5. Hematopoietic Stem Cells [Stem Cell Information]

With more than 50 years of experience studying blood-forming stem cells called hematopoietic stem cells, scientists have developed sufficient understanding to actually use them as a therapy. Currently, no other type of stem cell, adult, fetal or embryonic, has attained such status. Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are now routinely used to treat patients with cancers and other disorders of the blood and immune systems. Recently, researchers have observed in animal studies that hematopoietic stem cells appear to be able to form other kinds of cells, such as muscle, blood vessels, and bone. If this can be applied to human cells, it may eventually be possible to use hematopoietic stem cells to replace a wider array of cells and tissues than once thought.

Despite the vast experience with hematopoietic stem cells, scientists face major roadblocks in expanding their use beyond the replacement of blood and immune cells. First, hematopoietic stem cells are unable to proliferate (replicate themselves) and differentiate (become specialized to other cell types) in vitro (in the test tube or culture dish). Second, scientists do not yet have an accurate method to distinguish stem cells from other cells recovered from the blood or bone marrow. Until scientists overcome these technical barriers, they believe it is unlikely that hematopoietic stem cells will be applied as cell replacement therapy in diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord injury, and many others.

Blood cells are responsible for constant maintenance and immune protection of every cell type of the body. This relentless and brutal work requires that blood cells, along with skin cells, have the greatest powers of self-renewal of any adult tissue.

The stem cells that form blood and immune cells are known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). They are ultimately responsible for the constant renewal of bloodthe production of billions of new blood cells each day. Physicians and basic researchers have known and capitalized on this fact for more than 50 years in treating many diseases. The first evidence and definition of blood-forming stem cells came from studies of people exposed to lethal doses of radiation in 1945.

Basic research soon followed. After duplicating radiation sickness in mice, scientists found they could rescue the mice from death with bone marrow transplants from healthy donor animals. In the early 1960s, Till and McCulloch began analyzing the bone marrow to find out which components were responsible for regenerating blood [56]. They defined what remain the two hallmarks of an HSC: it can renew itself and it can produce cells that give rise to all the different types of blood cells (see Chapter 4. The Adult Stem Cell).

A hematopoietic stem cell is a cell isolated from the blood or bone marrow that can renew itself, can differentiate to a variety of specialized cells, can mobilize out of the bone marrow into circulating blood, and can undergo programmed cell death, called apoptosisa process by which cells that are detrimental or unneeded self-destruct.

A major thrust of basic HSC research since the 1960s has been identifying and characterizing these stem cells. Because HSCs look and behave in culture like ordinary white blood cells, this has been a difficult challenge and this makes them difficult to identify by morphology (size and shape). Even today, scientists must rely on cell surface proteins, which serve, only roughly, as markers of white blood cells.

Identifying and characterizing properties of HSCs began with studies in mice, which laid the groundwork for human studies. The challenge is formidable as about 1 in every 10,000 to 15,000 bone marrow cells is thought to be a stem cell. In the blood stream the proportion falls to 1 in 100,000 blood cells. To this end, scientists began to develop tests for proving the self-renewal and the plasticity of HSCs.

The "gold standard" for proving that a cell derived from mouse bone marrow is indeed an HSC is still based on the same proof described above and used in mice many years ago. That is, the cells are injected into a mouse that has received a dose of irradiation sufficient to kill its own blood-producing cells. If the mouse recovers and all types of blood cells reappear (bearing a genetic marker from the donor animal), the transplanted cells are deemed to have included stem cells.

These studies have revealed that there appear to be two kinds of HSCs. If bone marrow cells from the transplanted mouse can, in turn, be transplanted to another lethally irradiated mouse and restore its hematopoietic system over some months, they are considered to be long-term stem cells that are capable of self-renewal. Other cells from bone marrow can immediately regenerate all the different types of blood cells, but under normal circumstances cannot renew themselves over the long term, and these are referred to as short-term progenitor or precursor cells. Progenitor or precursor cells are relatively immature cells that are precursors to a fully differentiated cell of the same tissue type. They are capable of proliferating, but they have a limited capacity to differentiate into more than one cell type as HSCs do. For example, a blood progenitor cell may only be able to make a red blood cell (see Figure 5.1. Hematopoietic and Stromal Stem Cell Differentiation).

