Aging eyes and the immune system – Science Magazine

A central promise of regenerative medicine is the ability to repair aged or diseased organs using stem cells (SCs). This approach will likely become an effective strategy for organ rejuvenation, holding the potential to increase human health by delaying age-related diseases (1). The successful translation of this scientific knowledge into clinical practice will require a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of aging, along with an integrated view of the process of tissue repair (1).

The advent of SC therapies, now progressing into clinical trials, has made clear the many challenges limiting the application of SCs to treat disease. Our duty, as scientists, is to anticipate such limitations and propose solutions to effectively deliver on the promise of regenerative medicine.

Degenerating tissues have difficulty engaging a regulated repair response that can support efficient cell engraftment and restoration of tissue function (2). This problem, which I encountered when trying to apply SC-based interventions to treat retinal disease, will likely be an important roadblock to the clinical application of regenerative medicine approaches in elderly patients, those most likely to benefit from such interventions. I therefore hypothesized that the inflammatory environment present in aged and diseased tissues would be a major roadblock for efficient repair and that finding immune modulators with the ability to resolve chronic inflammation and promote a prorepair environment would be an efficient approach to improve the success of SC-based therapies (2, 3).

Immune cells, as sources and targets of inflammatory signals, emerged naturally as an ideal target for intervention. I chose to focus on macrophages, which are immune cells of myeloid origin that exist in virtually every tissue of the human body and which are able to reversibly polarize into specific phenotypes, a property that is essential to coordinate tissue repair (3, 4).

If there is an integral immune modulatory component to the process of tissue repair that has evolved to support the healing of damaged tissues, then it should be possible to find strategies to harness this endogenous mechanism and improve regenerative therapies. Anchored in the idea that tissue damage responses are evolutionarily conserved (5), I started my research on this topic using the fruit fly Drosophila as a discovery system.

The fruit fly is equipped with an innate immune system, which is an important player in the process of tissue repair. Using a well-established model of tissue damage, I sought to determine which genes in immune cells are responsible for their prorepair activity. MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor), a poorly characterized protein initially identified as a neurotrophic factor, emerged as a potential candidate (6). A series of genetic manipulations involving the silencing and overexpression of MANF and known interacting partners led me to the surprising discovery that, instead of behaving as a neurotrophic factor, MANF was operating as an autocrine immune modulator and that this activity was essential for its prorepair effects (2). Using a model of acute retinal damage in mice and in vitro models, I went on to show that this was an evolutionarily conserved mechanism and that MANF function could be harnessed to limit retinal damage elicited by multiple triggers, highlighting its potential for clinical application in the treatment of retinal disease (2).

Having discovered a new immune modulator that sustained endogenous tissue repair, I set out to test my initial hypothesis that this factor might be used to improve the success of SC-based therapies applied to a degenerating retina. Indeed, the low integration efficiency of replacement photoreceptors transplanted into congenitally blind mice could be fully restored to match the efficiency obtained in nondiseased mice by supplying MANF as a co-adjuvant with the transplants (2). This intervention improved restoration of visual function in treated mice, supporting the utility of this approach in the clinic (7).

Next, my colleagues and I decided to address the question of whether the immune modulatory mechanism described above was relevant for aging biology and whether we could harness its potential to extend health span. We found that MANF levels are systemically decreased in aged flies, mice, and humans. Genetic manipulation of MANF expression in flies and mice revealed that MANF is necessary to limit age-related inflammation and maintain tissue homeostasis in young organisms. Using heterochronic parabiosis, an experimental paradigm that involves the surgical joining of the circulatory systems of young and old mice, we established that MANF is one of the circulatory factors responsible for the rejuvenating effects of young blood. Finally, we showed that pharmacologic interventions involving systemic delivery of MANF protein to old mice are effective therapeutic approaches to reverse several hallmarks of tissue aging (8).

A confocal fluorescence microscope image of a giant macrophage shows MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor) expression in red.

