CBS New York | Stem Cell Treatment Might Reverse Symptoms Of Multiple Sclerosis ... CBS New York There's potentially exciting news for the two and a half million people around the world struggling with multiple sclerosis. |
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Stem Cell Treatment Might Reverse Symptoms Of Multiple Sclerosis ... - CBS New York
National Institutes of Health (press release) | NHLBI stem cell consortium provides new insights into genetics of ... National Institutes of Health (press release) Largest, most diverse collection of stem cells of its kind could lead to improved diagnoses, treatments. |
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NHLBI stem cell consortium provides new insights into genetics of ... - National Institutes of Health (press release)
April 6, 2017 A false color scanning electron micrograph of cultured human neuron from induced pluripotent stem cell. Credit: Mark Ellisman and Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, UC San Diego.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), derived from human adult cells and capable of being differentiated to become a variety of cell types, are a powerful tool for studying everything from molecular processes underlying human diseases to elusive genetic variants associated with human phenotypes.
In a new paper published online April 6 in Stem Cell Reports, a large team of researchers led by senior author Kelly Frazer, PhD, professor of pediatrics and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine describe a new collection of 222 systematically derived and characterized iPSC lines generated as part of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's NextGen consortium.
Dubbed iPSCORE for "iPSC Collection for Omic Research," Frazer said the novel collection addresses several significant issues that currently hamper using iPSCs as a model system for human genetic studies investigating the segregation of traits, such as lack of large numbers of molecularly well-phenotyped lines and representation of ethnic diversity as well as participants from families and genetically unrelated individuals.
"The iPSCORE collection contains 75 lines from people of non-European ancestry, including East Asian, South Asian, African American, Mexican American, and Multiracial. It includes multigenerational families and monozygotic twins," said Frazer. "This collection will enable us to study how genetic variation influences traits, both at a molecular and physiological level, in appropriate human cell types, such as heart muscle cells. It will help researchers investigate not only common but also rare, and even family-specific variations."
The Stem Cell Reports paper is, in fact, one of four related studies just published by different teams of scientists, each with Frazer as senior author. The other three studies all utilize the iPSCORE resource to either address important genetic questions or develop new tools for analyzing iPSC lines:
Explore further: Induced pluripotent stem cells don't increase genetic mutations
More information: "iPSCORE: A Resource of 222 iPSC Lines Enabling Functional Characterization of Genetic Variation Across a Variety of Cell Types," Stem Cell Reports: DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.03.012
"Aberrant iPSC Methylation is Associated with Motif Enrichment and Gene Expression Changes in a Clone-Specific Manner Independent of Genetics," Cell Stem Cell: DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.03.010
"Large-Scale Profiling Reveals the Influence of Genetic Variation on Gene Expression in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells," Cell Stem Cell: DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.03.009
"High-Throughput and Cost-Effective Characterization of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells," Stem Cell Reports: DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.03.011
It's been more than 10 years since Japanese researchers Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D., and his graduate student Kazutoshi Takahashi, Ph.D., developed the breakthrough technique to return any adult cell to its earliest stage ...
University of Tsukuba-led researchers explored the function of the reprogramming factor KLF4 in production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). KLF4 was shown to bind upstream of the Tcl1 target gene, which controls ...
Parkinson's disease (PD), a chronic, progressive and devastating neurodegenerative motor disease affecting as many as one million Americans, is complex. Its causes likely include a combination of genetic, environmental and ...
As the promise of using regenerative stem cell therapies draws closer, a consortium of biomedical scientists reports about 30 percent of induced pluripotent stem cells they analyzed from 10 research institutions were genetically ...
A multinational team of researchers led by stem cell scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Scripps Research Institute has documented specific genetic abnormalities that occur in human ...
How do you improve a Nobel Prize-winning discovery? Add a debilitating disease-causing gene mutation.
When scientists talk about laboratory stem cells being totipotent or pluripotent, they mean that the cells have the potential, like an embryo, to develop into any type of tissue in the body. What totipotent stem cells can ...
Viruses have a ubiquitous presence in the world. Their population is estimated to be 1031, 10 times greater than the nonillion (1030) of microbes on the planeta figure that surpasses the number of stars in the Milky Way. ...