Read more:
5. Hematopoietic Stem Cells [Stem Cell Information]

Chennai doctors give new lease of life to Iraq girl

CHENNAI: Doctors at a private hospital in the city gave a new lease of life to a 7-year-old Iraqi girl, Nourl Al Zahara, who suffered from a heart problem, dilated cardiomyopathy. The team of surgeons treated her condition through stem cell transplant.

Zahara, the only child of Salem, a botany teacher and Raza, a lawyer at Baghdad, began to experience tiredness and problems with breathing when she was merely 6-months-old. Despite taking her to several doctors in Baghdad, her parents could not find a cure for the girl who was later brought to Frontier Lifeline Hospital in Chennai.

Doctors who ran tests on her found that the child has been suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle becomes enlarged and gets damaged. Considering her age, the surgical team decided to treat her condition with a stem cell transplant. In this treatment, stem cells are separated and multiplied from the patient's bone marrow and is then injected into the patient's heart.

Speaking about the treatment, DDr K M Cherian of Frontier Lifeline Hospital said, "Stem cell therapy gives the heart a chance to regenerate. As the heart does not have the capacity to heal by itself, this therapy helps in the process."

The main intention of the stem cell treatment is to ensure quality life for heart patients from the first stage of medication until the final stage of treatment, the doctor added. Following the transplant, the child's condition began to stabilize and she showed signs of recovery. "She is healthy now and is even looking forward to go to school," said Dr Cherian.

Stay updated on the go with The Times of Indias mobile apps. Click here to download it for your device.

Visit link:
Chennai doctors give new lease of life to Iraq girl

World Stem Cells Clinic Team of Doctors and StaffStem Cell …

World Stem Cells Clinic Team

Dr. Ernesto Gutierrez is a published and extensively educated physician. He is a graduate from the Universidad Anhuac Poniente, School of Medicine in Huixquilucan, Mexico and additionally holds a Masters Degree in Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine from the Instituto Mexicano de Medicina Antienvejecimiento y Esttica, Guadalajara, Mexico.

His studies continued, with rotations in both Florida and Las Vegas. One of the significant aspects of Dr. Gutierrezs training background is his postgraduate training in Age Management medicine. His well rounded approach in the area of whole person medicine expands on the teams expertise to address a wide range of medical issues. This affords you the opportunity to maximizing your stem cell therapy and overall health. His specific medical interests include childhood disorders, such as Autistic Spectral disorder, which began during medical training with additional coursework in Prenatal Vigilance and Birth Defects Prevention presented by Laboratorios Silanes Toluca Mexico, 6 years ago. He holds Diplomat status and a Masters degree in Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Gutierrez has spent considerable time in additional training in the US, with two specialty organization and is certified in Age Management Medicine from Cenegenics Medical Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a collaborator on two published studies including one concerning hematopoetic stem cell transplantation, at the Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia. His bilingual English and Spanish skills, both in medical and conversational applications, are excellent. Dr. Gutierrez has a thorough understanding of both the North and South American medical systems. As a patient you will experience his level of medical practice excellence.

Back to top

Dr. Fredy Sansores completed his subspecialty training in hematology at the prestigious Centro Medico Nacional 20 de Noviembre in Mexico City. This institution is one of the most important teaching and research hospitals in the country. It is ranked as one of the most coveted residency positions for postgraduate medical training, in Latin America. His inclination towards hematology started during his specialty training in internal medicine where he was the lead professor for the hematology module in a nation-wide continuing medical education program for general practitioners.

During his residency Dr. Sansores participated in numerous research papers involving bone marrow and autologous stem cell transplantation. This has enabled him to expand and accelerate our development of cutting edge therapeutic research and clinical therapies. The doctor has also participated in cord blood cryobiology which is a perfect complement to our new cryo banking division, for our patients stem cells. Currently, Dr. Sansores is also the lead physician responsible for the blood bank, in Playa del Carmen. This level of laboratory responsibility is a perfect complement to the strict requirements of our cellular facility. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Sansoress experience and expertise in stem cell treatments as part of our team effort to provide the superior quality of care that has distinguished World Stem Cells Clinic as an industry leader, since its inception.

