Opportunities in Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Products – Trends and Forecasts to 2017

LONDON, Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that are characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type. Categorized by stage of life, several broad categories of stem cells exist, including:

- Embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts - Post-natal stem cells, derived from newborn tissues - Adult stem cells, found in adult tissues including hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, neural stem cells, and more - Induced pluripotent stem cells, reprogrammed from adult cells - Cancer stem cells, which give rise to clonal populations of cells that form tumors or disperse in the body

Embryonic stem cells are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, which is a stage reached four to five days post-fertilization. They are the most pluripotent of all stem cell types and can develop into over 200 different cell types of the human body. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were first derived from mouse embryos in 1981 by Martin Evans and Matthew Kaufman, and independently by Gail R. Martin. In 1995, the first successful culturing of embryonic stem cells from non-human primates occurred at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Another breakthrough followed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November 1998 when a group led by Dr. James Thomson developed a technique to isolate and grow hESCs derived from human blastocysts. As such, embryonic stem cells are still a relatively new discovery, as the first mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were derived from embryos in 1981, but it was not until 1995 that the first successful culturing of embryonic stem cells from non-human primates occurred and not until November 1998 that a technique was developed to isolate and grow embryonic stem cells from human blastocysts.

Market Segments

To facilitate research resulting from these advances, a large and diverse market has emerged for human embryonic stem cell products, platforms, and technologies. In total, the global sales of these items compose the hESC product marketplace. One thriving component of this marketplace is the segment of companies that sell hESC research products to scientists.

Termed "research supply companies" or "research product vendors," large companies selling human embryonic stem cell research products include Life Technologies, BD Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, EMD Millipore, Sigma Aldrich, Lonza, R&D Systems, and STEMCELL Technologies, as well as more than 60 other suppliers that range in size from multinational corporations to small specialty companies. Together, these research supply companies represent a substantial annual percentage of hESC product sales.

As of 2013, the following product categories accounted for more than 85% of all global hESC research product sales:

- Embryonic stem cell culture products - Embryonic stem cell lines - Antibodies to embryonic stem cell antigens - Bead-based embryonic stem cell separation systems - Embryonic stem cell protein purification and analysis tools - Tools for DNA and RNA-based characterization of embryonic stem cells - Embryonic stem cell specific growth factors and cytokines - Tools for embryonic stem cell gene regulation - Embryonic stem cell services and mechanisms for in vivo and in vitro stem cell tracking - In addition, pharmaceutical companies also have intense interest in human embryonic stem cell product development. Because of their plasticity and unlimited capacity for self-renewal, hESCs have been proposed for use in a wide range of pharmaceutical applications, including: - Drug target validation and testing - Toxicology testing - Tissue engineering - Cellular therapies - Personalized medicine - And more For this reason, development of hESC products by the pharmaceutical sector also represents a thriving segment of the global hESC product marketplace. Of particular interest to this community is the potential for use of hESCs to heal tissues that have a naturally limited capacity for renewal, such as the human heart, liver and brain. Furthermore, within the pharmaceutical sector, development of new drugs is extremely costly and the success rate of bringing new compounds to the market is unpredictable. Therefore, it is crucial that pharmaceutical companies minimize late-stage product failures, such as suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties or unexpected toxicity, that can arise when candidate drugs enter the clinical testing stages.

To achieve this, it would be highly desirable to test candidate drugs using in vitro assays of high human relevance as early as possible. Because hESCs have the potential to differentiate into all of the mature cell types of the human body, they represent an ideal cell type from which to design such drug screening assays.

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Opportunities in Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Products - Trends and Forecasts to 2017

Hogan's budget includes some cuts, some status quo for economic development programs

Advocates for programs spending state dollars on stem cell research or investment in technology companies were nervous about what Gov. Larry Hogan's budget would hold for them, given warnings of "strong medicine" to cure fiscal woes.

