). In the dentate gyrus, neurogenesis in the subgranular layer (SGL) generates synaptically active granule neurons and has been implicated in learning, memory and mood disorders in rodents (Li et al., 2008; Ming and Song, 2005; Zhang et al., 2008; Zhao et al., 2008). The development of conditional mutant alleles using the Cre/loxP system has permitted circumvention of early lethality observed when many genes are mutated by traditional knockout, thus offering the opportunity to study gene function with spatial control (Mak, 2007). A further refinement of this technology has been the development of inducible Cre transgenes that permit temporal control of gene recombination and inactivation (Feil et al., 1997; Hayashi and McMahon, 2002). Fusion of the Cre recombinase protein with a modified estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain (ERT2) causes sequestering of the fusion protein in the cytoplasm where it cannot mediate loxP recombination. Application of estrogen or estrogen analogs, however, causes translocation of the Cre-ERT2 fusion protein to the nucleus where recombination can then be achieved.

To achieve temporal ablation of genes in the neural stem cell lineage, we have constructed a tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgene that is regulated by the neurogenic lineage specific promoter/enhancer of the nestin gene. Nestin is an intermediate filament protein specifically expressed in neural stem/progenitor cells in both developing central nervous system and adult brain. The regulatory element driving neural-specific nestin expression has been mapped to the second intron of the nestin gene (Lendahl et al., 1990; Zimmerman et al., 1994). As detailed in our studies, we show that the transgene is silent in the absence of estrogen analog. Upon activation, the expression is robust and recombination is elicited primarily in the principal neurogenic niches. Additional expression is confined to the cerebellum, certain peripheral nerves, and to the piriform cortex, a potentially novel site of neurogenesis.

The Cre-ERT2 cDNA was placed under the control of a 5.6 kb rat nestin 5 regulatory element and followed by the 668 bp of inversed nestin second intron (). Six transgenic lines were obtained after pronuclear injection and four underwent germline transmission. To assay Cre recombinase activity after induction, we crossed the CreERT2 lines with Rosa26-stop-lacZ (Rosa26lacZ) reporter mice. The Rosa26lacZ mice require Cre-mediated recombination for -galactosidase gene activation due to a stop cassette flanked by loxP sites upstream of the lacZ gene. To assess inducibility of the Cre transgene, sunflower oil vehicle (150 l) or the estrogen analog tamoxifen (1 mg) was injected into pregnant mice at embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5) and the embryos were dissected out at E14.5 for whole mount X-gal staining. In a Rosa26lacZ reporter background, exposure of the four transgenic lines to tamoxifen revealed that only two of the lines (Line 8 and Line 73) exhibited recombination activity ( and not shown). Moreover, comparison of Cre activity upon induction was similar although Line 8 was leaky, having minor but detectable Cre activity in the absence of tamoxifen. In contrast, Line 73 (Nes73-CreERT2) showed no signs of Cre activity in the absence of tamoxifen and the blue X-gal staining was found predominantly in embryonic brain and spinal cord where most nestin-positive neural progenitors are located ().

Transgene construct and tamoxifen inducibility. (a) Structure of the Nestin-CreERT2 transgene consisting of the rat nestin promoter/enhancer, cDNA encoding the CreERT2 fusion protein and inversely oriented Nestin second intron. (b) Transgene induction ...

The temporal control of Cre activity allowed us to induce Cre-mediated recombination for the purpose of tracing NSCs and their progeny at various time points. The pattern observed upon embryonic induction closely reflected the course of brain development. Tamoxifen induction at E13.5 labeled almost the entire cortex in the forebrain as well as the entire cerebellum including neurons and glia (). This coincides with the initiation of neural progenitor migration that contributes to different cortical layers in embryonic neural development (Sun et al., 2002). Induction at E17.5, when neurogenesis in the forebrain reaches completion, resulted in labeling of only the outer most layers of the cortex (), which stands in line with the inside-out pattern of cortex layer formation (Sun et al., 2002). Additionally, the thalamus and hindbrain were labeled at this time point. In the neonatal mouse brain, there is persistent mild but widespread lacZ activity, indicative of residual but rare progenitor cells throughout the parenchyma (). The most active neurogenic region at this time is the cerebellum (Herrup and Kuemerle, 1997), which showed intense lacZ staining following induction at E17.5 through P7 (). Mouse cerebellum development is considered to be complete by 3 weeks after birth, however our Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice showed strong Cre activity in the anterior part of cerebellum when induced 4 and 8 weeks after birth (, and ; and see below). Nonetheless, in the anterior brain, by 4 weeks of age the SVZ and SGL are the most neurogenic regions as assayed by tamoxifen-induced Cre activity ().

Novel Cre activity. Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice were treated with tamoxifen at 4 weeks of age and analyzed at 8 weeks (ac, eh, left and right panel of i). Abundant -Gal expression was detected in the anterior part of cerebellum ...

Adult NSCs modify their gene expression as they migrate and differentiate. In the SVZ, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive cells are considered to be stem cells (Doetsch et al., 1999). When differentiation starts and neuronal fate of the progenitor cells has been specified, cells begin to express doublecortin (DCX) and migrate into the OB through the RMS to finally become NeuN-positive mature neurons (Doetsch et al., 1999; Ming and Song, 2005). To determine the sites of primary Cre recombinase activity, we examined the SVZ of 4-week-old Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice 48 h after a short pulse of tamoxifen, since both GFAP-positive neural stem cells and some transient amplifying progenitor cells express nestin. X-gal staining followed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with GFAP or DCX antibody revealed that the majority of Cre activity resides in GFAP-positive SVZ cells close to the lateral ventricle, with only rare DCX-positive SVZ or RMS cells showing recombination (). This was further confirmed using an estrogen receptor antibody to show double labeling of Cre-ERT2-positive cells with the stem cell marker GFAP, and with S100, a marker of radial glia-derived ependymal cells (Supp. Info. Fig. 1) (Spassky et al., 2005). These studies indicate that the primary site of tamoxifen-activated Cre recombinase is the GFAP-positive, SVZ stem cell population.

Cre activity in adult NSC niches and migration targets. (a) Representative X-gal stained brain sections from mice 48 h after two tamoxifen administrations at P28 (12-h interval). X-gal signal was mainly restricted to SVZ (a1), with little or no signal ...