Back to top

Dr. Marcial Maciel, MD is an internationally experienced physician with an extensive background in scientific research and applications as well as in clinical patient management. Maintaining a full academic scholarship, Marcial Maciel graduated as one of the top students in his class from one of the currently renowned medical universities in the country, Anhuac University. He graduated with an outstanding performance diploma his final exam of his career. Also, he achieved a high score in his first United States Medial Licensing Examination.

He has worked the intensive care unit at Floyd Medical Center, Rome, GA United States; under supervision and evaluation of Brijh Singh MD and Neurological Surgery Clinical Training, Las Vegas, NV United States; under supervision of Yevgeniy Khavkin MD and Clinical Internship, University of Aachen, Aachen Germany in Anesthesiology, Emergency, Medicine, Neurology, General Surgery and OBGYN. Dr. Marcial Maciel is Fluent Spanish, English, German. Understands French and has publications and presentations on subject such as Restrictive cardiomyopathy as a socio-medical condition, oxygen levels analysis on rats immunized with modified neural peptides with spinal cord lesion, Immunization with neural-derived antigens inhibits lipid peroxidation alter spinal cord injury, factors that influence self medication for respiratory diseases in Caritas Center of Primary Medical Attention and others.

With his years of experience in clinical and research immunology as well as patient management, he is currently working at World Stem Cells Clinic as part of the specialized physicians team and also actively participates in the improvement and design of stem cell research protocols to provide the best care possible to the patients of World Stem Cells Clinic.

Go here to see the original:
World Stem Cells Clinic Team of Doctors and StaffStem Cell ...

Scientists grow human intestine giving hope to people with gut problems and cancer patients

Tissue fragments called organoids were transplanted into mice and matured Mice produced 'significantamounts of fully-functioning human tissue Study gives experts new way to study conditions causing intestinal failure Step towards growing tissues that could replace damaged human intestine

By Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline

Published: 07:24 EST, 20 October 2014 | Updated: 08:07 EST, 20 October 2014

141 shares

12

View comments

Scientists have managed to grow a piece of human intestine in the laboratory,paving the way for new treatments for gut disorders such as Crohn's disease and even cancer.

The breakthrough was made using adult stem cells, which the researchers used to growtissue fragments called organoids.

These are three-dimensional organ 'buds' with the potential to develop into tissues with certain functions.

Breakthrough:Functioning human intestine has been grown from stem cells in the laboratory, paving the way to new treatments for gut disorders. A stock image showing the transfer of fluid into a petri dish containing stem cells for medical image is pictured

Excerpt from:
Scientists grow human intestine giving hope to people with gut problems and cancer patients

Retinal stem cell study shows promise for therapy

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) - Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss for people over the age of 50. Scientists have discovered a new therapy that may actually restore sight in those affected.

Scientists are excited not only because it worked, and helped some people see clearly again, but also because this study puts a focus on an new kind of stem cell therapy, using skin cells.

Macular degeneration causes a blurry or black area in the middle of your field of vision that grows over time, causing more sight loss.

There is no cure, but a new study published this week in the journal The Lancet, is giving patients hope.

Embryonic stem cells were turned into retinal cells and implanted into the eyes of 18 patients.

Vision improved for about half of them.

Dr. Andreas said, "This study was primarily to see if these cells would be safe, and the bonus was that some people started to see better."

Dr. Andreas Bratyy-Layal and Dr. Suzanne Peterson are stem cell scientists with the Scripps Research Institute.

They see this as a major breakthrough.

Although this sight study did do that, Dr. Peterson says labs around the country, including here in San Diego, are moving away from the practice.

Follow this link:
Retinal stem cell study shows promise for therapy

Kingston man hoping for a life-saving stem cell transplant in U.S.

CTV Ottawa Published Tuesday, October 14, 2014 4:36PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, October 14, 2014 7:25PM EDT

Fourteen months ago, Mike Berry thought he had it all. He and his wife, Christine, has just welcomed their first child into the world.