But after Hogan's spending plan was unveiled Friday, they were relieved to find that the Republican's business-friendly message spared several economic development programs that were popular under Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley.

The budget matches O'Malley's for a tax credit encouraging investment in biotechnology companies, and only trims the prior administration's commitment to stem cell research by a tenth. As part of efforts to close an $800 million state deficit, there are significant proposed cuts to tax credits for film productions and cybersecurity companies in the state.

Business advocates said they were relieved that cuts weren't deeper given the fiscal challenges, though they still plan to fight to maintain if not increase allotments for popular programs. But many said they see the budget overall as confirmation of Hogan's pro-business campaign message.

"I think you see that in the fact that there were not extremely large cuts," said Mathew Palmer, senior vice president for government affairs for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. "In these tough fiscal times, it's going to be hard to make any huge increased investments."

One Democratic lawmaker said he was "pleasantly surprised" to see so many programs linked to O'Malley's Democratic administration well-funded particularly the state stem cell fund, which Republicans frequently target for cuts and restrictions.

"It's hard to imagine Anthony Brown's budget would look much different," said Sen. Richard Madaleno, referring to O'Malley's presumptive heir who lost the election in November to Hogan. Madaleno represents Montgomery County and is vice chairman of the senate's Budget and Taxation Committee.

In general, Hogan's budget proposal was austere. The roughly $40 billion plan would take away cost-of-living raises for state workers and cut state agencies' budgets by 2 percent across the board, the latter an extension of action O'Malley took before leaving office.

The General Assembly is allowed to make further cuts or, to a limited extent, rearrange budgets, but it cannot add to Hogan's proposal.

Given warnings of budget pain to come, supporters of many programs feared worse. The balance of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, which provides grants to researchers at universities, institutions and companies across the state, had fluctuated over O'Malley's two terms and frequently was targeted by Republicans seeking to limit its use to research on adult stem cells including some tapped to serve in Hogan's administration, Madaleno noted.

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Hogan's budget includes some cuts, some status quo for economic development programs

Bio whiz Sheldon High student competes for $1 million in science awards

Sheldon High School senior Ryan Fong is doing his part to help advance the field of stem cell biology.

The research project hes been working on for the past few years entitled, Utility of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Endothelial Cells as Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Models, was selected from more than 1,800 entrants to place him in a semi-finalist slot in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search.

Fong was one of only three semifinalists and the only one from Elk Grove - selected from Sacramento County for the national search.

He, along with Sheldon High will receive a $1,000 award each for the respected selection.

I was really excited and not expecting it. I was extremely humbled, Fong said. Ive worked on this project for a while. But this whole thing doesnt just affect me - it affects the entire community, thebiology academy at Sheldon, and everyone whos helped me along the way. I also hope that it will all inspire future Sheldon students.

The Intel Science Talent Search recognizes talented young scientists who are creating the technologies and solutions that will positively impact peoples lives.

Projects submitted to the search cover all disciplines of science, including engineering, mathematics, biochemistry, medicine, and health.

Fongs project delved into the devastating disease of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), in which a heart artery narrows leading to right heart failure. The disease is most prevalent in women in their 30s-50s with a five-year survival rate of only 50 percent.

The student chose to take on the project, which is a continuing study at the school, because he noticed the impact it has on women during what many would consider the prime of their lives.

I have no personal connection to the disease, but I wanted to choose a project that had a direct impact on many people. Plus, it affects a demographic that we can all be sensitive about.

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Bio whiz Sheldon High student competes for $1 million in science awards

Does gestational diabetes affect the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord-derived stem cells?

IMAGE:Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online. The journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 20, 2015-- Multipotent cells isolated from the human umbilical cord, called mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSCs) have shown promise for use in cell therapy to treat a variety of human diseases. However, intriguing new evidence shows that hUC-MSCs isolated from women with gestational diabetes demonstrate premature aging, poorer cell growth, and altered metabolic function, as reported in an article in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Stem Cells and Development website until February 17th, 2015.

