Scientists develop new protocol to ready induced pluripotent stem cell clinical application

Apr. 3, 2013 A team of New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute scientists led by David Kahler, PhD, NYSCF Director of Laboratory Automation, have developed a new way to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from human fibroblasts, acquired from both healthy and diseased donors. Reported in PLOS ONE, this cell-sorting method consistently selects the highest quality, standardized iPS cells, representing a major step forward for drug discovery and the development of cell therapies.

Employing a breakthrough method developed by 2012 Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, adult cells are "reprogrammed" or reverted to an embryonic-like state, commonly through viral infection. Reprogramming is a dynamic process, resulting in a mixture of fully reprogrammed iPS cells, partially reprogrammed cells, and residual adult cells. Previous protocols to select promising fully reprogrammed cells rely primarily on judging stem cell colonies by eye through a microscope.

Cell colonies selected by qualitative measures could include partially reprogrammed cells, a major concern for clinical applications of cell therapies because these cells could become any other cell type in a patient following transplantation. Additionally for drug efficacy assays and toxicity investigations on iPS cells, heterogeneous cell populations can mar the response of representative iPS cell lines.

The NYSCF scientists developed a quantitative protocol, optimized over three and a half years, in order to consistently harvest early-reprogrammed cells. Using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), fully reprogrammed cells were identified by two specific proteins, or pluripotency markers. The group then looked at third marker that is expressed by partially reprogrammed or adult cells, and they then negatively selected against these cells to obtain only fully reprogrammed cells.

"To date, this protocol has enabled our group to derive (and characterize over) 228 individual iPS cell lines, representing one of the largest collections derived in a single lab," said Dr. Kahler. "This standardized method means that these iPS cells can be compared to one another, an essential step for the use in drug screens and the development of cell therapies."

This process of selecting stem cell colonies provides the basis for a new technology developed by NYSCF, The NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array (Array), a fully automated, robotic platform to generate cell lines in parallel. Currently underway at the NYSCF Laboratory, the Array reprograms thousands of healthy donors' and diseased patients' skin and/or blood samples into iPS cell lines. Sorting and characterizing cells at an early stage of reprogramming allows efficient development of iPS cell clones and derivation of adult cell types.

"We are enthusiastic about the promise this protocol holds to the field. As stem cells move towards the clinic, Dr. Kahler's work is a critical step to ensure safe, effective treatments for everyone," said Susan L. Solomon, CEO of NYSCF.

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Part 19, after stem cell treatment, climbing up again and that’s good, 31march2013 – Video

Part 19, after stem cell treatment, climbing up again and that #39;s good, 31march2013
My name is Carole St-Laurent, I am from Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. I have a Spinal Muscular Atrophy from birth, it #39;s in the family of Muscular Dystrophy. I re...

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Part 19, after stem cell treatment, climbing up again and that's good, 31march2013 - Video

Bioheart Completes FDA Registration for Tissue Bank Establishment

SUNRISE, FL--(Marketwired - Apr 2, 2013) - Bioheart, Inc. (OTCQB: BHRT) announced today that it has completed the FDA tissue bank registration process.Bioheart is offering stem cell storage for patients enrolled in the studies at the centers of excellence outside the US.Patients can store additional stem cell doses in liquid nitrogen for future use in approved clinical trials.These trials focus on the use of LipiCell (adipose derived stem cells) in a variety of different degenerative diseases.

Kristin Comella, Chief Science Officer, commented, "We are excited to offer these additional therapies to the patients who participate in our trials in Jamaica and Mexico.We now have the ability to store their stem cells for future use in repeat dosing studies."

About Bioheart, Inc.Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues.Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com, or visit us on Facebook: Bioheart and Twitter @BioheartInc.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "plan," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

The Company is subject to the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

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Bioheart Completes FDA Registration for Tissue Bank Establishment

:: 02, Apr 2013 :: A*STAR HOSTS NOBEL LAUREATE AND RENOWNED STEM CELL EXPERT PROFESSOR SHINYA YAMANAKA

Nobel Laureate Professor Shinya Yamanaka to give a lecture on latest progress in stem cell research at Biopolis and share insights on stem cell research with A*STAR scientific leaders.