Now Berry is wondering how much time he has left with his young son, Troy.

Starting about a year and a half ago, the 42-year-old Kingston native began noticing a shortness of breath. Eventually, he was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma.

The rare auto-immune disease is causing his body to produce too much collagen, essentially scarring and eating away at his internal organs. Hardest hit are his lungs which have developed an equally-rare secondary disease. He has now lost almost 60% of his lung capacity and has trouble walking up a flight of stairs.

It is life-threatening. People with symptoms of this severity can have a handful of years to live. In Mike Berry's case the onset has been particularly fast. "It's very aggressive and even surprising the doctors," he says.

There is no cure.

But there is hope. At Northwestern University in Chicago, Dr. Richard Burt has pioneered a stem cell therapy called Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT). The patient's stem cells are harvested. Then the existing immune system is wiped out. The stem cells are then used to "reset" the immune system, hopefully disease-free, essentially halting the scleroderma in its tracks. Some patients have even experienced partial recovery of their lung function. The success rate is around 70%.

The catch is that it is expensive. The treatment alone costs $150,000 U.S. Transportation, lodgings, food, etc. is over and above that.

Treating scleroderma with HSCT is still considered experimental. It is not available or even approved in Canada. In previous cases, O.H.I.P. has declined to cover the out-of-country medical costs.

Link:
Kingston man hoping for a life-saving stem cell transplant in U.S.

Harvard researchers grow insulin-producing stem cells

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Patients with type 1 diabetes lack the insulin-producing cells that keep blood glucose levels in check. Currently, these patients must use insulin pumps or daily hormone injections to keep levels stable.

But in a recent breakthrough in laboratories at Harvard University, researchers came upon a new technique for transforming stem cells into pancreatic beta cells that respond to glucose levels and produce insulin when necessary. The breakthrough could lead to new less invasive, more hands-off treatment for diabetes.

Remarkably, the new technique -- a complex process which involves turning on and off specific genes and takes about 40 days and six precise steps to complete -- was replicated not only on embryonic stem cells but also on human skin cells reprogrammed to act in a stem-cell-like manner. This revelation allows scientists to produce millions of insulin-producing cells while avoiding the ethical dilemmas attached to traditional stem cell research.

Previous attempts to convert stem cells into insulin-producers have proven moderately successful, but these cells mostly produced insulin at will, unable to adjust their output on the fly. The latest techniques -- developed by Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and his research colleagues -- produce insulin cells that react to glucose spikes by upping production, and lowering insulin output when there's not excess sugar to break down.

The breakthrough has already shown significant promise when used on lab mice. Diabetic mice who received a transplant of the stem cell beta cells had improved blood sugar levels, and were shown to be capable of breaking down sugar.

"We can cure their diabetes right away -- in less than 10 days," Melton told NPR. "This finding provides a kind of unprecedented cell source that could be used for cell transplantation therapy in diabetes."

But there's still one major issue. For reasons doctors still don't understand, the beta cells in humans with diabetes are attacked by the body's immune system. Researchers like Melton still have to figure out a way to protect the new beta cells from being killed -- otherwise the breakthrough won't become anything more than another short-term solution.

"It's taken me 10 to 15 years to get to this point, and I consider this a major step forward," Melton told TIME. "But the longer term plan includes finding ways to protect these cells, and we haven't solved that problem yet."

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Follow this link:
Harvard researchers grow insulin-producing stem cells

Even fictional characters have to move to keep up with medical advances as the Tooth Fairy gets replaced by the uber …

(PRWEB UK) 26 September 2014

By day Eden is a stem cell scientist, but can transform herself into the Super Tooth Fairy, or so says BioEden creators of this character.

The Super Tooth Fairy is just one of many delightful characters in an educational tool designed for primary school pupils and teachers.

In this children's story book The Super Tooth Fairy takes the baby teeth away to the laboratory of specialist stem cell bank, BioEden, where they harvest the stem cells for the child. Although the BioKidz concept features fictional characters, the story is based on reality and takes children on a tour of a stem cell laboratory and explains about the work of scientists and doctors.