To measure the efficiency of tamoxifen-induced recombination in our Nes73-CreERT2 mice, we crossed them with the Rosa26YFP reporter line to generate Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26YFP mice and then induced these mice with tamoxifen at 4 weeks of age. We then harvested brain sections from the induced mice at 6 weeks of age, and performed immunofluorescent double-labeling with GFP and Sox2 antibodies (Supp. Info. Fig. 2). The percentage of GFP/Sox2 double-positive cells divided by the number of Sox2 positive cells in the SVZ was used to determine recombination efficiency. This quantification analysis revealed that 75 4% of Sox2-positive cells in the SVZ have been targeted 2 weeks after a 5-day tamoxifen induction.

To further study the dynamics of stem/progenitor cell migration and differentiation, Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice were induced at 4 weeks of age and examined by X-gal staining 2 or 4 weeks later ( and ). The dynamics of Cre-active cells in the hippocampus over time was not very dramatic (), however in the SVZ, an increase in the number of Cre active cells in an expanded ventricular area was evident 4 weeks after induction (). These results suggest a precursor-progeny relationship in which, after 2 weeks of induction, a significant number of new progenitor cells have been generated by stem cells and are beginning to disperse from the SVZ. Similarly, in the OB 2 weeks after induction, the X-gal positive cells were confined to a central cluster, whereas 4 weeks postinduction the cells were dispersed throughout the OB (). We interpret this result to indicate that at 2 weeks postinduction, cells are just arriving to the OB via the RMS and are confined to this central area, whereas at 4 weeks postinduction, these labeled cells have now dispersed throughout the OB. A similar, although more restricted, migration was also observed in hippocampus, where -Gal and NeuN double-positive neurons first appear close to the SGL 2 weeks after induction but by 4 weeks postinduction have migrated deeper into the granular layer ().

To explore the identity of the Cre-active cells, immunofluorescent double labeling was used to characterize Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice 4 weeks after induction (). -Gal immunoreactivity was found in nestin and GFAP-positive neural stem/progenitor cells in the SVZ and SGL (). In the anterior part of the SVZ and SGL, DCX-positive neural progenitors also showed Cre activity (). In addition, a majority of the cells in the RMS express both -Gal and DCX (). Furthermore, NeuN-positive mature neurons that also retained -Gal immunoreactivity could be found in the HP and OB (). A small number of GFAP-positive astrocytes in the OB and the corpus callosum (CC) also expressed the reporter gene -Gal (), indicating the presence of Cre activity in multiple cell types in the NSC lineage. This result is consistent with recent quantitative lineage tracing studies (Lagace et al., 2007).

The significant amount of Cre activity induced in anterior cerebellum of adult mice was unexpected (). shows a representative eight-week-old brain from a mouse that was induced with tamoxifen at 4 weeks of age. The -Gal positive cells were mostly NeuN-positive inner granular layer (IGL) granule cells and Bergmann glia that extend long processes to the surface of the cerebellum (). Consistent with previous reports that Bergmann glia express NSC markers such as nestin and Sox2 (Mignone et al., 2004; Sottile et al., 2006), we found that Cre-active Bergmann glia also expressed the NSC marker nestin (). However, the Cre-ERT2 fusion transgene was also expressed in some Sox2-negative cells in the IGL (, middle panel), suggesting potential aberrant expression of the Nestin-CreERT2 transgene. Mild but reproducible tamoxifen-induced Cre activity was also observed in the piriform cortex (), which has also been reported to be a potential neurogenic region (Pekcec et al., 2006). We next assessed tamoxifen-induced Cre activity in other regions using whole mount X-gal staining, and found that the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) but not the spinal cord showed Cre activity (). Histologic examination revealed that less than half of the DRG neurons undergo Cre-mediated recombination (). In addition, Cre activity was detected in the optic nerve and trigeminal ganglia in mice induced at neonatal (, middle panel) or adult stages (, right panel). Collectively these data indicate that the nestin promoter/enhancer employed to generate this tamoxifen inducible transgene, exhibits remarkable fidelity to the endogenous neural expression with only a few potential sites of discrepancy.

Detailed analysis of traditional Nestin-Cre transgenic lines has revealed Cre activity outside the CNS, for example, in the kidney and in somite-derived tissues (Dubois et al., 2006). To determine whether Cre activity in the Nes73-CreERT2 mice was restricted to the nervous system, Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice were induced for 5 days starting at P0 and analyzed at 8 weeks of age by whole-mount X-gal staining of internal organs including the heart, lung, liver, thymus, spleen, kidney, pancreas and stomach. With the exception of the esophagus, where neonatal but not adult exposure to tamoxifen induced Cre activity (, Supp. Info. Fig. 3) and stomach, where spontaneous lacZ activity is present in controls (, Supp. Info. Fig. 3) (Kwon et al., 2006), we found no evidence of obvious reporter expression in the absence or presence of tamoxifen (see ).

Cre activity is not observed in internal organs. Nes73-CreERT2;Rosa26lacZ mice were treated with vehicle (Veh) or tamoxifen (Tmx) at P0 for 5 days. Different organs were then dissected out at 8 weeks and subjected to whole mount X-gal staining. Endogenous ...

The rediscovery of neurogenesis in the adult brain has led to reawakened interest in the role of new neurons in the mature brain. The SVZ is a major site of neurogenesis for OB interneurons, although emerging evidence suggests additional roles. In the hippocampus, neurogenesis has been implicated in mood modulation and in learning and memory (Li et al., 2008; Lie et al., 2004; Zhao et al., 2008). On the dark side, stem/progenitor cells in the CNS have been implicated as the source of glioblastoma (Kwon et al., 2008; Sanai et al., 2005; Zhu et al., 2005). Specific ablation or activation of genes implicated in hippocampal function and in glioma can be achieved with our tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgene and we have developed successful models of both SVZ stem/progenitor cell-dependent induction of glioma and hippocampal stem/progenitor cell-dependent antidepressant insensitive mice using this tamoxifen-inducible Cre mouse line (Li et al., 2008; Llaguno et al., submitted).