1. Professor Shinya Yamanaka, Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology 2012, has been invited to speak at Biopolis under the A*STAR Biomedical Research Council Distinguished Visitor Programme (DVP). Professor Yamanakas discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in 2006, won him the Nobel Prize and revolutionised the stem cell field. Since then, iPS cells have been used to study cell therapy, disease mechanisms, and new drug developments worldwide. For Professor Yamanakas biography, please refer to Annex A.

2. Professor Yamanaka will be giving a scientific lecture today on the recent progress in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell research. Stem cells hold enormous potential in healthcare and medical sector as a renewable source of replacement tissues for regenerative medicine therapies. However, strict evaluation methods of selecting good iPS cell source for transplantation are essential to realise the promise of regenerative medicine. Professor Yamanaka will speak about the latest efforts to standardise iPS cells in clinical grade and to construct the basis of iPS cell stock. Details and an abstract of the lecture can be found in Annex B.

3. Stem cell research is one of the key focus areas in A*STARs biomedical research institutes and A*STAR scientific leaders and key clinical partners will also have the opportunity to meet with Professor Yamanaka to discuss his experience and views on stem cell research. A*STAR researchers have been making remarkable strides in the stem cell field, from basic research to provide insights into the regulatory networks that drive reprogramming of cells, to harnessing the power of stem cell-based research to target tumours and enhance healing. More details on some recent A*STAR discoveries and developments in stem cell research can be found at Annex C.

4. The DVP provides a platform for scientific leaders in Singapores BMS community to interact with renowned scientists worldwide and to foster collaborative links. Previous distinguished scientists hosted under the DVP include Professor Susumu Tonegawa in 2006 (Winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine), Professor David Naylor (President of University of Toronto), Professor Iain Mattaj (Director-General, European Molecular Biology Laboratory) and Professor Sir John Savill (then Chief Scientist for the Scottish Government Health Directorates, and Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and current Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council member). Since the inception of the DVP in 2001, over 70 distinguished visitors have visited Singapore.

________________________________________________________________

AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (A*STAR)

Enclosed:

Annex A Professor Shinya Yamanakas biography

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:: 02, Apr 2013 :: A*STAR HOSTS NOBEL LAUREATE AND RENOWNED STEM CELL EXPERT PROFESSOR SHINYA YAMANAKA

Murphy’s Story: Stem cell therapy at Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital

Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital has been offering stem cell therapy treatment since 2010. We are now proud to announce the addition of Dr. Spencer Silvers to our veterinarians certified to perform this innovative procedure.

Chronic pain can lead to a significant decrease in your pets quality of life over time. Often, this pain can be managed through medications, dietary supplements, and/or physical therapy. However, in cases where these methods are not possible or the pet is unresponsive, stem cell therapy is a highly recommended alternative.

Owners are looking for a different approach to helping ease their pets pain and Vet-Stem Cell therapy is a new answer for some animals.

Vet-Stem Cell therapy is a procedure that uses an animals own stem cells to promote regeneration of new cells in the damaged tissue. It can be used in cases of arthritis in the knee, hip, and elbow. It can also be used in repairing partial ligament tears or to strengthen surgical repair of complete ligament tears.

The technology used in Vet-Stem Cell therapy has been commercially available since 2003. Eighty percent of dogs will have improvement after the Vet-Stem regenerative cells are implanted. Improvement can range from mild to dramatic. After Stem cell therapy, it is common for dogs to be able to either decrease their use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs or discontinue use completely.

Stem cell therapy in animals has no connection to the controversy sparked by the use of embryonic stem cells as in humans. The therapy uses your own animals natural healing cells, similar to the way human adult stem cells are used in bone marrow transplants.

