Summer school students help scientists advance stem cell research at USC

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For many Southern California high school students, summer is synonymous with surf, sand and sun. But, for some of Los Angeles' top math and science students, the lure of the beach and traditional summer fun fizzles fast when compared to microscopes, slide kits and real-life stem cell research.

Armed with little more than protective gear and enthusiasm, 20 overachieving teenagers have been clocking 40-hour weeks in the lab at USC's Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.

Among them is 17-year-old Brian Tom of Lincoln Heights.

Its fascinating because stem cells have all this potential to heal these degenerative diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's," says Tom, a senior at Bravo Medical Magnet in Los Angeles. "It's amazing how you can create multiple tissues from one cell."

Stem cells offer promise as a treatment or cure for many diseases because they can be can induced to morph into other cell types such as brain, muscle or skin cells. Stem cells can also divide without limit, which gives them the potential to repair and replace damaged tissue.

You can just imagine the possibilities," says Sophie McCallister, a 17-year-old senior at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. McCallister works with a USC mentor on cardiac cell regeneration.

Two programs, one goal

McCallister and nine other students are in a program that's privately funded by two donors with ties to USC. Meanwhile, Tom and his summer school classmates are studying under a statewide program funded by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a voter-created agency that funds stem cell research throughout California.

CIRM has invested $1.7 million in nine high school summer programs statewide for three years.

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Summer school students help scientists advance stem cell research at USC

The making and unmaking of stem-like, aggressive breast cancer cells

Public release date: 9-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Sundem garth.sundem@ucdenver.edu University of Colorado Denver

Breast cancers that depend on the hormones estrogen and progesterone are susceptible to treatments targeting these hormones. Take away this dependence and you lose a valuable treatment option. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published as a featured article in the journal Oncogene shows how progesterone does just this by suppressing a key microRNA, progestins return breast cancer cells to a stem-cell-like state in which they haven't yet differentiated, and are thus more resistant to chemotherapies and more likely to carry a poor prognosis.

"The reason we were looking into the possible role of microRNAs in the dedifferentiation of breast cancer cells into this aggressive, chemo-resistant phenotype is that microRNAs tend to be good, druggable targets. Because one microRNA may regulate many genes involved in a cancerous signaling pathway, we hoped to find one target with many beneficial effects," says Diana Cittelly, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the CU Cancer Center and the paper's first author. The study was a collaboration between the CU Cancer Center labs of Jennifer Richer, PhD, and Carol Sartorius, PhD.

Specifically, the study shows that progestins regulate miRNA-29 a molecule that helps to decide which of a cell's genes are and are not turned into proteins. This regulation of miRNA-29 creates a cascade that stimulates breast cancer cells to revert back to a stem-like state, marked by proteins CD44 and CK5. In animal models, these stem-like cells helped breast cancer evolve around the blockages of current treatments..

"We can manipulate this miRNA-29 in cell lines," Cittelly says, "and we hope technology isn't too far in the future that will allow us to deliver miRNA-29 in human cancers as well."

Turn off the role of miRNA-29 and the hope is that breast cancers won't be able to gain stem cell-like traits and lose their hormone dependence.

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The making and unmaking of stem-like, aggressive breast cancer cells

Olympic Horse Used Stem Cell Therapy

Ravel, a horse competing at the 2012 London Olympics, underwent stem cell therapy treatment that helped heal a possibly career-ending injury to one of his legs, according to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in California.

Ravel, a regular client of Rodrigo Vazquez of Equine Surgical Services at the center, is believed to be the first Olympian to benefit from a stem cell-based treatment. Ravel is now the highest scoring horse on Team USA at the Olympics.

"Ravel is a high-impact athlete," Vazquez said. "He runs the same risks as any other athlete in a high performance sport and he gets hurt like any other athlete too. But he is something special. He works hard and he's focused and he thrives in his sport. He just didn't want to quit."

The 15-year-old equine athlete, owned by Akiko Yamazaki, was united with his rider Steffen Peters in late 2006. Since then, the team has made history, with Ravel excelling in dressage, which is one of three Olympic equestrian disciplines. It involves riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility and balance.

Ravel and Peters were the highest placing American pair at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and have won numerous competitions over the years, including the prestigious Rolex/FEI World Cup in dressage.

Before these victories, Ravel sustained the leg injury. Jessica Gercke, a spokesperson for the Helen Woodward Animal Center, told Discovery News that staff working with competitive horses like Ravel do not wish to reveal detailed information about medical conditions and treatments, since that might affect the perceptions of judges or others.

Vazquez, however, did share that regular check-ups, vaccinations, dentistry and the "emergency treatment with a new technology based on stem cell therapy" helped to heal Ravel after an eight-month break in training.