Still, there is much to be learned about the precise role of neural stem cells in normal brain function and in associated pathologies. For example, in this report we describe novel sites of nestin-Cre recombinase activity. Whether this activity identifies previously undetected sites of neurogenesis or simply ectopic Cre expression remains to be rigorously determined. Of note, a second, independently derived transgenic line, Nes8-CreERT2, shows a similar pattern of inducible expression (data not shown) leading us to favor the conclusion that the expression outside the SVZ and SGZ is not due to position effects at the site of transgene insertion but rather is a reflection of the properties of the transgenic construct. Stem cells have been isolated from neonatal cerebellum and they are reported to be prominin/CD133-positive and Math1-negative (Klein et al., 2005; Lee et al., 2005). We observe Cre activity in the cerebellum from E17.5 through 8 weeks of age. Although diminishing over time, a clear gradient is observed that becomes progressively more anterior. The lacZ positive cells resulting from activation of the Rosa26 reporter possess the characteristic morphology of granule cells. In adult cerebellum, the Bergmann glia retain a morphology reminiscent of radial glia which can generate neurons and adult NSCs during brain development (Gotz and Barde, 2005; Merkle et al., 2004). In addition, Bergmann glia still express stem cell markers such as Sox2 and nestin (Mignone et al., 2004; Sottile et al., 2006). On the other hand, only rarely have cells with BrdU incorporation been observed in adult cerebellum, even after growth factor infusion (Grimaldi and Rossi, 2006). We also found that a number of cells in the anterior cerebellum targeted 2 days after acute tamoxifen administration were positive for NeuN but not GFAP or nestin (Supp. Info. Fig. 4), suggesting that the cre activity in the IGL was more likely due to promoter leakiness (Supp. Info. Fig. 4). Further study is needed to resolve this issue.

A series of similar inducible Nestin-Cre transgenes has recently been reported, although the extent of expression over time and expression outside the nervous system was not described (Supp. Info. Table 1) (Balordi and Fishell, 2007; Burns et al., 2007; Imayoshi et al., 2006; Kuo et al., 2006; Lagace et al., 2007). Eisch and co-workers recently described a tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mouse line with no obvious Cre activity in the cerebellum upon tamoxifen induction (Lagace et al., 2007). The fact that our transgenic construct included only intron 2 of the nestin gene whereas their construct contained nestin exons 13 could account for this discrepancy (Zimmerman et al., 1994). It is possible that our more limited nestin construct might lack cerebellar-specific repressor sequences. Another potentially significant variation is the use of a Rosa26lacZ reporter line versus the Rosa26YFP reporter used by Lagace et al. (2007). Both the sensitivity of the reporter and perhaps the recombinogenic efficiency could in principle differ, leading to these discrepancies. We also observe Cre activity in the adult piriform cortex. This is in accordance with previous reports of BrdU incorporation in this region, leading to the suggestion of additional neurogenic niches (Pekcec et al., 2006).

We examined our mice for leakiness as well as for inducible transgene expression in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and multiple organs. In contrast to many other Nestin reporter transgenic mice (Day et al., 2007; Dubois et al., 2006; Gleiberman et al., 2005; Li et al., 2003; Ueno et al., 2005), we found no evidence of obvious leakiness or of inducible transgene activation outside the CNS except in the PNS, where inducible expression was found both in the DRG and trigeminal ganglion, and in the esophagus. It is possible that our Nestin-CreERT2 transgene has a more restricted expression pattern or that the tamoxifen induction efficiency is lower in certain tissues. In addition, whole mount X-gal staining of the organs makes it difficult to capture rare Cre-positive cells if they do exist. DRG have been used to culture neurospheres (Li et al., 2007), and it will be of interest to determine whether our transgene is active in these progenitor cells, which would provide supportive evidence for the existence of additional neural stem/progenitor niches. Subsequent detailed lineage tracing of the Cre expressing cells will more clearly address this issue.

A 2.0 kb fragment of CreERT2 and SV40 polyA sequence of the pCre-ERT2 vector (Feil et al., 1997) were amplified using a PCR technique that also generated 5 Not1 and 3 Spe1 sites. After enzymatic digestion, purified fragment was ligated to an 8.9 kb fragment from pNerv (Panchision et al., 2001; Yu et al., 2005) digested with Not1 and Xba1. The resulting pNes-CreERT2 construct contains a 5.6 kb rat nestin 5 genetic element from pNerv, a 2.0 kb CreERT2 and SV40 polyA sequence from pCre-ERT2 and a 668 bp of reversed second intron of rat nestin from pNerv (). After Sal1 digestion, an 8.3 kb band was purified and microinjected into the pronuclei of fertilized eggs from B6D2F1 mice. Among 28 pups born after two rounds of transgenic injection, six contained the transgene, and four of them transmitted to germline. Rosa26lacZ mice were obtained from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME), Rosa26YFP mice were kindly provided by Dr. Jane Johnson. All the mice were maintained in a mixed genetic background of C57BL/6, SV129 and B6/CBA. Nestin73-CreERT2; Rosa26lacZ mice were generated by crossing male Nestin-CreERT2 mice with female Rosa26lacZ mice. Genotyping of the mice was performed as described previously (Kwon et al., 2006). All mouse protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Research Advisory Committee at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Tamoxifen (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) was dissolved in a sunflower oil (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO)/ethanol mixture (9:1) at 6.7 mg/ml. For initial screening of the embryonic induction of the transgenic lines, 150-l tamoxifen (1 mg) or vehicle (sunflower oil/ethanol mixture only) was injected intraperitoneally into pregnant mice at embryonic day E12.5 (E12.5 hereafter). Embryos were dissected out 2 days later and subjected to X-gal staining. For in utero induction, 150-l tamoxifen (1 mg) or vehicle was injected intraperitoneally into pregnant mothers at E13.5 or E17.5, and pups were analyzed 1 month after birth. For neonatal induction, 12.5-l tamoxifen (83.5 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle per gram of mouse body weight was injected into lactating mothers (tamoxifen can be delivered to pups through the mothers milk) at P0 or P7, once a day for 5 days and the pups were analyzed 4 weeks after the first induction. For induction in adult mice, 12.5-l tamoxifen (83.5 mg/kg) or vehicle per gram of body weight was injected intraperitoneally into 4- or 8-week-old mice twice a day for five consecutive days and then analyzed 2 or 4 weeks after the first induction.