Murphy, a beautiful four year old black Laborador Retriever, was introduced to Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital about five months ago with torn cruciate ligaments in both knees as well as hip dysplasia.

To manage her chronic pain and to improve her quality of life, BVH performed a surgical repair of the ligament and injected her own isolated stem cells from her fat tissue into all of her painful joints on March 21, 2013. Her recovery was remarkable and you can continue to follow her story on our Facebook page.

For more success stories or to learn more about stem cell therapy, please contact Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital at 908-704-6700 or visit us at bridgewatervet.com and vet-stem.com.

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Murphy’s Story: Stem cell therapy at Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital

3-D stem cell culture technique developed to better understand Alzheimer’s disease

Apr. 2, 2013 A team of researchers at The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute led by Scott Noggle, PhD, Director of the NYSCF Laboratory and the NYSCF -- Charles Evans Senior Research Fellow for Alzheimer's Disease, and Michael W. Nestor, PhD, a NYSCF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, has developed a technique to produce three-dimensional cultures of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells called embryoid bodies, amenable to live cell imaging and to electrical activity measurement.

As reported in their Stem Cell Research study, these cell aggregates enable scientists to both model and to study diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

The NYSCF Alzheimer's disease research team aims to better understand and to find treatments to this disease through stem cell research. For such disorders in which neurons misfire or degenerate, the NYSCF team creates "disease in a dish" models by reprogramming patients' skin and or blood samples into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that can become neurons and the other brain cells affected in the diseases.

The cells in our body form three-dimensional networks, essential to tissue function and overall health; however, previous techniques to form complex brain tissue resulted in structures that, while similar in form to naturally occurring neurons, undermined imaging or electrical recording attempts.

In the current study, Noggle and Nestor with NYSCF scientists specially adapted two-dimensional culture methods to grow three-dimensional neuron structures from iPS cells. The resultant neurons were "thinned-out," enabling calcium-imaging studies, which measure the electrical activity of cells like neurons.

"Combining the advantages of iPS cells grown in a 3D environment with those of a 2D system, our technique produces cells that can be used to observe electrical activity of putative networks of biologically active neurons, while simultaneously imaging them," said Nestor. "This is key to modeling and studying neurodegenerative diseases."

Neural networks, thought to underlie learning and memory, become disrupted in Alzheimer's disease. By generating aggregates from iPS cells and comparing these to an actual patient's brain tissue, scientists may uncover how disease interferes with these cell-to-cell interactions and understand how to intervene to slow or stop Alzheimer's disease.

"This critical new tool developed by our Alzheimer's team will accelerate Alzheimer's research, enabling more accurate manipulation of cells to find a cure to this disease," said Susan L. Solomon, CEO of NYSCF.

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Experience beautifying benefits of a ‘ stem cell facial’ at MD Beauty Labs

Stem cell therapy has been used by doctors since as early as the 16th century to heal damaged cells and/or tissue. In the past 10 years, modern medicine has again started using this process, instead of chemicals to treat illness and/or suppress it.

A new stem cell facial therapy uses stem cells derived from sheeps placenta. The placenta and umbilical cord tissue cells are ethically harvested from sheep, post birth so there is absolutely no harm to animals.

The pluripotent stem cells are extremely nutrient-rich, and very similar to embryonic stem cells. This means that they have the ability to repair every type of cell in the body.

When applied in sufficient concentrations, large numbers of bio-active stem cells immediately de-age the skin by stimulating the dermal layer to produce increased levels of collagen and elastic fibers.

This can be described as skin food that provides cellular renewal, reduces inflammation and hydrates the skin.

Its a new skin rejuvenation treatment that produces results comparable to those derived from skin-rejuvenating lasers but without the extended recovery period or steep cost.