Jooyeon Kim and coauthors from University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, Korea, compared the growth and viability characteristics of hUC-MSCs from the umbilical cords of pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes. They evaluated cell growth, cellular senescence, mitochondrial function-related gene expression as a measure of metabolic activity, and the stem cells' ability to differentiate into various cell types such as bone and fat cells. They report their findings in the article "Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Affected by Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Display Premature Aging and Mitochondrial Dysfunction."

"We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how environmental and gestational stressors of all kinds affect stem cell populations," says Editor-in-Chief Graham C. Parker, PhD, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. "The work described offers a non-invasive assay to help determine risk of developmental clinical vulnerability."

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About the Journal

Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology, characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those of the hematopoietic system. A complete table of contents and free sample issue may be viewed on the Stem Cells and Development website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cellular Reprogramming, Tissue Engineering, and Human Gene Therapy. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Does gestational diabetes affect the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord-derived stem cells?

Early Study Says Stem Cells May Reverse Multiple Sclerosis Disability

Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter Posted: Tuesday, January 20, 2015, 12:00 PM

TUESDAY, Jan. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A therapy that uses patients' own primitive blood cells may be able to reverse some of the effects of multiple sclerosis, a preliminary study suggests.

The findings, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, had experts cautiously optimistic.

But they also stressed that the study was small -- with around 150 patients -- and the benefits were limited to people who were in the earlier courses of multiple sclerosis (MS).

"This is certainly a positive development," said Bruce Bebo, the executive vice president of research for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

There are numerous so-called "disease-modifying" drugs available to treat MS -- a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the protective sheath (called myelin) around fibers in the brain and spine, according to the society. Depending on where the damage is, symptoms include muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems and difficulty with balance and coordination.

But while those drugs can slow the progression of MS, they can't reverse disability, said Dr. Richard Burt, the lead researcher on the new study and chief of immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

His team tested a new approach: essentially, "rebooting" the immune system with patients' own blood-forming stem cells -- primitive cells that mature into immune-system fighters.

The researchers removed and stored stem cells from MS patients' blood, then used relatively low-dose chemotherapy drugs to -- as Burt described it -- "turn down" the patients' immune-system activity.

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Early Study Says Stem Cells May Reverse Multiple Sclerosis Disability

Bone stem cells shown to regenerate bones, cartilage in adult mice

A stem cell capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage has been identified in bone marrow of mice. The discovery by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is reported today in the online issue of the journal Cell.

The cells, called osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells, were discovered by tracking a protein expressed by the cells. Using this marker, the researchers found that OCR cells self-renew and generate key bone and cartilage cells, including osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Researchers also showed that OCR stem cells, when transplanted to a fracture site, contribute to bone repair.

"We are now trying to figure out whether we can persuade these cells to specifically regenerate after injury. If you make a fracture in the mouse, these cells will come alive again, generate both bone and cartilage in the mouse--and repair the fracture. The question is, could this happen in humans," says Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at CUMC and a senior author of the study.

The researchers believe that OCR stem cells will be found in human bone tissue, as mice and humans have similar bone biology. Further study could provide greater understanding of how to prevent and treat osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or bone fractures.

"Our findings raise the possibility that drugs or other therapies can be developed to stimulate the production of OCR stem cells and improve the body's ability to repair bone injury--a process that declines significantly in old age," says Timothy C. Wang, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at CUMC, who initiated this research. Previously, Dr. Wang found an analogous stem cell in the intestinal tract and observed that it was also abundant in the bone.

"These cells are particularly active during development, but they also increase in number in adulthood after bone injury," says Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Marks Professor of Genetics and Development, chair of the Department of Genetics & Development, and a member of the research team.

The study also showed that the adult OCRs are distinct from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone generation during development and adulthood. Researchers presumed that MSCs were the origin of all bone, cartilage, and fat, but recent studies have shown that these cells do not generate young bone and cartilage. The CUMC study suggests that OCR stem cells actually fill this function and that both OCR stems cells and MSCs contribute to bone maintenance and repair in adults.