Mice were dissected and perfused as previously described (Kwon et al., 2006). For whole mount X-gal staining, the embryos or organs were carefully dissected out, washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and then fixed in 2% (w/v) paraformaldehyde (PFA; in PBS) for 1 h at 4C. Postnatal brains were postfixed in 2% PFA overnight (O/N) at 4C, embedded in 2.5% chicken albumin sagittally or coronally, and then cut into 50-m thick sections by vibratome (Leica, Nussloch, Germany). Every fifth sagittal section or 12th coronal section was chosen to perform X-gal staining and comparable sections were selected for further immunostaining according to the X-gal staining result. X-gal staining of organs and sections was performed as described (Kwon et al., 2006).

Four Nestin73-CreERT2;Rosa26YFP mice were induced at 4 weeks of age as described above and perfused with 2% PFA at 6 weeks of age. The brains were dissected out, postfixed in 4% PFA O/N at 4C, processed and embedded in paraffin blocks. Five-m thick sagittal sections were cut until the lateral ventricle was gone. H&E staining was performed on every fifth slide to determine comparable sections. Every 10th of comparable sections was subjected to GFP (Aves Labs, Tigard, OR) and Sox2 (Chemicon, Temecula, CA) immunofluorescence staining, and three random regions of the frontal SVZ of each section were selected for counting. The efficiency was determined by the percentage of GFP (mean 203)/Sox2 (mean 270) double-positive cells out of the total Sox2-positive cells in SVZ.

Free-floating immunofluorescence staining was performed on 50-m thick sections. Antibodies used for the staining were against -galactosidase (ICN, Aurora, OH), GFAP, nestin (BD Biosciences, Bedford, MA), doublecortin (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA), NeuN (Chemicon, Temecula, CA), Mash1 (BD Biosciences, Bedford, MA), S100 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). Alexar-488 or Alexar-555 conjugated goat anti-mouse or anti-rabbit (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) and Cy2 or Cy3 donkey anti-goat, anti-rabbit antibodies (Jackson Immunoresearch, West Grove, PA) were used to visualize primary antibody staining. Images were taken on a Zeiss LSM 510 confocal microscope (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany). For ER and Sox2 staining, 5-m thick paraffin sections were first stained with estrogen receptor antibody (Lab Vision, Fremont, CA) and visualized by DAB substrate with nickel solution (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). The slides were then washed with PBS three times, stained with Sox2 antibody (Chemicon, Temecula, CA), and visualized by Vector NovaRED (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Images were taken with a Nikon 2000 CCD camera (Nikon, Japan). All images were assembled using Adobe Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS (Adobe Systems Incorporated, San Jose, CA).

We thank Steven Kernie for providing pNerv plasmid, Jane Johnson and Frank Costantini for providing Rosa26YFP mice, Steven McKinnon, Shirley Hall, and Linda McClellan for technical assistance, Renee McKay for reading the manuscript, and Jane Johnson, James Battiste, Jing Zhou, and Yun Li for discussion and suggestions.

Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

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Inducible Site-Specific Recombination in Neural Stem ...

First stem cell treatment for human administered in Atlanta …

By Stem Cell Clinics

Taking a landmark step, Atlanta doctors have injected millions of embryonic stem cells into a partially paralyzed patient, treating a human for the first time in the U.S. with the controversial research, officials said Monday.

The medical procedure took place Friday at an unknown local hospital and the person, who was not identified, later entered the Shepherd Center, which specializes in brain and spinal cord injuries, for rehabilitation.

While supporters hailed the treatment as a monumental medical advance, others derided it as a moral atrocity. There was some irony in Atlanta being selected as the first American site for embryonic stem cell treatment, considering there have been several legislative proposals previously calling for a research ban. Clearly there was a divide when the news was revealed.

This is a big deal for Atlanta, said Steve Stice, director of the University of Georgias Regenerative Bioscience Center. One of my sons roommates at UGA [who is paralyzed] could be helped by this eventually.

Atlanta was chosen for the initial clinical trial because of the citys reputation for cutting-edge research in spinal-cord injuries and the Shepherd Centers advanced rehabilitation center, said Anna Krassowska, spokeswoman for Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., which is sponsoring the research. The stem cell treatment could be offered to 10 patients at seven sites nationwide, with Atlanta receiving more patients, Krassowska said.

This clinical trial represents another step forward in Shepherd Centers involvement in an attempt to find a cure for paralysis in people with spinal cord injury, Dr. David Apple, the center leader for the stem cell procedure, said in a statement.

The Shepherd Center will play a large role in judging the success of the trial by closely monitoring whether the patient regains any sensation or movement.

If successful, the treatment could would mark a medical milestone and elevate Atlantas stature in the scientific community, providing a breakthrough in dealing with spinal cord injuries.

Stem cell research has drawn opposition because the process of harvesting the cells destroys human embryos, which some liken to an abortion. However, researchers see a medical need for the work, noting that embryonic stem cells can morph into any type of cell.

Georgians retain strong opinions on both sides of the issue, particularly in the political ranks.

Among the top candidates in the governors race, Democrat Roy Barnes supports stem cell research and Republican Nathan Deal opposes it.

I believe our state must embrace the necessity of stem cell and other types of bio-tech research as being essential to the development of a vibrant economy, Barnes said,

Deal, according to his spokesman Brian Robinson, supports research that does not include the creation of life for the purpose of destroying it.

State Representative James Mills, R-Gainesville, who sponsored a bill that allows parents to adopt human embryos, also spoke against the use of embryonic stem cells in research.

In a case where a childs life is taken in order for research to be done, I am opposed to that, he said.

The executive director of Georgia Right to Life, Nancy Stith, said she was shocked to learn the federal government had allowed the trial to proceed. We are very much heart-broken, disappointed and concerned that it is happening, she said.

Her organization supports stem cell technologies but is opposed to the research because it destroys human life.

When is it ethical that a human has to die to benefit someone else? Stith said. We believe never.

Stem cell research occurs at several Georgia institutions, including Georgia Tech, Emory University and UGA, and this particular procedure could bring more clinical trials to the area, UGAs Stice said.