Adult stem cells can reproduce and differentiate into different types of cells. They continue to be a focus of study for scientists hoping to treat a number of diseases in humans and non-human animals. In horses, to repair cartilage and tendon tissues, scientists have been looking into stem cells derived from bone.

"Bone derived cells in horses are most often obtained from an aspirate (material drawn by suction) of either the hip or sternum with apparent minimal discomfort" to the horse, according to David Frisbie, an associate professor at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. "The procedure typically takes less than 15 minutes and can be done standing under light sedation."

Results of clinical studies on horses suggest that stem cell treatment can improve healing rates, overall outcomes, and decrease re-injury rates almost by half. Further studies are needed, however, to better determine dosage and timing specifics.

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Olympic Horse Used Stem Cell Therapy

Stem-cell pioneer banks on future therapies

Shinya Yamanaka aims to produce cell lines from fetal blood cells.

M. Naka/Aflo/Newscom

Progress toward stem-cell therapies has been frustratingly slow, delayed by research challenges, ethical and legal barriers and corporate jitters. Now, stem-cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan plans to jump-start the field by building up a bank of stem cells for therapeutic use. The bank would store dozens of lines of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, putting Japan in an unfamiliar position: at the forefront of efforts to introduce a pioneering biomedical technology.

A long-held dream of Yamanakas, the iPS Cell Stock project received a boost last month, when a Japanese health-ministry committee decided to allow the creation of cell lines from the thousands of samples of fetal umbilical-cord blood held around the country. Yamanakas plan to store the cells for use in medicine is a bold move, says George Daley, a stem-cell biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. But some researchers question whether iPS cells are ready for the clinic.

Yamanaka was the first researcher to show, in 2006, that mature mouse skin cells could be prodded into reverting to stem cells1 capable of forming all bodily tissues. The experiment, which he repeated2 with human cells in 2007, could bypass ethical issues associated with stem cells derived from embryos, and the cells could be tailor-made to match each patient, thereby avoiding rejection by the immune system.

Japan is pumping tens of millions of dollars every year into eight long-term projects to translate iPS cell therapies to the clinic, including a US$2.5-million-per-year effort to relieve Parkinsons disease at Kyoto Universitys Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), which Yamanaka directs. That programme is at least three years away from clinical trials. The first human clinical trials using iPS cells, an effort to repair diseased retinas, are planned for next year at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe.

Those trials will not use cells from Yamanakas Stock. But if they or any other iPS cell trials succeed, demand for the cells will explode, creating a supply challenge. Deriving and testing iPS cells tailored to individual patients could take six months for each cell line and cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Yamanakas plan is to create, by 2020, a standard array of 75 iPS cell lines that are a good enough match to be tolerated by 80% of the population. To do that, Yamanaka needs to find donors who have two identical copies of each of three key genes that code for immune-related cell-surface proteins called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). He calculates that he will have to sift through samples from some 64,000 people to find 75 suitable donors.

Using blood from Japans eight cord-blood banks will make that easier. The banks hold some 29,000samples, all HLA-characterized, and Yamanaka is negotiating to gain access to those that prove unusable for other medical procedures. One issue remains unresolved: whether the banks need to seek further informed consent from donors, most of whom gave the blood under the understanding that it would be used for treating or studying leukaemia. Each bank will determine for itself whether further consent is needed.

Yamanaka has already built a cell-processing facility on the second floor of CiRA and is now applying for ethics approval from Kyoto University to create the stock. Takafumi Kimura, a CiRA biologist and head of the projects HLA analysis unit, says that the team hopes to derive the first line, carrying a set of HLA proteins that matches that of 8% of Japans population, by next March.

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Stem-cell pioneer banks on future therapies

Marin Dog Receives Relief From Stem Cell Treatment

Stem-cell research is benefiting at least one living creature in Marin County, who would otherwise be living in excruciating athritic pain.

Emma -- the snow-white German shepherd.

Vets at the Northbay Animal Hospital injected the dog with stem cells into 10 of her joints, according to the Marin Independent Journal. The $2,000 treatment has given the 9-year old, 80-pound dog a new lease on live, her owners say.

"She doesn't limp any more," said owner Arthur Latno, in comments to the newspaper, "and she doesn't cry."

Latno is "one of the first" Marin pet owners to try the cutting-edge treatment, which not every vet is willing to endorse, the newspaper reported.

"This (the stem cell procedure) is incredibly promising, but on the other hand there is a lot of homework that needs to be done to determine whether these are valid therapeutic measures," John Peroni, an associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and chairman of the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association told the newspaper.

More studies, like the ones Peroni as well as counterparts at UC Davis are conducting, are neeed, he said.