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The DNA molecules in each one of the cells in a person's body, if laid end to end, would measure approximately two metres in length. Remarkably, however, cells are able to fold and compact their genetic material in the confined ...
In a major advance for fundamental biological research, UC San Francisco scientists have developed a tool capable of illuminating previously inscrutable cellular signaling networks that play a wide variety of roles in human ...
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In four related papers, researchers describe new and improved tools for stem cell research - Phys.Org
LONDON, April 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KEY FINDINGS The North America stem cell assay market is expected to grow $1082 million by 2025. The market growth is expected at the CAGR of 21.69% in the forecast period. The base year considered for the market study is 2016. Rise in the adoption of stem cell assay, the evolvement of technology and increase spending in the stem cell assay market are the key drivers in the North America stem cell assay market. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4807895/
MARKET INSIGHTS The North America stem cell assay market is segmented on the basis of types of assay, product, kits, application, end-user and geography. The North America stem cell assay market by type is segmented into cell viability and toxicity assays, isolation and purification assays, cell identification assays, cell differentiation assays, cell function assays and cell apoptosis assays. The product of North America stem cell assay market is segmented into instruments and detection kits.
The kits of stem cell assay market are further segmented into adult stem cell kits, human embryonic stem cell kit. The stem cell market by application is further bifurcated into regenerative medicine and therapy development, drug discovery and development and clinical research market. The end-user of stem cell market is segmented into research institutes and industry research. The North America stem cell assay market by geography is segmented into US, Canada, and rest of North America. Increasing Adoption of Stem Cell Assay, improvement in the Technology, high expense in Stem Cell Research are the major drivers for the market growth in North America region. The rise in the adoption of stem cell assay for drug screening & testing is one of the major reasons driving the industry research Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4807895/
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To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/north-america-stem-cell-assay-market-forecast-2017-2025-300436349.html
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NORTH AMERICA STEM CELL ASSAY MARKET FORECAST 2017-2025 - PR Newswire (press release)
Apligraf (manufactured near the conference, in Canton, MA), and Dermagraft (manufactured in San Diego, CA), are FDA-approved Class III medical devices indicated for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Apligraf is also indicated for the treatment of venous leg ulcers. More than 1 million units of the products have been shipped to date.
"One of the challenges we see with cell-based manufacturing is the transition from pilot to commercial scale production and the ability to perform large scale manufacturing at a low cost," said Dr. Pitkin. "At Organogenesis, we've achieved this successfully through process optimization and product consistency that includes multiple levels of quality control and safety."
In Apligraf, keratinocyte stem cells are required to form the product's differentiated epidermis and provide increased levels of growth factors and cytokines, so it is vital that these cells are preserved through the manufacturing, shipping and distribution process. Through a scale-up manufacturing process that creates a three-dimensional bi-layered construct, Organogenesis is able to produce a bioengineered product with living cells on a consistent basis that delivers a therapeutic benefit to patients with hard-to-heal wounds.
"With five million Americans affected by diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers, it's crucial that we consistently produce and manufacture safe, reliable products that promote healing," added Dr. Pitkin. "Organogenesis is at the forefront of this effort, having developed a successful and reliable manufacturing process."
The 6th Stem Cell Product Development and Commercialization Conference presents information regarding cutting-edge developments in all areas of stem cell research, including the biology, medicine, applications and regulation of stem cells. Topics of discussion include recent developments in pre-clinical and clinical trials of stem cell therapy, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, cancer stem cells, immunotherapy, stem cell reprogramming, and regulatory policies regarding stem cell research.
About Organogenesis Inc.Headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, Organogenesis Inc. is a global leader in regenerative medicine, offering a portfolio of bioactive and acellular biomaterials products in advanced wound care and surgical biologics, including orthopedics and spine. Organogenesis' versatile portfolio is designed to treat a variety of patients with repair and regenerative needs. For more information, visit http://www.organogenesis.com.
CONTACT:Angelyn Lowe (781) 830-2353 alowe@organo.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/organogenesis-shares-successes-and-best-practices-for-cell-based-product-manufacturing-at-the-6th-stem-cell-product-development-and-commercialization-conference-300436140.html
SOURCE Organogenesis Inc.