Stice said embryonic stem cells have been tested in animals and he has heard of some clinics worldwide offering human therapies, but this clinical trial marks the first time the work has been approved by a government and carefully evaluated. The Food and Drug Administration gave its approval in July.

In this particular clinical trial, stem cells are converted into nerve cells that are injected into the damaged area of the spinal cord. It is hoped the stem cells will help repair nerve cells around the damaged area, potentially restoring movement.

The Geron Corp. said some paralyzed rats used in research regained the ability to walk, but otherwise was restrained in offering its expectations.

The Atlanta patient needed to be someone who was injured within the past 14 days and was between the ages of 18 to 65. The patient was injured in the middle section of the spine and was paralyzed from the waist down. No other information on the patient was released.

The surgery went well, said Krassowska.

The future of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research remains in question. A federal judge ruled in August that President Barack Obamas expansion of the research violated a federal law prohibiting taxpayer money be used for research that involves the destruction of human embryos. Geron did not receive federal funding for its work.

Company officials said they couldnt put a timetable on the process.

We just dont know, Krassowska said. This has never been done before in humans.

The Associated Press, BBC and the Washington Post contributed to this article.

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First stem cell treatment for human administered in Atlanta ...

India needs database of blood stem cell donors: Doctor …

By Stem Cell Doctors

KOLKATA: With only one in two million Indians finding a genetically matched donor, the country needs a database of willing blood stem cell donors to help the cause, a senior haematologist said.

"Surprisingly it's not difficult to get blood donors in our country, but we do not have enough donors for blood stem cells," haematologist and director of Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata Dr Mammen Chandy said.

"A large number of Indian patients with blood cancer and bone marrow failure who have failed standard treatments, can be cured with a haematopoietic stem cell transplant if only they had matched donors. For other patients, if a donor is found to be genetically matched from the registry, a transplant can be done and it can be life-saving.

"So, India needs to increase the number of donors on our registries," Dr Chandy said.

Blood stem cells, derived from peripheral blood of the donor, have the capacity to replace the recipient's abnormal stem cells with healthy ones correcting the problem at the root-level.

A blood stem cell transplant can be done to treat many fatal blood disorders such as Leukaemia, Thalassemia and Aplastic Anaemia.

With Kerala having over 19,000 donors followed by Tamil Nadu (over 16,000) and Karnataka (over 10,000), West Bengal has 2,369 blood stem cell donors, which is a small number compared to its population, the haematologist said.

"We need to create awareness on blood stem cell donation... we need to make people understand about the concept and break the myths related to the issue," Dr Chandy said.

"Ethnicity is an important factor in case of blood stem cell transplants. It plays a vital role," the haematologist said, adding, a donor could donate blood stem cell till he/she was 60 after a gap of every one year.

"Peripheral blood stem cell donation is a relatively straight forward procedure that takes about three to four hours. These stem cells are then infused through the veins of the recipient and thus the transplant is carried out," he said.

Meanwhile, leading blood stem cell donors registry 'DATRI', which has been conducting awareness campaigns throughout the country, has decided to campaign in the city to attract more donors.

"We conduct regular donor drives across the country to increase awareness on blood stem cell donation. In Kolkata we have fewer registrations compared to other cities. We are aiming to educate people on the procedure and break the myths associated with the same," DATRI co-founder Raghu Rajagopal said.

The country's first blood stem cell donor Ajit Kumar Das from Odisha's Bhubaneswar, who saved the life of a 11-year-old boy from Kerala in 2011, would be present at the awareness drive.

Three donors from West Bengal -- Avijit Dutta, Manoj Saraf and 21-year-old Puneet Gupta would also be present, he said.

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India needs database of blood stem cell donors: Doctor ...

Duke Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Program

By Stem Cell Medicine

Overview Our program brings together basic scientists and clinicians studying stem cells in a variety of adult and developing organ systems. The goal is to understand and exploit their remarkable capacity to maintain healthy tissues and to replace cells lost by disease or injury. Program highlights include:

Faculty Search Cell Biology is hiring a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor with a strong record of creativity and productivity in developmental and/or regenerative biology. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a 3-page summary of accomplishments and research plans, a teaching statement, and at least 3 letters of recommendation by November 15, 2015. Applications should be submitted via Academic Jobs Online. Questions may be directed to Ken Poss or Brigid Hogan.

Executive Director Search The new tissueregenerationinitiative at Duke is hiring an Executive Director, an Associate in Research position at Duke University, to work closely with the Director, Co-Directors, and faculty members to promote and integrate discovery research, training, and applications in the broad field of tissue regeneration.We invite applications from candidates who have a Ph.D. and postdoctoral research experience in the relevant areas of developmental biology, stem cell biology, or tissue regeneration tosubmit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, summary of research accomplishments and any administrative leadership experience, and a list of at least three references to Academic Jobs Online. Questions may be directed toKen Poss.

Niche regulation of new neurons production in the adult brain Robust production of new neurons continues in the adult rodent brain, but how this is sustained remains unknown. Researchers in Dr. Chay T. Kuos laboratory found that self-assembly of radial glia into support structures for adult stem cells is critical for continued neurogenesis. More...

Zebrafish heart regeneration During heart regeneration in zebrafish, retinoic production in endocardial and epicardial cells localizes to areas of tissue damage, where it promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation. More...

Intestinal Crypt Proliferation Stem cell/transit amplifying compartments (green) reside in the base of each mouse intestinal crypt. These cells give rise to the multiple lineages of the intestinal epithelium (Lechler lab). More...

Lung epithelial stem cell regulationThe airways of the lung are lined by an epithelium that contains large numbers of cells specialized for making and secreting glycoproteins and mucus, as well as multiciliated cells that remove the mucus and the particles trapped in it. More...

Role of immune cells in the spermatogonial stem cell niche In addition to their roles in immune and inflammatory responses, macrophages have diverse functions in development. In reproductive biology, macrophages have been implicated in ovarian follicular growth and in Leydig cell function, but their role in spermatogonial differentiation has not been examined. More...

Drosophila hindgut repairThe fruit fly Drosophila has long been a leading genetic model for stem cell research. However, until recently no Drosophila models existed for study of mechanisms by which adult organs lacking active stem cells repair damaged tissue. More...

