Stem cell discovery gives insight into motor neurone disease

Public release date: 11-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tara Womersley tara.womersley@ed.ac.uk 44-131-650-9836 University of Edinburgh

A discovery using stem cells from a patient with motor neurone disease could help research into treatments for the condition. The study used a patient's skin cells to create motor neurons - nerve cells that control muscle activity - and the cells that support them called astrocytes.

Researchers studied these two types of cells in the laboratory. They found that a protein expressed by abnormalities in a gene linked to motor neurone disease, which is called TDP-43, caused the astrocytes to die.

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Motor Neurone Disease Association, provides fresh insight into the mechanisms involved in the disease.

Although TDP-43 mutations are a rare cause of motor neurone disease (MND), scientists are especially interested in the gene because in the vast majority of MND patients, TDP-43 protein (made by the TDP-43 gene) forms pathological clumps inside motor neurons.

Motor neurons die in MND leading to paralysis and early death.

This study shows for the first time that abnormal TDP-43 protein causes death of astrocytes. The researchers, however, found that the damaged astrocytes were not directly toxic to motor neurons.

Better understanding the role of astrocytes could help to inform research into treatments for MND.

Professor Siddharthan Chandran, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "Motor neurone disease is a devastating and ultimately fatal condition, for which there is no cure or effective treatment. It is not just a question of looking solely at motor neurons, but also the cells that surround them, to understand why motor neurons die. Our aim is to find ways to slow down progression of this devastating disease and ultimately develop a cure."

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Stem cell discovery gives insight into motor neurone disease

Stem cell breakthrough could lead to new bone repair therapies on nanoscale surfaces

Feb. 11, 2013 Scientists at the University of Southampton have created a new method to generate bone cells which could lead to revolutionary bone repair therapies for people with bone fractures or those who need hip replacement surgery due to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

The research, carried out by Dr Emmajayne Kingham at the University of Southampton in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and published in the journal Small, cultured human embryonic stem cells on to the surface of plastic materials and assessed their ability to change.

Scientists were able to use the nanotopographical patterns on the biomedical plastic to manipulate human embryonic stem cells towards bone cells. This was done without any chemical enhancement.

The materials, including the biomedical implantable material polycarbonate plastic, which is a versatile plastic used in things from bullet proof windows to CDs, offer an accessible and cheaper way of culturing human embryonic stem cells and presents new opportunities for future medical research in this area.

Professor Richard Oreffo, who led the University of Southampton team, explains: "To generate bone cells for regenerative medicine and further medical research remains a significant challenge. However we have found that by harnessing surface technologies that allow the generation and ultimately scale up of human embryonic stem cells to skeletal cells, we can aid the tissue engineering process. This is very exciting.

"Our research may offer a whole new approach to skeletal regenerative medicine. The use of nanotopographical patterns could enable new cell culture designs, new device designs, and could herald the development of new bone repair therapies as well as further human stem cell research," Professor Oreffo adds.

This latest discovery expands on the close collaborative work previously undertaken by the University of Southampton and the University of Glasgow. In 2011 the team successfully used plastic with embossed nanopatterns to grow and spread adult stem cells while keeping their stem cell characteristics; a process which is cheaper and easier to manufacture than previous ways of working.

Dr Nikolaj Gadegaard, Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Glasgow, says: "Our previous collaborative research showed exciting new ways to control mesenchymal stem cell -- stem cells from the bone marrow of adults -- growth and differentiation on nanoscale patterns.

"This new Southampton-led discovery shows a totally different stem cell source, embryonic, also respond in a similar manner and this really starts to open this new field of discovery up. With more research impetus, it gives us the hope that we can go on to target a wider variety of degenerative conditions than we originally aspired to. This result is of fundamental significance."

The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

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Stem cell breakthrough could lead to new bone repair therapies on nanoscale surfaces

Stem cell discovery gives insight into motor neuron disease

Feb. 11, 2013 A discovery using stem cells from a patient with motor neuron disease could help research into treatments for the condition. The study used a patient's skin cells to create motor neurons -- nerve cells that control muscle activity -- and the cells that support them called astrocytes.