The researchers also suspect that OCR cells may play a role in soft tissue cancers.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Columbia University Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Bone stem cells shown to regenerate bones, cartilage in adult mice

Treating non-healing bone fractures with stem cells

UC Davis to test device that offers new approach to obtaining stem cells during surgery

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- A new device that can rapidly concentrate and extract young cells from irrigation fluid used during orthopaedic surgery holds promise for improving the delivery of stem cell therapy in cases of non-healing fractures. UC Davis surgeons plan to launch a "proof-of-concept" clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of the device in the coming months.

"People come to me after suffering for six months or more with a non-healing bone fracture, often after multiple surgeries, infections and hospitalizations," said Mark Lee, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, who will be principal investigator of the upcoming clinical trial. "Stem cell therapy for these patients can be miraculous, and it is exciting to explore an important new way to improve on its delivery."

About 6 million people suffer fractures each year in North America, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Five to 10 percent of those cases involve patients who either have delayed healing or fractures that do not heal. The problem is especially troubling for the elderly because a non-healing fracture significantly reduces a person's function, mobility and quality of life.

Stem cells - early cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types - have been used for several years to successfully treat bone fractures that otherwise have proven resistant to healing. Applied directly to a wound site, stem cells help with new bone growth, filling gaps and allowing healing and restoration of function. However, obtaining stem cells ready to be delivered to a patient can be problematic. The cells ideally come from a patient's own bone marrow, eliminating the need to use embryonic stem cells or find a matched donor.

But the traditional way of obtaining these autologous stem cells - that is, stem cells from the same person who will receive them - requires retrieving the cells from a patient's bone marrow, a painful surgical procedure involving general anesthesia, a large needle into the hip and about a week of recovery.

In addition, the cells destined to become healing blood vessels must be specially isolated from the bone marrow before they are ready to be transplanted back into the patient, a process that takes so long it requires a second surgery.

The device Lee and his UC Davis colleagues will be testing processes the "wastewater" fluid obtained during an orthopaedic procedure, which makes use of a reamer-irrigator-aspirator (RIA) system to enlarge a patient's femur or tibia by high-speed drilling, while continuously cooling the area with water. In the process, bone marrow cells and tiny bone fragments are aspirated and collected in a filter to transplant back into the patient. Normally, the wastewater is discarded.

Although the RIA system filter captures the patient's own bone and bone marrow for use in a bone graft or fusion, researchers found that the discarded effluent contained abundant mesenchymal stem cells as well as hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells, which have the potential to make new blood vessels, and potent growth factors important for signaling cells for wound healing and regeneration. The problem, however, was that the RIA system wastewater was too diluted to be useful.

Now, working with a device developed by SynGen Inc., a Sacramento-based biotech company specializing in regenerative medicine applications, the UC Davis orthopaedic team will be able to take the wastewater and spin it down to isolate the valuable stem cell components. About the size of a household coffee maker, the device will be used in the operating room to rapidly produce a concentration of stem cells that can be delivered to a patient's non-union fracture during a single surgery.

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Treating non-healing bone fractures with stem cells

New device allows for manipulation of differentiating stem cells

Electroporation is a powerful technique in molecular biology. By using an electrical pulse to create a temporary nanopore in a cell membrane, researchers can deliver chemicals, drugs, and DNA directly into a single cell.

But existing electroporation methods require high electric field strengths and for cells to be suspended in solution, which disrupts cellular pathways and creates a harsh environment for sensitive primary cells. This makes it nearly impossible for researchers to study the cells naturally, in a setting that encourages the cells to continue differentiating and expanding.

A Northwestern University collaboration has developed a novel microfluidic device that allows for electroporation of stem cells during differentiation, making it possible to deliver molecules during this pivotal time in a cell's life. This provides the conditions needed to study primary cells, such as neurons, opening doors for exploration of the pathogenic mechanisms of neural diseases and potentially leading to new gene therapies.