The biological process of aging is multifactorial, necessitating combined and integrated interventions that can simultaneously target several of the underlying problems (9). The potential of immune modulatory interventions as rejuvenating strategies is emerging and requires a deeper understanding of its underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms.

One expected outcome of reestablishing a regulated inflammatory response is the optimization of tissue repair capacity that naturally decreases during aging (3). Combining these interventions with SCbased therapeutics holds potential to deliver on the promise of regenerative medicine as a path to rejuvenation (1).

PHOTO: COURTESY OF J. NEVES

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Joana Neves

Joana Neves received undergraduate degrees from NOVA University in Lisbon and a Ph.D. from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California, Neves started her lab in the Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon in 2019. Her research uses fly and mouse models to understand the immune modulatory component of tissue repair and develop stem cellbased therapies for age-related disease.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF A. SHARMA

FINALIST

Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Having completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Medical School, Sharma is now a senior research fellow jointly appointed at the Smidt Heart Institute and Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His research seeks to develop in vitro platforms for cardiovascular disease modeling and drug cardiotoxicity assessment. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1206.1

FINALIST

Adam C. Wilkinson

Adam C. Wilkinson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is currently completing his postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, where he is studying normal and malignant hematopoietic stem cell biology with the aim of identifying new biological mechanisms underlying hematological diseases and improving the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1206.2

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Aging eyes and the immune system - Science Magazine

Back to the drawing board for triple-negative breast cancer targets, researchers propose new combo approach – Endpoints News

The reason why triple-negative breast cancer is such a tough disease to treat is largely given away in its name. Such tumors cant be defined by traditional biomarkers neither estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, nor excess HER2 protein forcing drug hunters down uncharted new pathways.

Researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center explored one of them, and turned up with some new suggestions.

In a new paper, the scientists began with the observation that deregulated MYCN a member of the transcription factor family that activates expression of some oncogenes has been implicated in a subset of breast cancers with unfavorable prognostic features and clinical outcomes. They ended by putting forth a new drug regimen that could spark new hope.

Given that patients with TNBC primarily receive systemic cytotoxic chemotherapies that frequently result in unfavorable outcomes, they wrote in Science Translational Medicine, we propose the clinical development of combination BETi and MEKi for patients with advanced TNBC, with parallel evaluation of MYCN as a potential marker for patient selection.

Johanna Schafer, a graduate student working in Jennifer Pietenpols lab, is the first author, while the professor is the senior author.

The MYCN protein, sometimes dubbed N-Myc, has long been studied as a target in neuronal or neuroendocrine tumors, but its role in breast cancer is less clear. Its distinct from MYC (c-Myc), though the two are believed to affect each other.

Their intricate relationship would prove crucial in therapeutic development. But the first question is just how common they are, and according to the study, the two family members are heterogeneously expressed in separate cell nuclei within a given tumor in at least 40% of TNBC tumors. In fact, the expression of MYCN appeared to increase after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, part of the current standard of care.

The prevalence gave them enough reason to think about how to target it. When the team selected a cell line model, they had another finding that MYCN-expressing cells were essentially more prone to resistance to PI3K inhibitors, which block an alternative pathway for tumor growth.

Because the MYC family lack catalytic domains, the team resorted to epigenetic regulators, screening 158 compounds against the cell lines. BET drugs, which block the bromodomain (BRD)-containing family of transcriptional regulators, emerged as the winner.

It echoes an earlier study, done at Michigan State University, showing that the experimental class of molecules can prevent the growth of breast and lung cancers.

But thats not it and heres where the MEK inhibitors come in.

Most of the MYNC-expressing TNBCs also contain MYC-expressing cells, the researchers noted, which can still drive cancer growth. In fact, single-agent treatment with a BETi seemed to have increased MYC expression. Adding trametinib (Mekinist) to the cells, however, decreased the amount of both proteins. The results were further tested and confirmed in mouse models.

As a next step, our research team is proposing the further development and clinical trials of this combination therapy, Pietenpol, the director of Vanderbilt-Ingram and EVP for research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said in a statement.