Whatever the 'old' tooth fairy did in children's stories of yesteryear, the new Super Tooth Fairy has the child's health at the core of her super tooth fairy missions.

To find out more about BioKidz and the work carried out by specialist stem cell bank BioEden, visit http://www.bioeden.com

See original here:
Even fictional characters have to move to keep up with medical advances as the Tooth Fairy gets replaced by the uber ...

Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell Having Stem-Cell Surgery

09/24/2014 . Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliot revealed in a new radio interview this week that guitarist Vivian Campbell will be "out of action" until Christmas as he will be undergoing stem-cell surgery in his cancer fight.

Campbell is officially in remission for the second time and will be receiving the treatment in hopes that it will prevent the cancer from returning. Elliot told Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3's '92 Minutes of Hair With Mel' show (via Loudwire), "Vivian, for the second time, is now in remission.

"The first time we were told he was in remission and he was, but it didn't take. It didn't stay; it came back. But this time, through clever management with his doctors, they were able to monitor him through the whole tour, so he could do the tour with KISS this summer."

Elliot went on to say, "As we speak, he's getting ready to go in to have stem-cell surgery, which will hopefully get rid of this thing once and for all. So, up until Christmas, he's gonna be kind of out of action, because once they start on this, they have to keep him so locked down and away from germs and stuff.

"I think anybody visiting him has to put on one of those nuclear suits. He'll be locked away and he'll be the boy in the bubble, but he's very confident that he can do this and his spirits are great."

There is no word is Vivian will be joining the band this Sunday when they perform the pregame show at the NFL game between The Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins in London.

Elliott had this to say about the show, "Having most recently visited Wembley in May to watch Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final, I know what the atmosphere in the ground is like for 'our' football so I'm really looking forward to performing there before the NFL game and of course soaking up the excitement of the actual match. I can't wait!"

Listen to the full interview at Loudwire here.

...end

Continue reading here:
Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell Having Stem-Cell Surgery

Molecule boosts stem cells in cord blood: Canadian study

TORONTO Canadian researchers have found a way to boost the number of stem cells in umbilical cord blood so more patients with leukemia and other blood-related cancers could receive potentially life-saving transplants.

The key to the breakthrough technique is a molecule developed at the Universite de Montreal, coupled with a bioreactor designed at the University of Toronto, which allows scientists to significantly expand the number of stem cells from a single unit of cord blood.

Basically its going to give access to about 10 times as many cords in (cord blood) banks, said Dr. Guy Sauvageau, principal investigator of stem cell genetics at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Montreal university. Its as if you were to multiply by 10 today the number of cord blood units in the world.

The molecule, called UM171, was discovered serendipitously. It had been created by a chemist at the institute working on another program but didnt work for its intended purpose, so they just threw it in what we call a library of compounds, Sauvageau said Thursday from Montreal.

When his research team began testing compounds from among thousands in the library, UM171 was the only one that really worked.

Stem cells from donated umbilical cord blood are able to give rise to all the types of cells that make up blood, including the immune cells that protect the body and fight infection. The same is true of bone marrow, but finding a suitable donor is more difficult.

For some people with blood-related cancers like leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma, getting a stem cell transplant to replace their own blood system is often the treatment of last resort.

But the biggest hurdle for doctors is finding enough cord blood stem cells that are a compatible match and wont cause severe rejection symptoms in recipients, he said. Typically, there are not enough stem cells in a single cord blood unit to regenerate an adults blood system; only five per cent of cord blood bank units can be used for large adults.

And theres another reason why this is becoming more of a problem, because we have more and more ethnic groups in our society and these peoples access to a matched unrelated donor is more limited than for most Caucasians.

That was the case for Mai Duong of Montreal, who is fighting her second bout of leukemia. The 34-year-old mother had made a desperate online plea and a global search for a donor of either bone marrow or cord blood stem cells for a transplant. On Tuesday, doctors announced an unidentified woman had donated her infants umbilical cord to the Vietnamese-Canadian to help save her life.

Originally posted here:
Molecule boosts stem cells in cord blood: Canadian study