Researchers studied these two types of cells in the laboratory. They found that a protein expressed by abnormalities in a gene linked to motor neuron disease, which is called TDP-43, caused the astrocytes to die.

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Motor Neurone Disease Association, provides fresh insight into the mechanisms involved in the disease.

Although TDP-43 mutations are a rare cause of motor neuron disease (MND), scientists are especially interested in the gene because in the vast majority of MND patients, TDP-43 protein (made by the TDP-43 gene) forms pathological clumps inside motor neurons.

Motor neurons die in MND leading to paralysis and early death.

This study shows for the first time that abnormal TDP-43 protein causes death of astrocytes. The researchers, however, found that the damaged astrocytes were not directly toxic to motor neurons.

Better understanding the role of astrocytes could help to inform research into treatments for MND.

Professor Siddharthan Chandran, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "Motor neuron disease is a devastating and ultimately fatal condition, for which there is no cure or effective treatment. It is not just a question of looking solely at motor neurons, but also the cells that surround them, to understand why motor neurons die. Our aim is to find ways to slow down progression of this devastating disease and ultimately develop a cure."

These findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences., are significant as they show that different mechanisms are at work in different types of MND.

The research, led by the University of Edinburgh's Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Research, was carried out in collaboration with King's College, London, Columbia University in New York, the University of California and the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco.

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Stem cell discovery gives insight into motor neuron disease

Jack Osbourne's stem cell jabs: Ozzy's son flies to German for banned MS treatment

9 Feb 2013 23:11

TV star, who went public about his health crisis last summer, said he is currently feeling well and getting plenty of rest

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STAR Jack Osbourne is to undergo cutting-edge stem cell replacement therapy to help him beat Multiple Sclerosis.

Jack, 27 son of rocker Ozzy and TV star Sharon will go to Germany for the treatment as it is banned in America, where he is based.

He will fly out after covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles today for US music channel Fuse TV.

Jack said: There are odd restrictions here in America because everybody still thinks its, like, what it isnt. So Im going to Germany. They clone stem cells from your own blood then inject them back into you.

Hopefully it will repair any damaged cells and nerves and things like that.

Jack, who went public about his health crisis last summer, said he is currently feeling well and getting plenty of rest despite being a new dad to nine-month-old daughter Pearl.

He said: Im good. Thats the thing about MS one minute youre good, one minute youre not. Im hanging on in there, healthy and doing what I got to do. Jack said he and wife Lisa are getting plenty of help with babysitting from his parents, who are relishing their role as grandparents.

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Jack Osbourne's stem cell jabs: Ozzy's son flies to German for banned MS treatment

Estrada, Enrile, Imelda Marcos–how they’re defying age and time with stem-cell therapy

A growing number of wealthy Filipinos have availed themselves of the four-day, three-night treatment in Germany. Last year alone, the clinic attended to 350 Filipinos

DR.GEOFFREY Huertgen, Villa Medicas chief medical director. ALANAH TORRALBA

Jumpstarting the regeneration process to achieve longevity, glowing skin and youthful energy are just three of the claimed benefits derived by patients at Villa Medica.

The Germany-based holistic clinic specializes in fresh-cell therapy, a form of stem-cell treatment sourced from organs and tissues of unborn lamb.

Such claims may sound too good to be true, until you see the likes of former President Joseph Estrada, former first lady Imelda Marcos and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile strutting about and plotting their next political moves like theyre in their prime.

Except for Enrile, Marcos and Estrada have nearly endorsed the clinic in Edenkoben, an hours drive south of Frankfurt, by agreeing to have their pictures and brief testimonials used in a Villa Medica brochure.

Marcos reportedly started having fresh-cell therapy injections in 1969, less than a decade after Villa Medica opened its doors for business in 1961. But the acknowledged father of fresh-cell therapy, Dr. Paul Niehans, broke ground and started his research in 1931.