Developed by Horacio Espinosa, the James and Nancy Farley Professor of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship at the McCormick School of Engineering, and John Kessler, the Ken and Ruth Davee Professor of Stem Cell Biology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, the localized electroporation device (LEPD) can be applied to adherent cells, which are grown on an artificial substrate as opposed to free-floating in a culture medium and are able to continue growing and differentiating.

"The ability to deliver molecules into adherent cells without disrupting differentiation is needed for biotechnology researchers to advance both fundamental knowledge and the state-of-the-art in stem cell research," Espinosa said.

"Non-destructive manipulation of cells over time and in the correct environment is a key enabling technology highly needed within the biology and medical research communities," Kessler said.

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Supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the research is described in a paper published in the September 10 issue of Lab on a Chip, the journal of The Royal Society of Chemistry, and was also highlighted on the journal's back cover. Other authors on the paper include Wonmo Kang, Juan P. Giraldo-Vela, Shiva Nathamgari, Tammy McGuire, and Rebecca McNaughton.

The team fabricated the LEPD by employing a commonly used polymer for rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices for biological applications. It consists of circulation microchannels beneath a cell culture chamber made up of a perforated substrate and built-in electrodes. Although the main applications of the initial research examined neurons, the device is a general tool that can be used for any type of adherent cell.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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New device allows for manipulation of differentiating stem cells

The Future of Stem Cells: Opportunities at the Cutting Edge of Science

Stem cell technology representsone of the most fascinating and controversial medical advances of the past several decades. By now the enormous controversy which surrounded the use of federal funds to conduct scientific research on human stem cells during the George W. Bush administration has largely blown over. Five years have passed since President Obama lifted federal funding restrictions, and amazing progress has already been made in the field.

One can make a good case for stem cells being the most fascinating and versatile cells in the human body. This is precisely due to their stem role. In their most basic form, theyre capable of both replicating themselves an unlimited number of times and differentiating themselvesinto a huge number of other cell types. Muscle cells, brain cells, organ cells, and many others can all be created from stem cells. If youre interested, the NIH has an awesome introductionon stem cells on their website.

The question which has arisen since the discovery of thisamazing cell type has been how to harness their power and versatility. This is the primary focus of research today: how can we precisely control stem cells to perform whatever tasks we need them to do? Of course, other important issues, such as figuring out thebest places from which to harvest stem cells,exist.

Because of their role in the body, the number of potential applications for stem cells are truly stunning. From building custom cell clusters with 3D printers to curing a variety of diseases through bone marrow transplants, growingorgans for transplants, andeven growing edible meat, research is progressing at a frantic pace.

There are two particular areas of research which seem to hold the greatest promise at this point. The first is organs. Anyone who has ever been involved in an organ transplant knows how incredibly complex and difficult the process is. But difficulties like finding the right donor, preserving the organ, and finding enough supply to meet the incredible demand could all be overcome if we could simply use stem cells to grow a custom organ for each transplant from scratch.

Besides this perhaps science-fiction-sounding process of growing organs, theres also incredible excitement surrounding the potential of bone marrow transplants to cure diseases like HIVand Leukemia. This is done by implanting stem cells containing genetic mutations which confer immunity to a variety of diseases into a patients bone marrow, where they can begin naturally replicating and affecting the immune system.

Thisprocedurealso covers transplants designed simply to reintroduce healthy stem cells to help tackle a wider variety of ailments. Often, referred to as regenerative medicine as itinvolves stimulating the bodys preexisting repair mechanisms to help the healing process,thisprocedurealso offer great promise.

Naturally, the speed at which advances are being made in the field has led to problems as well. One recent well-publicized study which seemed to point to the possibility of achieving stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (essentially demonstrating a new type of stem cells) is now believedto have beenfraudulent.