The treatment is delivered via a device called the Eclipse micropen. This automated microneedling instrument vertically penetrates the outer layer of skin with a vibrating motion. The techniques pinpoint delivery system stimulates revitalizing collagen production, minus the downtime associated with other collagen-increasing protocols.

Since the needling is automated, patient discomfort is also minimized.

Before the microneedling, the patients skin is numbed with a topical anaesthetic. Next, highly effective medical, topical serums or creams are applied to the skin, depending on the each individual patients needs.

For example, bleaching creams are used for patients with hyperpigmentation or hyaluronic acid for hydration and plumping of the skin.

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Experience beautifying benefits of a ‘ stem cell facial’ at MD Beauty Labs

Andain Inc. Discusses and Provides Update on its Breakthrough Stem Cell Therapy for the Treatment and Regeneration of …

ARAD, Israel, April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Andain Inc. (ANDN) ("Andain" or the "Company"), a company engaged in commercializing novel technologies in biotech, medical and life sciences fields through its incubator program, today discussed and provided an update on its breakthrough, innovative stem cell therapy for treating and regenerating severely damaged muscle tissue.

Andain's innovative stem cell therapy technology rehabilitates and heals damaged muscle tissue by initiating regenerative myogenic cells (cardiac muscle), as well as striated muscle cells (skeletal muscle) growth in damaged tissue sites such as the myocardium (cardiac muscle) following an myocardial infarction (heart attack), limb pressure ulcers, and degenerative muscular diseases. The short term application is directed towards the treatment of patients with peripheral vascular disease, while the long term application is focused on the healing and regeneration of cardiac muscle following acute myocardial infarction or chronic heart failure.

Employing a patient's own cells (autologic transplantation), the Company's unique technology and process diverts the patient's own cells into specific targeted myogenic cells, which can then be inserted into the damaged tissue and accelerates the healing process. The administered myogenic or skeletal stem cells work as a network, acting in exactly the same way that the cells of skeletal and heart muscle tissue perform, and actually replenish the existing cells, thus strengthening the intended injured site following the transplantation process. This process can be utilized for different clinical pathologies as mentioned above and can also be utilized for patient using different donor as the source of the stem cells.

Our developed technology and protocols results in a promising safe regenerative therapy, without side effects, tissue rejection or the requirement of suppressive immunological treatment or malignant tumor hazard. Our technology also provides a simple, fast and safe treatment, overcoming technological difficulties associated with using other stem cell therapies sources such as embryonic, placenta, or umbilical cord blood cells that require cryogenic storage.

Andain's President and CEO Sam Elimelech, commented, "The field of stem cell therapeutics is in its early stages of growth as companies and researchers continue to uncover the vast potential and promising uses for them in the treatment and prevention of countless tissue injuries and diseases. We are in an excellent position to capitalize on the emergence of this new market. It is our belief that Orcell's cutting-edge technology and process is unique in regard to the fact that it allows for the safe and efficient directing of the patients own cells as into myogenic cells or striated muscle cells, thus eliminating the hazards associated with rejection and malignant tumors. Via our industrial incubator platform and expert scientific team, we look forward to helping Orcell commence their clinical trials later this year and make considerable progress of their technology and process closer to market."

Andain's incubator platform is currently undergoing with its stem cell technology a build-up of GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) production line as a preparation for the FDA approval stage with clinical trials scheduled for Q1 2014 at one of the foremost Heart centers in Israel under the direction of Professor Mickey Scheinowitz, one of Israel's leading scientists who gained vast experience in the understanding and treating of cardiovascular diseases.

ABOUT ANDAIN INC

Established in 2004 as a Nevada corporation with locations in Israel and the US, Andain (OTC: ANDN) commercializes novel technologies in the biotech, medical and life sciences fields, specializing in identifying technical innovations and providing a unique incubator/accelerator development and industrial platform. The company also offers technical know-how and business strategy expertise to commercialize new technologies and deliver shareholder value. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.andaininc.com.

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