Indispensible pre-mitotic endocycles promote aneuploidy in the Drosophila rectum

Time lapse imaging of a tripolar division during developmental organ regeneration in the Drosophila hindgut. These divisions occur in cells with extra copies of the genome (polyploid cells) and produce an adult organ in which many of the cells have variable, imbalanced chromosome numbers (aneuploid cells). DNA is in purple, and centrosomes and cell membranes are in green.

Fox Lab. Schoenfelder et al. (2014) Development 141:3551-3560

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Duke Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Program

Stem cells treatment clinic

By Stem Cell Clinic

more than 60 diseases can be treated with stem cells Read More...

Patient from Portugal, Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis, One month after treatment he could walk again Read More...

Swiss Medica participated in neuro rehabilitation conference march 2015Read More...

NEW modern technology - activating autologous stem cells and replacing damaged cells

Patient from Portugal, 44 years old. Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis.

In December 2012 his condition exacerbated. He started using wheelchairs. His disease progressed. He was not able to walk. He was not able to see. Nine months of usual treatments for MS accompanied by chemotherapy did not help. Then he found Swiss Medica Stem Cell Clinic. Stem celltreatment started immediately. One month later he was able to walk again.

SEE WHOLE STORY ABOUT J PAUL >>>

Holistic medicine considers a person to be a functional unit. The disease symptoms are signs of disruption in the system of the body. By activating the bodys ability of self-regulation we can eliminate this disruption. In Swiss Medica XXI Century S.A. we seek the cause of the disease, and provide a setting: to allow the body to use its own powers of self-healing to overcome the disease.

Our primary task is to make your own cells treat your own body. We use advanced technology to activate dormant cells (adipose mesenchymal stem cells) to differentiate into the cells we need, and then to replace the damaged cells. Symptoms become less prominent and disappear.

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Stem cells treatment clinic

Platelet Rich Plasma – Biocellular Renerative Medicine

By Platelet Rich Plasma Injections

OPTIMUM PLATELET CONCENTRATION LEVEL FOR PRP Outpatient PRP preparation systems exist with the ability to concentrate platelets from two to eight times. There is some controversy about what the optimum platelet concentration should be, but a level of at least 1 million platelets per L appears to be the magic number. Since the average patients platelet count is 200,000 +/- 75, a four to five times concentration appears to be the desired level. When levels are in the 5x range, the influx of adult stem cells has been noted to increase by over 200%. In 2008, Kajikawa et al concluded that PRP enhances the initial mobilization of circulation-derived cells in the early stage of tendon healing. Circulation-derived cells are defined as mesenchymal stem cells that have the potential to differentiate into reparative fibroblasts or tenocytes as well as macrophages. Under normal circumstances, circulation-derived cells last only a short time after tendon injury. The authors suggest this as one of the main reasons for the known low healing ability of injured tendons. If the circulation derived cells could be activated and their time-dependant decrease stalled with PRP, then the wounded tendon could more fully heal. One study found an increase in the circulation-derived cells with the PRP group, as well as increased production of types I and III collagen in the PRP group versus control. This finding of additional fibroblast proliferation and type I collagen production enhanced by increasing platelet concentrations concur with an earlier study by Lui et al. This provides evidence that PRP stimulates the chemotactic migration of human mesenchymal stem cells to the injury site in a dose-dependent manner - i.e., the more concentrated the platelets, the more stimulation.

PROLOTHERAPY VERSUS PRP The use of hyperosmolar dextrose (Prolotherapy) has been shown to increase platelet-derived growth factor expression and upregulate multiple mitogenic factors that may act as signaling mechanisms in tendon repair. Saline Prolotherapy can have a similar effect. An interesting study published in the January 2010 JAMA compared PRP versus saline injection (basically saline Prolotherapy) for chronic Achilles tendinopathy. Both groups improved significantly by Yellonel et al and the authors conclude there was no statistical difference between the improvement of both groups. Therefore, both PRP and Prolotherapy have been shown to stimulate natural healing and both can be effective and both should be considered in the treatment plan for connective tissue repair. However, PRP may be more appropriate in some cases. When PRP is used as a Prolotherapy formula for chronic or longstanding injuries, the PRP increases the initial healing factors and thereby the rate of healing. The Prolotherapy itself (irritation, needle microtrauma) is what is tricking the body into initiating repair at these long forgotten sites as well as the PRP, itself, which also acts as an irritating solution. This is especially important with chronic injuries, degeneration and severe tendonosis, where the body has stopped recognizing that area as something to repair. In these cases, PRP may be more appropriate, however this determination should be made by the physician on an individual basis. PRP can also be used preferentially over dextrose Prolotherapy in the case of a tendon sheath or muscle injury- areas occasionally but not typically treated with dextrose Prolotherapy where the focus is the fibroosseous junction (enthesis). It can also be used preferentially over dextrose Prolotherapy because of patient preference.

WHOLE BLOOD INJECTIONS VERSUS PRP Even before PRP, it was not unheard of to use whole blood as a Prolotherapy solution, especially where the patient was hypersensitive to other formulas. A 2006 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine studied the use of whole blood with needling(irritation such as with Prolotherapy) and concluded that the use of autologous blood injection, combined with dry needling, appears to be an effective treatment for medial epicondylitis. Another study in that same journal in 2009 compared injections using whole blood, dextrose Prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma and polidocanol (a sclerosing agent), and concluded that there is evidence to support the use of each of these agents in the treatment of connective tissue damage. However, there are only three known studies using whole blood, all of which were prospective case series without controls and small patient numbers. PRP studies, on the other hand, are growing not only in number, but also in quality. When examining the physiology of how activated platelets signal repair cells, it seems logical that using PRP (with higher levels of platelets per unit volume) would be more effective than autologous blood although no study has yet directly compared the two.