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Organogenesis Shares Successes and Best Practices for Cell-Based Product Manufacturing at the 6th Stem Cell ... - PR Newswire (press release)
WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Frequency Therapeutics, a company spearheading the movement to restore hearing by harnessing the regenerative potential of progenitor cells in the body, today announced that Chris Loose, Ph.D., the Companys Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, will be presenting at the 14th Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine Conference. The presentation titled, Progenitor Cell Activation - an Enabling Technology for In-Situ Tissue Regeneration, will look to explore the companys proprietary Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform, founded on recent discoveries in progenitor cell biology by Bob Langer, Sc.D. at MIT and Jeff Karp, Ph.D., at Harvard. PCA is leading to a new class of drugs that regenerate healthy tissue within the body. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, April 5 at 4:50 p.m. The conference is being held from April 5 to 6 in Boston, MA.
The biology, chemistry and regenerative properties behind our PCA platform is quite exciting and has the potential to yield a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions, said Dr. Loose. Our lead program is focused on the over 360 million people worldwide who suffer from hearing impairment, with no effective therapeutic solutions currently available. By targeting cellular regeneration within the inner ear to restore healthy tissue and reverse hearing loss, we look to develop a direct therapeutic approach through a locally applied drug without the need for surgical interventions.
Chris has provided exceptional leadership in translating the vision of our founders, Bob Langer and Jeff Karp, into a successful product development organization, said David Lucchino, President, Co-founder and CEO of Frequency. This presentation exemplifies the core of the research and development Frequency is performing with our PCA platform, and addresses our intent of advancing a first-in-class therapeutic option for chronic hearing loss.
ABOUT PROGENITOR CELL ACTIVATION (PCA) Frequencys precise and controlled approach transiently causes Lgr5+ progenitor cells to divide and differentiate, much like what is seen in naturally regenerating tissues such as the skin and intestine. Frequency activates stemness through mimicking signals provided by neighboring cells (the stem cell niche) with small molecules, and this proprietary approach is known as the Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform. Frequency believes that PCA has the potential to yield a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions. To fuel its drug discovery programs, Frequency is leveraging a PCA screening platform using primary human cells, including cochlear progenitor cells and adult human progenitor cells from the GI tract. Frequencys initial focus is on chronic noise induced hearing loss. Other potential applications include skin disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes.
ABOUT FREQUENCY THERAPEUTICS Frequency Therapeutics develops small molecule drugs that activate progenitor cells within the body to restore healthy tissue. Through the transitory activation of these progenitor cells, Frequency enables disease modification without the complexity of genetic engineering. Our lead program re-creates sensory cells in the inner ear to treat chronic noise induced hearing loss, which affects over 30 million people in the U.S. alone. http://www.frequencytx.com.
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Frequency Therapeutics to Present at the 14th Stem Cell Research ... - Business Wire (press release)
Laijun Lai, an Associate Research Professor at the University of Connecticut is currently doing research to find treatment for cancers, autoimmune deficiencies and genetic diseases through the use of T cells and stem cells.
The first area of his research focuses on gene engineering approaches to treating cancers and autoimmune diseases.
Lais research has resulted in two patents and several grants from NIH, the American Cancer Society and the Connecticut Regenerative Medicine Fund.
We are very excited with our results. We believe that our research will eventually lead to the new approach in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases or genetic diseases, such as (DGS), Lai said.
The progression of cancerous tumors is accompanied by a very significant suppression of the immune system, which interferes with the bodys ability to send an effective immune response in order to eliminate chemotherapy, Lai said.
In terms of autoimmune disease, disorders develop when the immune system targets and destroys the bodys own tissues, Lai said.
Therefore, the study investigates new approaches to enhance T cell function for use in the treatment of cancer, while also looking for new ways to inhibit T cell function to treat autoimmune disease, Lai said.
Several T cell inhibitor molecules have been identified. Were trying to find a new T cell inhibitor molecule by using the bioinformatic approach to identify several new genes that are related to T cell inhibitor molecules, Lai said.
