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BrainStorm launches efficacy study of stem cell therapy for ALS

By Stem Cell Clinic

US BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (OTCBB:BCLI), a developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, said Friday that the first participants had been recruited in a Phase II study of NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre trial aims to examine the safety and efficacy of transplantation of Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells Secreting Neurotrophic Factors (MSC-NTF or NurOwn) in 48 patients with ALS. The study is being carried out at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, the University of Massachusetts Memorial (UMass) Hospital in Worcester and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

NurOwn is BrainStorm's autologous, adult stem cell therapy technology that differentiates bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into MSC-NTF cells, which secrete neurotrophic, or nerve- growth, factors for protection of existing motor neurons, motor neuron growth promotion, and re-establishment of nerve-muscle interaction. BrainStorm holds the rights to develop and commercialise the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing deal with Israeli Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company Ramot.

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BrainStorm launches efficacy study of stem cell therapy for ALS

Stem cells work on MS in mice

By Stem Cell Treatment

Human embryonic stem cells the bodys powerful master cells might be useful for treating multiple sclerosis, researchers reported Thursday.

A team has used cells taken from frozen human embryos and transformed them into a type of cell that scientists have hoped might help treat patients with MS, a debilitating nerve disease.

Mice with an induced version of MS that paralyzed them were able to walk freely after the treatment, the teams at Advanced Cell Technology and ImStem Biotechnology in Farmington, Connecticut, reported.

The cells appeared to travel to the damaged tissues in the mice, toning down the mistaken immune system response that strips the fatty protective layer off of nerve calls. Its that damage that causes symptoms ranging from tremors and loss of balance to blurry vision and paralysis.

These embryonic stem cells were carefully nurtured to make them form a type of immature cell called a mesenchymal stem cell. These cells worked better to treat the mice than naturally developed mesenchymal stem cells taken directly from bone marrow, the team wrote in the journal Stem Cell Reports, published by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

The top mouse is paralyzed, while the mouse on the bottom was treated with human embryonic stem cells and is able to run around.

The company released a video to show the benefits. Untreated mice were suffering. They are paralyzed. They on their backs. They are dragging their limbs. They are in really sad shape, ACTs chief scientific officer, Dr. Bob Lanza, told NBC News.

Treated animals, they are walking and jumping around just like normal mice.

Lanza says human trials are many months away, but he thinks it will not be necessary to use controversial cloning technology to make perfectly matched human embryonic stem cells to treat patients.

We can use an off-the-shelf source and itll work for everyone, he said. So you can use them and not worry about rejection.

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Stem cells work on MS in mice

ImStem Biotechnology, Inc. Advances Multiple Sclerosis Treatment with Embryonic Stem Cells

By Stem Cell Treatment

Farmington, CT (PRWEB) June 05, 2014

ImStem Biotechnology, Inc. (ImStem) announced today it has successfully treated an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS) using human embryonic stem cells (hESC) derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), called hES-MSCs.

MS is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease with no cure. Most current MS therapies offer only palliative relief without repairing damaged nerve cells. Adult tissues such as bone marrow derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) may reduce neuroinflammation and promote nerve cell regeneration in MS, which are currently being tested in MS clinical trials. However, the application of adult-tissue derived MSCs has significant limitations since these cells must be obtained from a limited number of healthy donors, constraining the availability of this treatment and also resulting in variations in treatment quality.

Now researchers from ImStem, in collaboration with University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) and Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., demonstrates that hES-MSCs, which have unlimited stable supply, significantly reduce the disease severity in a mouse model of MS. They also found that hES-MSCs are more effective in treating animal model of MS than MSCs from bone marrow of adult human donors (BM-MSC). This work is published in the June 5th 2014 online edition of Stem Cell Reports, the official journal of International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) by Cell Press.

The beauty of hES-MSCs (embryonic stem cell derived) is their consistently high efficacy in MS model. We found that BM-MSC (adult stem cell) lines show poor or no efficacy in MS animal model and also expressing more proinflammatory cytokines. This definitely adds more advantages to hES-MSCs, which are younger, purer and express the right factors" says the lead author Dr. Xiaofang Wang, CTO of ImStem.

"These great advantages perfectly match the requirements for safety and quality of clinical-grade MSCs as a potential therapy for autoimmune diseases. says Dr. Ren-He Xu, corresponding author of the article, CSO of ImStem, now a professor at the University of Macau.

Dr. Joel Pachter, a UCHC collaborator, observed fluorescently labeled hES-MSCs but not BM-MSCs effectively penetrated the blood brain barrier and migrated into inflamed spinal cord. He remarks, "This difference is extraordinary as it could hold a key to the therapeutic action(s) of hES-MSCs. MSCs might require access to specific sites within the central nervous system in order to remediate disease."