CORTISONE VERSUS PRP The use of cortisone in musculoskeletal injuries is controversial and the subject of various studies over the years. In February 2010, researchers in the Netherlands published the results of a well designed, two year randomized controlled blinded trial with a significant test group of 100 patients, comparing corticosteroid use to an injection of concentrated platelet rich plasma without ultrasound guidance. The PRP injection was given to the lateral epicondyle area of maximum tenderness, and a peppering technique was used in order to activate the thrombin release from the tendon- in this case endogenous thrombin is the activator for the injected platelet growth factors. The researchers indicate the importance of the inflammation phase the first two days post treatment) during which there is a migration of macrophages to the injured tissue site. Macrophages release additional growth factors, and there is increased collagen synthesis on days three to five. The conclusion of the Netherlands study was that PRP reduces pain and significantly increases function, exceeding the effect of the corticosteroid injection.

SAFETY ISSUES Like Prolotherapy, PRP therapy has low risk and few side effects. Concerns such as hyperplasia have been raised regarding the use of growth factors, however there have been no documented cases of carcinogenesis, hyperplasia, or tumor growth associated with the use of autologous PRP. PRP growth factors never enter the cell or its nucleus and act through the stimulation of external cell membrane receptors of adult mesenchymal stem cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, osteoblasts, and epidermal cells. This binding stimulates expression of a normal gene repair sequence, causing normal healing - only much faster. Therefore PRP has no ability to induce tumor formation. Also, because it is an autologous sample, the risk of allergy or infectious disease is considered negligible. Evidence also exists in studies that PRP may have an antibacterial effect.

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Are embryonic stem cells and artificial stem cells equivalent?

By Embryonic Stem Cells

October 29, 2015 by Hannah L. Robbins HSCI researchers made artificial stem cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), from embryonic stem cells, then turned them into the neural cells pictured here. Credit: Jiho Choi

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have found new evidence suggesting some human induced pluripotent stem cells are the 'functional equivalent' of human embryonic stem cells, a finding that may begin to settle a long running argument.

The findings were published this week in Nature Biotechnology.

From 1998 until 2007 embryonic stem cells (ES cells) were the only human cells known with the potential to become any other type of cell in the body. When Shinya Yamanaka discovered how to engineer adult somatic cells to a state where they, too, had this potentiala discovery for which he was awarded the Nobel Prizescientists could then reprogram nearly any type of adult cell, including the oft-used skin and blood cells, to make induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.

The discovery, however, ignited a debate that is still ongoing over whether iPS cells are as good as ES cells. Hundreds of research experiments have been conducted, some suggesting the two types are functionally similar and can be used interchangeably and others suggesting they are fundamentally different.

Konrad Hochedlinger, PhD, HSCI Principal Faculty member, a senior author on the paper, and a leader in studying iPS cell reprogramming, said his lab has been working to "understand if these artificially generated stem cells, the induced pluripotent stem cells, are equivalent to embryonic stem cells."

Experiments designed to compare iPS cells to ES cells are difficult to carry out, said Hochedlinger. Researchers want to know if the reprogramming process that converts an adult cell into an iPS cell somehow changes the cell's ability to properly regulate its genesmaking the artificial stem cell behave differently, but it is difficult to tell by comparing these two cell types to eachother.

Because the cells come from two different sources, they are inherently genetically different. A side-by-side comparison would show variation, but it would remain unclear whether the variation was due to the difference between sex, race, and/or ancestry in the two cells, or from the reprogramming process.

In order to compare cell types, Hochedlinger and his colleagues needed to start with cells that were genetically identical. Then if they were to see variation, it would likely be from the reprogramming process and not the cells' genetic backgrounds.

Jiho Choi, a PhD student in the Hochedlinger lab and first author on the paper, "tricked" human ES cells into becoming human iPS cells by first coaxing two well-studied lines of ES cells to form skin cells. He then reprogrammed those skin cells into iPS cells before sequencing the gene products of the two cell types to see if they were identical.

After sequencing, the researchers teamed up with Soohyun Lee, a research fellow at HMS, and Peter Park, PhD, HSCI Affiliated Faculty member and co-senior author on the study. Park's group found only about 50 of the 200,000 genes that make up the human genome were expressed differently between the two cell types.

In fact, these differentially expressed genes were transcribed at such low levels, Park believes the difference may be 'transcriptional noise.' If you look at the whole landscape of the genome those genes may be a little bumps rather than large mountains, Hochedlinger explained. "They might be scored as different, but there may not be any biological repercussions. "

Additionally, when the researchers assessed the functional properties of their ES and iPS cell lines, they found that they had equal potentials to differentiate into neural cells and a variety of other specialized cell lineages.

"When using these cell lines and assays, and after considering a number of technical and biological variables, we find that ES cells and iPS cells are equivalent," said Hochedlinger, adding the caveat that not all practical applications can account for the variables, and that the science has not yet advanced to where iPS cells can replace embryonic stem cells in every situation.

"Embryonic stem cells are still an important reference point, against which other pluripotent cells are compared," said Hochedlinger. "Along those lines, this study increases the 'value' of iPS cells."

Explore further: What's good for the mouse is good for the monkey: Skin cells reprogrammed into stem cells

More information: Jiho Choi et al. A comparison of genetically matched cell lines reveals the equivalence of human iPSCs and ESCs, Nature Biotechnology (2015). DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3388

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Are embryonic stem cells and artificial stem cells equivalent?

PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Injections – Dr. Thomas F …

By Platelet Rich Plasma Injections

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PRP is a concentration of platelet cells from your blood with growth factors and stem cells. This helps the healing process of chronic problems or injuries. These bioactive proteins initiate connective tissue healing and promote development of new blood vessels.

By the use of the Harvest Tech System we obtain approximately 9cc's from the vein in the patient's arm. Using the special reagent tube and centrifuge the blood is spun to obtain the plasma platelets and stem cells.

First, the area to be injected is numbed so the injection doesn't hurt. Once the plasma platelets are obtained and injected into the chronic painful area this increases the platelets and growth factors 500%. It can be used for chronic foot pain such as plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis.

PRP injections are not covered by insurance. The charge is $675.00 per injection. It is expensive but it can avoid surgery that is both costly and disabling. You can use your health saving plan for this service.

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PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Injections - Dr. Thomas F ...

Medical Group

By Stem Cell Medical Center

China Southern Medical Group Incorporated 1996

headquarter located in Hong Kong. China Southern Medical Group has been twenty years in the medical industry. Until 2015, our Medical Group have set up one hospital in Shenzhen city, one hospital in Zhongshan city and one hospital in Zhuhai city. To achieve our group's mission, we will continue to develop medical services in coastal areas of Guangdong Province to cover different medical fields to making contributions to the health care industry of China and worldwide.