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Marin Dog Receives Relief From Stem Cell Treatment

Cytomedix Announces Medicare Coverage for Autologous PRP Gel in Chronic Wound Care

GAITHERSBURG, MD--(Marketwire -08/06/12)- Cytomedix, Inc. (CMXI) (CMXI) (the "Company"), a regenerative therapies company commercializing and developing innovative platelet and adult stem cell technologies for wound and tissue repair, today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") has issued a final National Coverage Determination ("NCD") for autologous blood-derived products for chronic non-healing wounds. As previously reported, on May 9, 2012 CMS posted its proposed NCD, which was followed by a 30-day public comment period that ended on June 8th. In the final decision memo released August 2nd, CMS responded to these comments, refined its decision and confirmed coverage for autologous platelet rich plasma ("PRP") in patients with diabetic, pressure and/or venous wounds via its Coverage with Evidence Development ("CED") program. CED is a process through which CMS provides reimbursement coverage for items and services while generating additional clinical data to demonstrate their impact on health outcomes.

In the final decision memo, CMS noted that it " ...has reviewed the medical literature on autologous PRP in patients with chronic wounds and believes that CED is appropriate for PRP treatment," and concluded that, "when reviewed as a body of evidence, it does indicate that PRP shows promise in the populations of interest to CMS."

"We are extremely pleased with the decision by CMS to provide coverage for autologous blood-derived products for chronic non-healing wounds through the CED program. This determination reverses a nearly 20 year non-coverage determination for PRP and provides for an appropriate research study with practical study designs we are confident will demonstrate that patients treated with our autologous PRP product, the AutoloGel System, experience clinically significant health outcomes," commented Martin P. Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer of Cytomedix.

"Importantly, we believe this decision by CMS bodes well for our ongoing discussions with a top 20 global pharmaceutical company for a favorable long-term arrangement in the U.S. wound care market, as clarity around the CED evidentiary requirements was a necessary element of the commercial market assessment," added Mr. Rosendale. "In the meantime, our discussions for a distribution agreement to be executed prior to month's end are progressing well."

Related to the evidentiary requirements, CMS outlined in the final decision memo that a research study that uses data collected by a registry can enhance its persuasiveness if it has the following attributes:

Mr. Rosendale added, "This decision appears to indicate that our recent interactions with CMS have been productive, as CMS has acknowledged the rationale we presented for a comprehensive research study that can appropriately encompass practical study designs to meet the evidentiary requirements of CMS. We look forward to continuing to work with CMS in the coming weeks in further defining the specifics of the protocols for the research studies and clinical questions to be answered through the CED program."

The complete final decision memo is available on the CMS website at: http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-decision-memo.aspx?NCAId=260.

About Coverage with Evidence Development Program

CED is a process through which CMS provides conditional payment for items and services while generating additional clinical data to demonstrate their impact on health outcomes. CED is an evolving paradigm used by CMS to bring a new rationale to coverage decisions and, ultimately, cost savings to the Medicare program.

First introduced in 2005 and then refined in 2006, CED links Medicare coverage of specific promising technologies to a requirement that patients participate in a registry or clinical trial. Ultimately, the data generated is intended to be used as the basis for future coverage decisions once it is determined whether a treatment is reasonable and necessary. CED has also been referred to as a way to develop a "learning-based health care system" and the coverage to support it.

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Cytomedix Announces Medicare Coverage for Autologous PRP Gel in Chronic Wound Care

Pluristem stem cell therapy saves woman with bone marrow failure

The share price of Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT: PLTR) is soaring on the TASE, after the company announced that its placental stem cell therapy, Placental eXpanded (PLX), saved the life of a 54-year old Israeli woman suffering from terminal bone marrow failure. This was the second successful treatment of a patient with bone marrow failure in three months, under compassionate use protocols. The PLX therapy was administered at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The patient, who was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer, failed to respond to chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. Intermuscular injection of PLX cells improved the woman's clinical condition and blood count, and she was released from the isolation unit and subsequently discharged from the hospital.

"This is a real breakthrough - the woman was in isolation due to low white blood cells and high susceptibility to infections and in addition her red blood cells and platelets were low, leading to a very dangerous and life-threatening situation," said Professor Reuven Or, Director of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cancer Immunology at Hadassah. "Further, autologous bone marrow transplantation that she received engrafted poorly, and as a last resort, we applied for a compassionate treatment using Pluristem's PLX cells based on our previous experience with those cells. The treatment with PLX has saved her life and can certainly be classified as a medical miracle."

Prof. Or added, "The result of this unique case demonstrates that PLX cells could potentially be effective for use in cancer patients, who receive bone marrow transplantation following severe radiation and chemotherapy treatments, which severely damage their bone marrow."