Incyte, which has a pact in place to fund Vanderbilt research such as this study, has a BET inhibitor in early development.

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Back to the drawing board for triple-negative breast cancer targets, researchers propose new combo approach - Endpoints News

Stem Cell Reconstructive Market 2020 By Top Key Players/Manufacturers, Type and Application, Regions, Industry Analysis, Growth, Size, Trends and…

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TAGS: Stem Cell Reconstructive Market Size, Stem Cell Reconstructive Market Growth, Stem Cell Reconstructive Market Forecast, Stem Cell Reconstructive Market Analysis, Stem Cell Reconstructive Market Trends, Stem Cell Reconstructive Market

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Stem Cell Reconstructive Market 2020 By Top Key Players/Manufacturers, Type and Application, Regions, Industry Analysis, Growth, Size, Trends and...

Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Strategies and Insight Driven Transformation 2019-2025 – Times Plot

An analysis of Stem Cell Banking-Market Market has been provided in the latest report launched by UpMarketResearch.com that primarily focuses on the market trends, demand spectrum, and future prospects of this industry over the forecast period. Furthermore, the report provides a detailed statistical overview in terms of trends outlining the geographical opportunities and contributions by prominent industry share contenders.

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Moreover, the report centers on providing comprehensive analytical data on the regional segments, which include North America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East& Africa, and the Rest of the World. Other than this, development plans & policies, marketing terminologies, manufacturing protocols, current trends, dynamics of the market, and classification have been explained in brief in this report. The team of researchers and analysts presents the readers accurate statistics and analytical data in the report in a simple manner by means of graphs, diagrams, pie charts, and other pictorial illustrations.

Major Players included in this report are as follows CCBCCBRViaCordEsperiteVcanbioBoyalifeLifeCellCrioestaminalRMS RegrowCordlife GroupPBKM FamiCordCells4lifeBeikebiotechStemCyteCryo-cellCellsafe Biotech GroupPacifiCordAmericordKrioFamilycordCryo StemcellStemade Biotech

Stem Cell Banking-Market Market can be segmented into Product Types as Umbilical Cord Blood Stem CellEmbryonic Stem CellAdult Stem CellOther

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Introduction about Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Size (Sales) Market Share in 2019 by Product Type (Categorization) Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Size (Sales) Market Share in 2019 by Application Type (End-Users) Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Growth Rate and Sales (2019-2025) Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Share and Sales (Volume) Comparison by Applications Global Stem Cell Banking-Market Suppliers/Players Profiles along with their Sales Data Stem Cell Banking-Market Competition by Region, Application, Type, and Suppliers/Players Defined (Value, Sales Price, and Volume) table for each geographic region under Stem Cell Banking-Market A separate table of product value, market sales, gross margin, and revenue (2014-2019) for each product type

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Stem Cell Banking-Market Market Strategies and Insight Driven Transformation 2019-2025 - Times Plot

Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Overview, Growth Opportunities, Industry Analysis, Size, Strategies and Forecast to 2026 – NJ MMA News

Verified Market Research has released a current and up-to-date Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market report that provides a detailed assessment of the value chain, a comprehensive study of market dynamics including drivers, constraints and opportunities, current trends, and industry performance analysis. In addition, critical aspects of key issues such as market competition, regional growth and market segmentation are examined in detail so that readers can gain a thorough understanding of the Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment market.

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1 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Overview

2 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Competition by Manufacturers

3 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Production Market Share by Regions

4 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Consumption by Regions

5 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Production, Revenue, Price Trend by Type

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8 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Business Cost Analysis

9 Marketing Channel, Suppliers and Customers

10 Market Dynamics

11 Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Forecast

12 Research Findings and Conclusion

13 Methodology and Data Source

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Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Overview, Growth Opportunities, Industry Analysis, Size, Strategies and Forecast to 2026 - NJ MMA News

GEMoaB Announces Internationally Renowned Experts to Newly Formed Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board – Yahoo Finance

DRESDEN, Germany, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GEMoaB, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next generation immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers, today announced the appointment of five distinguished scientific, clinical and public affairs leaders to its inaugural Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board. The group will provide counsel to support the continued development of the company's proprietary immune-oncology platforms and help to shape the company's broader strategic and scientific decisions and plans.