Dr. Geoffrey Huertgen, Villa Medicas chief medical director, visited Manila two weeks ago to see former and potential patients. What the clinic promises, he said, is overall good health by enhancing the regeneration process. Youthful attributes such as beautiful skin and increased energy are just byproducts of the clinics holistic philosophy.

Active partner

Although fresh-cell therapy claims to help improve the condition of diabetics and kids afflicted with autism and Downs syndrome, to name a few, it doesnt promise a miracle cure for life-threatening diseases such as cancer. And since the clinics approach is organ-specific, it doesnt offer patients a one-size-fits-all therapy.

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Estrada, Enrile, Imelda Marcos–how they’re defying age and time with stem-cell therapy

Bonita Springs stem-cell doctor asks judge to dismiss state's case against him

BONITA SPRINGS The defense for Bonita Springs doctor Zannos Grekos says a state complaint that he committed medical malpractice should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to show how his stem-cell therapy was below a standard of care or responsible for a patient's death, according to new court filings.

Prosecutors with the Florida Department of Health also ignored a state law that patients have the right to seek out alternative medicine, said Richard Ozelie, the Boca Raton attorney for Grekos.

That's what occurred with 69-year-old Domenica Fitzgerald, he said.

"The Florida Legislature authorized its citizenry to seek out, as patients, either complementary or alternative modalities of treatment," he said Friday.

Late Thursday, Ozelie filed a proposed order for Administrative Law Judge J. Lawrence Johnston to consider. The state submitted its proposed order this past Tuesday.

The judge has 30 days to issue a recommendation to the Board of Medicine on potential discipline against Grekos, following a four-day hearing in October in Naples.

The state wants Grekos' license revoked, a $40,000 fine imposed and $200,000 assessed for the state's costs.

In 2010, Fitzgerald sought out stem-cell therapy with Grekos for numbness in her feet that was a side-effect several years earlier from chemotherapy for breast cancer.

In Grekos' Bonita Springs practice in March 2010, he extracted bone marrow aspirate from her and injected it back into her circulatory system without removing bone fragments and fat. She suffered a stroke and was taken off life support April 4, 2010.

The state said Fitzgerald hadn't been fully informed about the procedure and its risks, but Ozelie said that's not true.

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Bonita Springs stem-cell doctor asks judge to dismiss state's case against him

Protein paves the way for correct stem cell differentiation

Feb. 7, 2013 A single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated through strict control of gene activity. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells. Research from BRIC, University of Copenhagen, has identified a crucial role of the molecule Fbxl10 in differentiation of embryonic stem cells and suggests the molecule as a new potential target for cancer therapy.

"Our new results show that this molecule is required for the function of one of the most important molecular switches that constantly regulates the activity of our genes. If Fbxl10 is not present in embryonic stem cells, the cells cannot differentiate properly and this can lead to developmental defects," says Professor Kristian Helin, who heads the research group behind the new findings.

Fbxl10 recruits and activates genetic switches

The Polycomb protein complexes PRC1 and PRC2 are some of the most important genetics switches, which control the fate of individual cells through negative regulation of gene activity. The mechanism by which PRCs are recruited to DNA has been elusive as they are not capable of binding DNA directly. The new results from the Helin research group provide a mechanism for how the PRCs are recruited to the genes that are to be silent.

"Our results show that Fbxl10 is essential for recruiting PRC1 to genes that are to be silenced in embryonic stem cells. Fbxl10 binds directly to DNA and to PRC1, and this way it serves to bring PRC1 to specific genes. When PRC1 is bound to DNA it can modify the DNA associated proteins, which lead to silencing of the gene to which it binds," says postdoc Xudong Wu, who has led the experimental part of the investigation.

Fbxl10 is a potential target for cancer therapy

Timing of gene activity is not only crucial during development, but has to be maintained throughout the lifespan of any cell. Some genes are active at a certain times, but inactive at other times.. Here PRC1 comes into play. PRC1 is dynamically recruited to and dissociated from genes according to the needs of our organism. When cancer strikes, this tight regulation of gene activity is often lost and the cells are locked in a less differentiated stage. This loss of differentiation and the accumulation of other mutations allow the cancer cells to undergo indefinite self-renewal through endless cell divisions, an ability that normal differentiated cells are prohibited from through tight gene regulation.