He then used the gene engineering approach to produce recombinant proteins from these genes. And these preliminary studies have shown that in a dish, the proteins can inhibit T cell function.
By using the gene engineering approach we can enhance the immune function that can fight a lot of diseases, such as cancer and infections, Lai said.
The second area of my research is using stem cell technology to prevent and treat autoimmune disease, Lai said.
The thymus, an organ of the immune system, is the primary organ that naturally produces T cells for the body.
Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) mediate T cell selections, generating T cells that are able to react with foreign antigens, such as bacteria and viruses, Lai said.
In the prevention or treatment of autoimmune diseases, it would induce immune tolerance of certain antigens by using the mechanisms that would occur in the thymus under normal circumstances, Lai said.
However, the thymus undergoes age-dependent involution resulting in a serious compromise of T cell function in the elderly, Lai said. Many studies have shown that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have huge potential to treat many diseases because these cells can change into many types of cells in a dish.
Through the transplantation of ESCs can cause immune tolerance to the disease causative self-antigens and treat or even prevent autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lai wrote in a research statement.
The third area of my research is using stem cell technology to model and treat genetic diseases such as DiGeorge Syndromealso known as DGS, Lai said.
DGS is one of the most common genetic diseases in humans.
One of the characteristic features of DGS is that the patient has a profound thymic aplasia or hypoplasia that results in T cell immunodeficiency, Lai said, So we are going to determine the ability of ESC-derived TECs to prevent and treat DGS.
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UConn professor tackling cell research to treat cancer - UConn Daily Campus
WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Frequency Therapeutics, a company spearheading the movement to restore hearing by harnessing the regenerative potential of progenitor cells in the body, today announced that Chris Loose, Ph.D., the Companys Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, will be presenting at the 14th Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine Conference. The presentation titled, Progenitor Cell Activation - an Enabling Technology for In-Situ Tissue Regeneration, will look to explore the companys proprietary Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform, founded on recent discoveries in progenitor cell biology by Bob Langer, Sc.D. at MIT and Jeff Karp, Ph.D., at Harvard. PCA is leading to a new class of drugs that regenerate healthy tissue within the body. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, April 5 at 4:50 p.m. The conference is being held from April 5 to 6 in Boston, MA.
The biology, chemistry and regenerative properties behind our PCA platform is quite exciting and has the potential to yield a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions, said Dr. Loose. Our lead program is focused on the over 360 million people worldwide who suffer from hearing impairment, with no effective therapeutic solutions currently available. By targeting cellular regeneration within the inner ear to restore healthy tissue and reverse hearing loss, we look to develop a direct therapeutic approach through a locally applied drug without the need for surgical interventions.
Chris has provided exceptional leadership in translating the vision of our founders, Bob Langer and Jeff Karp, into a successful product development organization, said David Lucchino, President, Co-founder and CEO of Frequency. This presentation exemplifies the core of the research and development Frequency is performing with our PCA platform, and addresses our intent of advancing a first-in-class therapeutic option for chronic hearing loss.
ABOUT PROGENITOR CELL ACTIVATION (PCA) Frequencys precise and controlled approach transiently causes Lgr5+ progenitor cells to divide and differentiate, much like what is seen in naturally regenerating tissues such as the skin and intestine. Frequency activates stemness through mimicking signals provided by neighboring cells (the stem cell niche) with small molecules, and this proprietary approach is known as the Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform. Frequency believes that PCA has the potential to yield a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions. To fuel its drug discovery programs, Frequency is leveraging a PCA screening platform using primary human cells, including cochlear progenitor cells and adult human progenitor cells from the GI tract. Frequencys initial focus is on chronic noise induced hearing loss. Other potential applications include skin disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes.
ABOUT FREQUENCY THERAPEUTICS Frequency Therapeutics develops small molecule drugs that activate progenitor cells within the body to restore healthy tissue. Through the transitory activation of these progenitor cells, Frequency enables disease modification without the complexity of genetic engineering. Our lead program re-creates sensory cells in the inner ear to treat chronic noise induced hearing loss, which affects over 30 million people in the U.S. alone. http://www.frequencytx.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170405005401/en/
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Frequency Therapeutics to Present at the 14th Stem Cell Research ... - Yahoo Finance
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NBC 6's Julia Bagg tells us about the Duke University study showing stem cell research playing a role in possibly helping those kids. (Published 5 hours ago)
A first of its kind study from Duke University is targeting autism with the goal being to see if stem cells could be used to help treat children dealing with the disorder.