"This was unexpected as bone marrow MSCs are widely believed to be effective in this EAE animal model. Our data indicate that the use of BM-MSCs is highly variable and there may be a previously unrecognized risk of poor outcome associated with proinflammatory cytokines produced by these cells," says Dr. Stephen Crocker, another UCHC collaborator.

The cells not only reduced the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis but prevented demyelination, which disrupts the ability of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a wide range of symptoms in patients, including blurred vision, loss of balance, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, paralysis and blindness, says Dr. Robert Lanza, one of the senior authors from ACT.

Imstem was founded by Dr. Xiaofang Wang and Dr. Ren-He Xu, former director of UConn Stem Cell Core in 2012. In 2013, ImStem was awarded a $1.13M grant from the State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Program and a $150,000 pre-seed fund from Connecticut Innovations. With these supports, ImStem has improved the hES-MSC technology with better efficiency and safety and has developed clinical grade hES-MSCs in its cGMP facility. ImStem is now seeking approval for Phase I clinical trials using its hES-MSCs and is looking for investors to expedite the progress.

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ImStem Biotechnology, Inc. Advances Multiple Sclerosis Treatment with Embryonic Stem Cells

Stem cells hold keys to body's plan

By Stem Cell Medicine

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Jun-2014

Contact: Jeannette Spalding jeannette.spalding@case.edu 216-368-3004 Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland June 5, 2014 Case Western Reserve researchers have discovered landmarks within pluripotent stem cells that guide how they develop to serve different purposes within the body. This breakthrough offers promise that scientists eventually will be able to direct stem cells in ways that prevent disease or repair damage from injury or illness. The study and its results appear in the June 5 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Pluripotent stem cells are so named because they can evolve into any of the cell types that exist within the body. Their immense potential captured the attention of two accomplished faculty with complementary areas of expertise.

We had a unique opportunity to bring together two interdisciplinary groups, said co-senior author Paul Tesar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences at CWRU School of Medicine and the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor.

"We have exploited the Tesar labs expertise in stem cell biology and my labs expertise in genomics to uncover a new class of genetic switches, which we call seed enhancers, said co-senior author Peter Scacheri, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences at CWRU School of Medicine. Seed enhancers give us new clues to how cells morph from one cell type to another during development."

The breakthrough came from studying two closely related stem cell types that represent the earliest phases of development embryonic stem cells and epiblast stem cells, first described in research by Tesar in 2007. These two stem cell types give us unprecedented access to the earliest stages of mammalian development, said Daniel Factor, graduate student in the Tesar lab and co-first author of the study.

Olivia Corradin, graduate student in the Scacheri lab and co-first author, agrees. Stem cells are touted for their promise to make replacement tissues for regenerative medicine, she said. But first, we have to understand precisely how these cells function to create diverse tissues.

Enhancers are sections of DNA that control the expression of nearby genes. By comparing these two closely related types of pluripotent stem cells (embryonic and epiblast), Corradin and Factor identified a new class of enhancers, which they refer to as seed enhancers. Unlike most enhancers, which are only active in specific times or places in the body, seed enhancers play roles from before birth to adulthood.

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Stem cells hold keys to body's plan

New Method Reveals Single Protein Interaction Key to Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

By Stem Cell Medicine

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Newswise Proteins are responsible for the vast majority of the cellular functions that shape life, but like guests at a crowded dinner party, they interact transiently and in complex networks, making it difficult to determine which specific interactions are most important.

Now, researchers from the University of Chicago have pioneered a new technique to simplify the study of protein networks and identify the importance of individual protein interactions. By designing synthetic proteins that can only interact with a pre-determined partner, and introducing them into cells, the team revealed a key interaction that regulates the ability of embryonic stem cells to change into other cell types. They describe their findings June 5 in Molecular Cell.

Our work suggests that the apparent complexity of protein networks is deceiving, and that a circuit involving a small number of proteins might control each cellular function, said senior author Shohei Koide, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics at the University of Chicago.

For a cell to perform biological functions and respond to the environment, proteins must interact with one another in immensely complex networks, which when diagrammed can resemble a subway map out of a nightmare. These networks have traditionally been studied by removing a protein of interest through genetic engineering and observing whether the removal destroys the function of interest or not. However, this does not provide information on the importance of specific protein-to-protein interactions.

To approach this challenge, Koide and his team pioneered a new technique that they dub directed network wiring. Studying mouse embryonic stem cells, they removed Grb2, a protein essential to the ability of the stem cell to transform into other cell types, from the cells. The researchers then designed synthetic versions of Grb2 that could only interact with one protein from a pool of dozens that normal Grb2 is known to network with. The team then introduced these synthetic proteins back into the cell to see which specific interactions would restore the stem cells transformative abilities.