"Given the emerging relationship between cancer and stem cells, our findings may implicate that an aberrant activity of Fbxl10 can disturb PRC function and promote a lack of differentiation in our cells. This makes it worth studying whether blocking the function of Fbxl10 could be a strategy for tumour therapy," says Xudong Wu.

And that is exactly what the researchers want to try. In collaboration with the biotech company EpiTherapeutics, the researchers want to develop inhibitors to Fbxl10 as a potential novel therapy for cancer.

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Protein paves the way for correct stem cell differentiation

Key protein revealed as trigger for stem cell development

Feb. 7, 2013 A natural trigger that enables stem cells to become any cell-type in the body has been discovered by scientists.

Researchers have identified a protein that kick-starts the process by which stem cells can develop to into different cells in the body, for instance liver or brain cells.

Their discovery could help scientists improve techniques enabling them to turn stem cells into other cell types in the laboratory. These could then be used to test drugs or help create therapies for degenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis and liver disease.

Scientists from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who studied embryonic stem cells in mice, also developed a technique enabling them to highlight the presence of the key protein -- Tcf15 -- in the cells.

This means that researchers can identify which cells have the protein and watch how it affects stem cells in real time to gain a better understanding of how it works.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Dr Sally Lowell, from the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This gives us better insight into the crucially important first step stem cells take to differentiate into other cell types. Understanding how and when this happens could help to improve the way in which we are able to control this process."

Researchers pinpointed the protein by looking at how some stem cells are naturally prevented from specialising into other cell types.

They found two sets of proteins, one of which binds to the other blocking them from carrying out their various functions.

They were then able to screen the blocked proteins to find out which ones would enable stem cells to differentiate.

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Key protein revealed as trigger for stem cell development

ALS Patients’ Own Stem Cells Show Promise as a Future Treatment Option

Stem cells taken from ALS patients may have the same capacity to develop into mature neuron-like cells as those collected from healthy donors, according to a new study released this month in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. These findings could open doors to a possible new treatment option while also reducing the chance for rejection and other side effects often seen when someone other than the patient is the cell donor.

Durham, NC (PRWEB) February 08, 2013

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrigs Disease, is a rapidly deteriorating neurological condition affecting five out of every 100,000 people worldwide, mainly after the age of 50. The average survival time is only three years.

While no effective treatment exists, preliminary studies suggest that the quality of life and even life expectancy itself could be improved in patients who receive stem cell infusions. However, questions remain about the capacity of these cells to take hold and turn into neurons.

The study involved stem cells that bear the surface antigen CD133+, which have been shown to have a very low association with creating cancers. These cells can be isolated from a wide range of sources including bone marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord. A group of researchers from the Tecnolgico de Monterrey School of Medicine, in Monterrey, Mexico, led by Hector Martinez, M.D., Ph.D., Maria Teresa Gonzlez-Garza, Ph.D., and Jorge Moreno Cuevas, M.D., Ph.D., recently reported on the effects of CD133+ stem cells taken from peripheral blood of affected patients and transplanted into their own brains.

In this earlier trial, we provide evidence of a positive clinical response in ALS patients treated with auto-transplantation of CD133+ cells into the frontal motor cortex. However, there was an important question remaining to be answered: Were CD133+ cells obtained from ALS patients capable of transforming into neural cells? The present study demonstrated in a convincing manner the promise of CD133+ cells obtained from affected individual with ALS to transform into cells with neural potential, Dr. Martinez said.

The team collected CD133+ cells from 13 patients diagnosed with ALS and then grew the cells in the lab for a period lasting up to 48 hours. At the end of the two days, they saw an increase in neuronal proteins. This suggested that the stem cells were in the early stages of becoming neurons. Furthermore, the expression of some specific genes within the same time period indicated that the fate towards motor neurons, the neurons being destroyed in Lou Gehrigs patients, was underway.