GEMoaB Logo (PRNewsfoto/GEMoaB GmbH)

"We are thrilled to have this group of experts join our Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board," said Michael Pehl, CEO of GEMoaB. "We look forward to working closely with our Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board members as we continue to build a fully integrated and leading biopharmaceutical company and accelerate our UniCAR, RevCAR and ATAC pipeline efforts to bring them to cancer patients in need."

Members of GEMoaB's Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board are:

Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger Gerhard is GEMoaB's co-founder and Chief Medical Officer and will chair the Strategic and Scientific Advisory board. He is a pioneer in the field of cancer cell therapies and has dedicated his career to clinical and translational oncology research. Gerhard was Head of Hematology & Oncology, University Hospital 'Carl Gustav Carus', Technical University Dresden, Germany as well as the former President of the German Society of Hematology and Oncology (DGHO). Furthermore, Gerhard is co-founder of the German Bone Marrow Donor Registry (DKMS), Chief Executive Officer and founding shareholder at Cellex Gesellschaft fr Zellgewinnung mbH and founding shareholder of GEMoaB Monoclonals GmbH.

Professor Dr. Michael BachmannDr. Bachmann is an internationally leading expert in tumor immunology and founding shareholder of GEMoaB Monoclonals GmbH. Dr. Bachmann is Director of the Institute for Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Center Dresden, Germany as well as Head of Radioimmunology, Helmholtz-Center Dresden, Germany. In addition, Dr. Bachmann is Head of Tumor Immunology, University Cancer Center (UCC), University Hospital 'Carl Gustav Carus', Technical University Dresden, Germany and Deputy Head of the Working Group Tumor Immunology of the German Society for Immunology (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Immunologie, DGfI).

Professor Dr. Bob Lwenberg Dr. Lwenberg's unique scientific career has focused on the pathobiology, molecular diagnostic, clinical and translational research of acute myeloid leukemia. Dr Lwenberg is Professor of Hematology and is the former Chairman of the Department of Hematology at Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Dr. Lwenberg was one of the founders and has served as President of the European Hematology Association (EHA). He has been president of the International Society of Experimental Hematology and the International Society of Hematology. He is former Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board and current member of the Board of the European School of Hematology (Paris). He founded and subsequently served as the first president of the Dutch-Belgian Cooperative Group on Hemato-Oncology in Adults (HOVON), one of the leading cooperative clinical trial consortia in hemato-oncology in Europe. Between 2013-2020, Dr. Lwenberg was the Editor-in-Chief of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. Bob Lwenberg is an elected member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Netherlands.

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Dr. Thomas de Maizire Dr. de Maizire is a member of the German Parliament, Member of the Finance Committee of the German Parliament, former German Federal Minister and has throughout his distinguished career served in multiple key public and governmental roles in Germany. Dr. de Maizire has been Head of State Chancellery of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Minister of State and Head of State Chancellery of Saxony, Minister of State of Finance of Saxony, Minister of State of Justice of Saxony, Minister of State of the Interior of Saxony, Federal Minister and Head of Federal Chancellery of Germany, German Federal Minister of the Interior and German Federal Minister of Defence.

Professor Dr. Katy Rezvani Dr. Rezvani is the Director of Translational Research, Medical Director of the MD Anderson GMP and Cell Therapy Laboratory and Chief, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston/Texas, USA. Dr. Rezvani joined the faculty at the MDACC in 2012 from the Hammersmith Hospital in London, where she was Director of the allogeneic adult stem cell transplant program, Medical Director of the GMP facility and Director of the Transplant Immunology Research Laboratory. Dr. Rezvani has an active research laboratory program in transplantation immunology where the focus of her research group is to study the role of natural killer cells (NK) cells in mediating immunity against leukemia, and to understand the mechanisms of tumor-induced NK cell dysfunction

"Our efforts are focused on maximizing the potential of engineered cellular therapies in hematology and oncology," said Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger, GEMoaB's co-founder and Chief Medical Officer. "The deep expertise and past experiences of all of our Strategic and Scientific Advisory Board members will bolster GEMoAB's ability to positively impact patients' lives."