Our medical group has been making great efforts to develop advanced medical technology and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the time since established. In order to meet the demand of medical service, the establishment of two major divisions : Medical Biotechnology Division and Traditional Chinese Medicine Division with strong team of experts.

Cell-based therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine is respectively characteristic and both have their advantage. Biological technology combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine, they had different but complementary to enhance each other's respective strengths, the guarantee of obtaining optimal efficacy.

With our medical development philosophy, the biggest advantage in our medical group is that we have a strong medical team in both scientific research and medical specialists, we can maximization the medical powers from our group's affiliated hospitals to provide the best combination of treatment for the patient rather than single treatment.

The 1st hospital was founded in 1996, is a set of medical, health, research, prevention and rehabilitation in a modern general hospital located in Shenzhen city. Hospital with 17 clinical departments, it has a large number of sophisticated medical equipment which is commonly used in the world and has 1,500 inpatient beds. The most advanced medical equipment and the good quality of medical service wholeheartedly for the patients.

The 2nd hospital was founded in 2003, is a Ophthalmic Center located in Zhongshan city. Provides one-stop eye care services for patients, including basic and special examinations of eyes, specialist consultation, all kinds of eye surgeries, optician services of glasses and contact lenses.Hospitalalso equipped with operation department and inpatient department to meet different requirement of patients.With the concept of "International Standard, Excellent Service and Rational Charges" and combine with local sentiments, committed to providing the public with excellent one-stop ophthalmic services.

The 3rd hospital was established in 2008, mainly engaged in Stem Cell research and clinical application. Our hospital located in Zhuhai city, combined with scientific research and clinical application, can constantly improve and upgrade of stem cells curative effect. With our in-house Biological Laboratory, we can focuses on the symptoms of a disease and culture the most appropriate stem cells for the patients to achieve the best effect of medical treatment. Hospital consolidated the most advanced medical equipment and 100 private ward.

Our Medical Group is dedicated to biotechnology research includes gene engineering, cell engineering and enzyme engineering. Our stem cell therapy in the present can cure more than 120 diseases included organ diseases, neurological diseases, inherited diseases, degenerative diseases, genetic and congenital diseases.

Regenerative medicine will become the "next generation" of medical treatment. Stem cells treatment is a cells / gene replacement therapy, uses younger and health stem cells to replace the damaged, abnormal and aging cells to correct the mutation in gene and restore organ function.

Stem cells are one of the most fascinating areas of biology today.Rsearch on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells.Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cells in the body like muscle cell, red blood cell or brain cell.

Stem cells can reverse these devastating impacts relying on the advanced degree of medical engineering and development of regenerative medicine. The development of regenerative medicine has provided a new method for curing some previously incurable diseases.

In theory, as long as there is enough stem cells to replace the dead, damaged, abnormal and aging cells, the patients can be restored to health.

Our biotechnology research also includes DC+CIK Cancer Killer Cells and ACTL Anti-Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer, the advantage of cell-based cancer treatment is targeting therapy, the DC+CIK or ACTL cells only attacking tumor cells and not harm the normal cells. fight cancer without any side effects and drug reaction.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative method of therapy that can be administered in oral, topical, or injectable forms.It emphasizes the importance of using many herbs that are combined in different formulations for each individual patient.

In addition to treating illness, TCM focuses on strengthening the body's defenses and enhancing its capacity for healing and to maintain health.

TCM can be particularly effective for complex diseases with multiple causes, including metabolic diseases, chronic and degenerative conditions (such as knee arthritis) and age-related diseases.

In cancer treatment, combining therapy with Chinese herbal medicine can uplift the general health condition that includes organ functioning, body resistance, immune functions, self-healing power and so on.

The term "herbal medicine" is misleading in so far as plant elements are by far the most commonly, but not solely used substances in TCM; animal, human, and mineral products are also utilized.Thus, the term "medicinal" (instead of herb) is usually preferred.

Acupuncture is a family of procedures involving the stimulation of specific points on the body using a variety of techniques.The acupuncture technique that has been most often studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metal needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electricalstimulation.

Acupuncture is a safe and very effective natural, alternative therapy that is used to heal illnesses, prevent disease and improve well being.

Acupuncture is a method consists of inserting tiny, hair-thin needles into specific points in the body.The needles are then gently stimulated to trigger the bodys natural healing response.

Best known as a common method to relieve painful conditions such as neck pain, Low back pain, hip pain, migraines, TMJ pain and management of sports injuries.

Acupuncture can also be an effective alternative solution for conditions such as smoking addiction, over weight, anxiety, IBS, skin problems, pregnancy and gynecological issues, and infertility (read the infertility frequently asked questions and infertility research sections for more).

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Medical Group

Molecular & Cellular Medicine

By Uncategorized

Home Molecular & Cellular Medicine Menu

Research in the Molecular and Cellular Medicine department spans a wide range of biological processes, from structure and function of biomolecules to cell physiology. Emphasis is placed on understanding normal and abnormal biological function at the molecular and cellular levels. Using state-of-the-art biophysical technologies, research programs at the molecular level focus on understanding how proteins are synthesized, folded, assembled into functional macromolecules and trafficked throughout the cell. Reverse genetic approaches are used to elucidate the roles of newly discovered proteins and define functional protein domains. Research programs that bridge molecular and cellular levels focus on understanding mechanisms of basic cellular physiology (DNA replication, transcription, translation and protein sorting), molecules that control complex regulatory pathways (signal transduction, gene regulation, epigenetics, development and differentiation) and the molecular basis for cancer. Many faculty members have strong collaborative ties with Texas A&M University research groups in the Chemistry and Biochemistry/Biophysics departments or belong to multi-disciplinary research groups affiliated with Texas A&M University, including programs in Genetics, Neurosciences and Virology.

440 Reynolds Medical Building College Station, TX 77843-1114 Phone: (979) 436-0856 Fax: (979) 847-9481 Toll Free: (800) 298-2260 (U.S. only)

Last edited by: chauhan 09/22/2015

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Molecular & Cellular Medicine

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