No correlation was found between age, sex or ALS functional scale and the CD133+ stem cells response to the neuro-induction medium, Dr. Gonzlez-Garza said. Therefore, we concluded that CD133+ stem cells from ALS patients are capable of differentiating into pre-neuron cells, as well as the stem cells from healthy subjects.

These new findings provide the scientific basis for the positive clinical observations in patients with ALS treated by autotransplantation with CD133+ cells in the frontal cortex. But more importantly, they also give credence to the field of stem cell transplantation in other potentially fatal neurodegenerative conditions, Dr. Cuevas added.

This study may help explain the positive clinical outcomes obtained by stem cell transplantation in ALS patients and suggest the potential of stem cell therapy for conditions such as stroke and Parkinsons disease, said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

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ALS Patients’ Own Stem Cells Show Promise as a Future Treatment Option

Natural Sciences Repository Publishes New Information on Cell Treatment and Tumor Cells

The novel Natural Sciences Repository aims to provide reliable information on various areas of scientific interest in the simplest words and terms possible. The site has now added the new category Cell Treatment which provides scientific information on cellular treatment, which can potentially treat various kinds of disease or injury, and the new category Tumor Cells which contains information on tumors, which are cell growths that might or might not lead to cancerous conditions.

Bad Honnef, Germany (PRWEB) February 07, 2013

The Living Cells Section contains scientific information on the basic structural and functional unit of all living organisms. The term "cell" comes from the Latin word "cellula," which means "a small room" and was coined by Hooke in a book he published in the same year (1665) of his momentous discovery. Cell count can be used as a classification for living organisms. Unicellular organisms have a single cell (most bacteria are included in this category), while multicellular organisms are made up of up to trillions of cells. After inclusion of the two new categories, this section contains ten categories including Cell Binding, Cell Gene, Cell Growth, Cell Membrane, Cell Receptor, Tissue Cells, Cell Treatment, Tumor Cells, In Vitro and In Vivo. This section currently contains over 173,000 articles. Users can receive alerts for newly published content in this section by subscribing to the Living Cells Section RSS feed.

The newly published category Cell Treatment contains scientific information on cellular treatment, which can potentially treat various kinds of disease or injury. Stem cell treatment is a kind of intervention treatment, which introduces "new" cells into the patients damaged tissues in order to address a problem presented by the effects of disease or injury. There are a wide variety of stem cell therapies and treatments that exist today, but many of them are undergoing experimental stages or are very costly. The category currently contains over 30,000 articles including one on a beta treatment and P301L tau expression in an Alzheimers disease tissue culture model which act synergistically to promote aberrant cell cycle re-entry, a comparison of three highly active antiretroviral treatment strategies consisting of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, or both in the presence of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors as initial therapy CPCRA 058 FIRST Study, and a phase II study of ABT-510 thrombospondin-1 analog for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Users can receive alerts for newly published content in this category by subscribing to the Cell Treatment RSS feed.

The new Tumor Cells category contains scientific information on tumors, which are cell growths that might or might not lead to cancerous conditions. In spite of popular knowledge and belief, a tumor is not completely synonymous with cancer. A cancer is almost always malignant, while a tumor can be benign or pre-malignant. A neoplasmic tumor is often caused by an abnormal proliferation of tissues, which can be a direct result of genetic mutations. The category currently contains over 23,500 articles including one on 15-Lipoxygenase 2 15-LOX2 which is a functional tumor suppressor that regulates human prostate epithelial cell differentiation, senescence, and growth size, a parametric study of freezing injury in BPH1CAFTD-2 human prostate tumor cells, and one that asks whether aberrant methylation of tumor suppressor genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is clinically relevant or not. Website users can receive alerts for newly published content in this category by subscribing to the Tumor Cells RSS feed.

The repository groups information in the natural sciences according to interrelated sections and categories that will help readers understand the context of whatever topic is searched information on. Each unit contains a definition composed in an understandable way and each item in these sections and categories contains up to twenty clickable tags.

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Natural Sciences Repository Publishes New Information on Cell Treatment and Tumor Cells