Researchers used umbilical cord blood infusions to help ease autism symptoms in children. They found that using the youngsters own rare stem cells resulted in significant improvements in their behavior.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as one in 45 American children has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Symptoms vary from mild social awkwardness to serious mental handicap, debilitating repetitive behaviors, and an inability to communicate.
Theres no cure, but researchers hope their findings could lead to long-term treatment. Skeptics point out there are many unanswered questions in this study, but now a second trial is underway.
Published 5 hours ago | Updated 4 hours ago
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Recent Study Shows Stem Cell Research Helping Children Deal ... - NBC 6 South Florida
UCLA researchers have created a new system to produce human T cells, the white blood cells that fight against disease-causing intruders in the body. The system could be utilized to engineer T cells to find and attack cancer cells, which means it could be an important step toward generating a readily available supply of T cells for treating many different types of cancer.
The preclinical study, published in the journal Nature Methods, was led by senior authors Dr. Gay Crooks, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of pediatrics and co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, and Amelie Montel-Hagen, an associate project scientist in Crooks lab.
The thymus sits in the front of the heart and plays a central role in the immune system. It uses blood stem cells to make T cells, which help the body fight infections and have the ability to eliminate cancer cells. However, as people age or become ill, the thymus isnt as efficient at making T cells.
T cells generated in the thymus acquire specialized molecules, called receptors, on their surface, and those receptors help T cells seek out and destroy virus-infected cells or cancer cells. Leveraging that process has emerged as a promising area of cancer research: Scientists have found that arming large numbers of T cells with specific cancer-finding receptors a method known as adoptive T cell immunotherapy has shown remarkable results in clinical trials.
Adoptive T cell immunotherapy typically involves collecting T cells from people who have cancer, engineering them in the lab with a cancer-finding receptor and transfusing the cells back into the patient.
However, adoptive T cell immunotherapy treatments can be time-consuming, and people with cancer might not have enough T cells for the approach to work, according to Dr. Christopher Seet, the studys first author and a clinical instructor who treats cancer patients in the division of hematology-oncology at UCLA.
Since adoptive T cell immunotherapy was first used clinically in 2006, scientists have recognized that it would be more efficient to create a readily available supply of T cells from donated blood cells or from pluripotent stem cells, which can create any cell type in the body. The challenge with that strategy would be that T cells created using this approach would carry receptors that are not matched to each individual patient, which could ultimately cause the patients body to reject the transplanted cells or could cause the T cells to target healthy tissue in addition to cancer cells.
We know that the key to creating a consistent and safe supply of cancer-fighting T cells would be to control the process in a way that deactivates all T cell receptors in the transplanted cells, except for the cancer-fighting receptors, Crooks said.
The UCLA team used a new combination of ingredients to create structures called artificial thymic organoids that, like the thymus, have the ability to produce T cells from blood stem cells. The scientists found that mature T cells created in the artificial thymic organoids carried a diverse range of T cell receptors and worked similarly to the T cells that a normal thymus produces.
Next, the team tested whether artificial thymic organoids could produce the specialized T cells with cancer-fighting T cell receptors. When they inserted a gene that delivers a cancer-fighting receptor to the blood stem cells, they found that the thymic organoids produced large numbers of cancer-specific T cells, and that all other T cell receptors were turned off. The results suggest that the cells could potentially be used to fight cancer without the risk of T cells attacking healthy tissue.
Montel-Hagen said the artificial thymic organoid can easily be reproduced by other scientists who study T cell development. The UCLA researchers now are looking into using the system with pluripotent stem cells, which could produce a consistent supply of cancer-fighting T cells for patients in need of immediate life-saving treatment.
Kite Pharma holds a license to the artificial thymic organoid method, which is patented by the Regents of the University of California.
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Artificial Thymus Can Produce Cancer-fighting T Cells From Blood Stem Cells - Bioscience Technology