The name, directed network wiring, comes from the fact that we create minimalist networks, Koide said. We first remove all communication lines associated with a protein of interest and add back a single line. It is analysis by addition.

Despite the complexity of the protein network associated with stem cell development, the team discovered that restoring only one interactionbetween Grb2 and a protein known as Ptpn11/Shp2 phosphatasewas enough to allow stem cells to again change into other cell types.

We were really surprised to find that consolidating many interactions down to a single particular connection for the protein was sufficient to support development of the cells to the next stage, which involves many complicated processes, Koide said. Our results show that signals travel discrete and simple routes in the cell.

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New Method Reveals Single Protein Interaction Key to Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

By Uncategorized

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Jun-2014

Contact: Suzanne Wu suzanne.wu@usc.edu 213-740-0252 University of Southern California

In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of prolonged fasting not only protect against immune system damage a major side effect of chemotherapy but also induce immune system regeneration, shifting stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal.

In both mice and a Phase 1 human clinical trial, long periods of not eating significantly lowered white blood cell counts. In mice, fasting cycles then "flipped a regenerative switch": changing the signaling pathways for hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for the generation of blood and immune systems, the research showed.

The study has major implications for healthier aging, in which immune system decline contributes to increased susceptibility to disease as we age. By outlining how prolonged fasting cycles periods of no food for two to four days at a time over the course of six months kill older and damaged immune cells and generate new ones, the research also has implications for chemotherapy tolerance and for those with a wide range of immune system deficiencies, including autoimmunity disorders.

"We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system," said corresponding author Valter Longo, the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, and director of the USC Longevity Institute.

"When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged," Longo said. "What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, well, where does it come from?"

Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose, fat and ketones, but also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells. Longo likens the effect to lightening a plane of excess cargo.

During each cycle of fasting, this depletion of white blood cells induces changes that trigger stem cell-based regeneration of new immune system cells. In particular, prolonged fasting reduced the enzyme PKA, an effect previously discovered by the Longo team to extend longevity in simple organisms and which has been linked in other research to the regulation of stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency that is, the potential for one cell to develop into many different cell types. Prolonged fasting also lowered levels of IGF-1, a growth-factor hormone that Longo and others have linked to aging, tumor progression and cancer risk.

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Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

Stem Cell Therapy Market by Treatment Mode & Therapeutic Applications – 2020 – Video

By Uncategorized


Stem Cell Therapy Market by Treatment Mode Therapeutic Applications - 2020
[196 Slides Report] Stem Cell Therapy Market report categories the Global market by Therapeutic Applications (CNS, CVS, Musculoskeletal, Wound Healing, GIT, Eye, Immune System), Treatment...

By: James Evans

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Stem Cell Therapy Market by Treatment Mode & Therapeutic Applications - 2020 - Video

torn rotator cuff/shoulder arthritis one year after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson – Video

By Uncategorized


torn rotator cuff/shoulder arthritis one year after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson
Richard discusses his outcome from bone marrow/adipose derived stem cells by Dr Harry Adelson for his torn rotator cuff and arthritic shoulder http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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torn rotator cuff/shoulder arthritis one year after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson - Video

Controversial stemcell treatment gets OK for toddler

By Stem Cell Treatment

'We'll administer Stamina tomorrow'

(ANSA) - Milan, June 6 - A controversial stem-cell treatment will once again be administered in an Italian hospital after being widely discredited, a pediatrician said Friday. "We've gotten the go-ahead from the (Brescia) hospital. Tomorrow at 10:00 we'll administer Stamina treatment" to a toddler suffering from a brain disease, said Dr. Marino Andolina, the vice president of the Stamina Foundation. The doctor, who will personally apply the treatment, said he received confirmation after a meeting with the head of Brescia's civic hospitals Ezio Belleri. Stamina's credibility has long been suspect, and last fall the health ministry ruled that the Stamina Foundation would no longer be allowed to test the treatment on humans. The foundation was also stripped of its non-profit status after a study found its treatment was "ignorant of stem-cell biology". Recent investigations have shown risks of the treatment range from nausea to cancer, and as many as one quarter of all patients treated have experienced "adverse effects". The head of the foundation, Davide Vannoni, may face indictment. But support from some patients who have used or requested the treatment remains strong, and a few days ago, a court in the central Marche region ruled that toddler Federico Mezzina could receive Stamina treatment for Krabbe disease.

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Controversial stemcell treatment gets OK for toddler

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