Pluristem is preparing to apply for Orphan Drug Status for its PLX cells with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of aplastic bone marrow. The bone marrow transplant market is an estimated $1.3 billion per year in the US alone, based on 30,000 bone marrow transplants in the US per annum.

In May, Pluristem announced that a seven year-old girl, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating due to an aplastic bone marrow, experienced a reversal of her condition with a significant increase in her red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets following the intramuscular injection of the company's PLX cells. The patient has subsequently been released from the hospital and returned home."

Pluristem's share price rose 14.2% by midday on the TASE today to NIS 14.92, following the announcement, after rising 3.4% on Nasdaq on Friday to $3.31, giving a market cap of $148 million.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - http://www.globes-online.com - on August 6, 2012

Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012

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Pluristem stem cell therapy saves woman with bone marrow failure

San Rafael dog gets arthritis relief from stem cell treatment

Emma, a snow-white German shepherd, has been plagued with arthritis for two years, limping and sometimes crying out in pain. But an innovative new procedure using her own stem cells has helped, her veterinarian and owner say.

"Her joint mobility has improved. I can move her elbows into a flexed position now," said Kristina Hansson, a veterinarian with San Rafael's Northbay Animal Hospital. Hansson injected Emma's own stem cells into 10 of her joints three months ago in a yet-unproven procedure that cost about $2,000, promoted by MediVet America, a Kentucky company.

"We're very pleased," said Arthur Latno of San Rafael, owner of the 9-year-old, 80-pound dog. "She doesn't limp any more and she doesn't cry."

Latno is not the only dog owner in the United States with such concerns; an estimated 8 million American dogs suffer from the degenerative condition. When acupuncture and other remedies didn't have a lasting effect on Emma's pain, Latno was happy to spend the money in hopes of helping his pet.

He is apparently one of the first Marin pet owners to do so. Though there are some practitioners in Marin who use stem cell therapy, it is not yet widespread, according to Andrew Lie, a veterinarian at the East San Rafael Veterinary Clinic and president of the Marin County Veterinary Medical Association.

Lie himself doesn't use the therapy. "Personally, I think I would wait to see more research and studies come out. I think it's a little early

"This (the stem cell procedure) is incredibly promising, but on the other hand there is a lot of homework that needs to be done to determine whether these are valid therapeutic measures," said John Peroni, an associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

Peroni also chairs the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association. Peroni himself, along with colleagues at other universities including the University of California at Davis, is engaged in controlled clinical trials involving stem cells and animals. When such trials, peer-reviewed work and long-term studies are published, the effectiveness of the procedures will be easier to determine.

Dogs aren't the only mammals getting stem cell therapy for arthritis. The treatment is being used on humans as well. One example is the Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Broomfield, Colo, which offers a treatment called Regenexx that has received a good deal of media coverage. As with the animal procedure, it involves using a patient's own stem cells.

When the term "stem cells" is used, it brings to mind controversial procedures involving human embryos. In the MediVet procedure, however, the stem cells come from the animal's own body.

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San Rafael dog gets arthritis relief from stem cell treatment

Pluristem stem cells save second patient with bone marrow failure

Pluristem Therapeutics said another patient suffering from bone marrow failure was saved using its placenta-based stem cell treatment.

This is the second time in three months that a patient suffering from bone marrow failure was successfully treated with its PLX cells, the Israeli company said on Monday.

The patient, a 54 year-old woman with lymphoma cancer, was treated with chemotherapy but her condition continued to deteriorate, necessitating a bone marrow transplant. The transplant, as well as alternate therapies, were not successful.

Pluristem's PLX cells were then administered to the patient at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center under the Israeli government's compassionate use program.

Following the injection of the PLX cells intramuscularly, the woman's clinical condition and blood counts improved to the point where the patient was released from the isolation unit and subsequently discharged from the hospital.

"This is a real breakthrough - the woman was in isolation due to low white blood cells and high susceptibility to infections and in addition her red blood cells and platelets were low, leading to a very dangerous and life-threatening situation," Reuven Or, director of bone marrow transplantation and cancer immunology at Hadassah, said in a statement.

"The treatment with PLX has saved her life and can certainly be classified as a medical miracle."

The improvements observed in this and a previous patient treated with PLX cells demonstrate that these cells could potentially assist in the recovery of bone marrow following bone marrow transplant failure or other conditions where the bone marrow is significantly compromised, Pluristem said.

The company said last month it is preparing to apply for orphan drug status for its PLX cells with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of aplastic bone marrow.

The U.S. bone marrow transplant market is an estimated $1.3 billion a year, based on 30,000 bone marrow transplants.

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Pluristem stem cells save second patient with bone marrow failure