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The Future of Stem Cells: Opportunities at the Cutting Edge of Science

New Technology from Asymmetrex Promises to End the Era of Elusive Adult Tissue Stem Cells

Boston, MA (PRWEB) January 08, 2015

James Sherley, Director of the new biotech start-up Asymmetrex, LLC (previously, the Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC) says that he is looking forward to laboratories around the globe evaluating the companys most recent exciting new stem cell technology, which allows tissue stem cells to be counted for the first time. The new technology is reported online this week in Stem Cell Research.

With only the purchase of two commercially available antibodies, any basic cell biology lab can evaluate the new technology for counting its favorite adult tissue stem cells, which Asymmetrex also refers to as distributed stem cells. Asymmetrex scientists accomplished the essential proof of principle in the report with cultured mouse hair follicle stem cells. They also showed that cells with the specific detection criterion were found in mouse hair follicles themselves in regions known to contain the stem cells. With collaborator Dr. Jennifer Chen, they demonstrated that cells in experimental cultures enriched for human skeletal muscle stem cells had the criterion, too. The technology is predicted to be universally able to count adult tissue stem cells in many different tissue types and different vertebrate species, including most, if not all, human tissues.

To count tissue stem cells, the first antibody needed is one that identifies chromosomes found in all cells about an hour before they divide to become two cells. The second antibody needed is one that identifies a special set of chromosomes that is found specifically in adult tissue stem cells. Asymmetrexs Director Sherley spent the last 16 years defining properties of these unique chromosomes, which are called immortal chromosomes. By evaluating both of these antibodies cell detection patterns simultaneously, adult tissue stem cells can be identified with sufficient specificity to count them with a high degree of confidence.

The new report shows that getting to the new technology was a rather complicated business. The project started with the work of Dr. Minsoo Noh when he was a doctoral graduate student in Dr. Sherleys lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his graduate studies, Dr. Noh applied a bioengineering-bioinformatics approach to identifying genes that were highly associated with the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. To avoid the previously unsolved problem of impure tissue stem cells, Dr. Noh used a family of cells that were engineered to model the unique properties of tissue stem cells. He was successful in identifying a large number of cellular genes whose expression was highly specific for unique tissue stem cell properties.

With Dr. Nohs success, the research team now faced a common bioinformatics pitfall too many genes to know which to study next. Dr. David Winklers group at CSIRO in Australia, co-authors of the report, provided a solution. The new report details how Winklers team applied a newly emerging probabilistic approach to reduce a thousand-plus member gene set down to a single gene for interrogation, the histone H2A variant H2A.Z. Oddly, H2A.Z was reduced during adult tissue stem cell specific functions, which went against the conventional biomarker concept of being increased. Dr. Yang Hoon Huh, then a post-doctoral fellow with the Sherley team, undertook an intent investigation of H2A.Zs tissue stem cell-associated properties despite its non-conformist expression. Due to his persistent studies, H2A.Z emerged as the key target of the second antibody in the new technology.

The ability to identify adult tissue stem cells specifically means that now, for the first time, they can be counted. This long awaited capability will begin a new era of quantitative stem cell biology and stem cell medicine. Sherley predicts that, It will be as if tissue stem cell biology put on glasses for the first time. Previously, tissue stem cell research, existing stem cell medicine (e.g., bone marrow transplantation), and new regenerative medicine developments have operated in a blurry world of not knowing the actual number of the elusive tissue stem cells involved in experiments or transplantation treatments. The ability simply to count the critical cells will have a major impact on the quality and progress of these important applications for continuing advances in medicine and human health.

******************************************************************************************** Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company. Asymmetrexs founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is the foremost authority on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The companys patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the three main technical problems production, quantification, and monitoring that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells. Currently, Asymmetrex is employing its technological advantages to pursue commercialization of facile methods for monitoring adult tissue stem cell number and function.

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New Technology from Asymmetrex Promises to End the Era of Elusive Adult Tissue Stem Cells