About GEMoaB

GEMoaB is a privately-owned, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that isaiming to become a globally leading biopharmaceutical company. By advancing its proprietary UniCAR, RevCAR and ATAC platforms, the company will discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize next generation immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer patients with a high unmet medical need.

GEMoaB has a broad pipeline of product candidates in pre-clinical and clinical development for the treatment of hematological malignancies as well as solid tumors. Its clinical stage assets GEM333, an Affinity-Tailored Adaptor for T-Cells (ATAC) with binding specificity to CD33 in relapsed/refractory AML, and GEM3PSCA, an ATAC with binding specificity to PSCA for the treatment of castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer and other PSCA expressing late-stage solid tumors, are currently investigated in Phase I studies and globally partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene. A Phase IA dose-finding study of the first UniCAR asset, UniCAR-T-CD123 for treatment of relapsed/refractory AML and ALL has been initiated, UniCAR-T-PSMA against CRPC and other PSMA-expressing late-stage solid tumors, is planned to be tested in a Phase I study initiated by H2 2020.

Manufacturing expertise, capability and capacity are key for developing cellular immunotherapies for cancer patients. GEMoaB has established a preferred partnership with its sister company Cellex in Cologne, a world leader in manufacturing hematopoietic blood stem cell products and a leading European CMO for CAR-T cells, co-operating in that area with several large biotech companies.

About UniCAR

GEMoaB is developing a rapidly switchable universal CAR-T platform, UniCAR, to improve the therapeutic window and increase efficacy and safety of CAR-T cell therapies in more challenging cancers, including solid tumors. Standard CAR-T cells depend on the presence and direct binding of cancer antigens for activation and proliferation. An inherent key feature of the UniCAR platform is a rapidly switchable on/off mechanism (less than 4 hours after interruption of TM supply) enabled by the short pharmacokinetic half-life and fast internalization of soluble adaptors termed targeting modules (TMs). These TMs provide the antigen-specificity to activate UniCAR gene-modified T-cells (UniCAR-T) and consist of a highly flexible antigen-binding moiety, linked to a small peptide motif recognized by UniCAR-T.

About ATAC

GEMoaB's platform of Affinity-Tailored Adaptors for T-Cells (ATAC) is characterized by high binding affinity to tumor antigens and lower affinity to the CD3 antigen on effector T-cells, preventing T-cell auto-activation in pre-clinical models. Safety and tolerability of the treatment are also increased by the relatively short serum half-life (60 min). The use of fully humanized antibodies reduces the risk of immunogenicity even in case of chronic dosing. Half-life extended ATACs are in pre-clinical development.

More information can be found at http://www.gemoab.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results and matters discussed in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements include statements concerning our plans, goals, future events and or other information that is not historical information.

The Company does not assume any liability whatsoever for forward-looking statements. The Company assumes that potential partners will perform and rely on their own independent analyses as the case may be. The Company will be under no obligation to update the Information.

GEMoaB Monoclonals GmbHTatzberg 4701307 DresdenGERMANY

For further information please contactConstanze Medackc.medack@gemoab.com; Tel.: +49 351 4466-45027

Investor ContactMichael Pehlm.pehl@gemoab.com; Tel.: +49 351 4466-45030

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Adult Stem Cells

By: Ian Murnaghan BSc (hons), MSc - Updated: 21 Feb 2019| *Discuss

Although stem cells have defining characteristics, they do have different sources. Adult stem cells, also called somatic stem cells, possess the same basic characteristics of all stem cells. An adult stem cell is an unspecialised cell that is capable of:

Another goal is to develop insulin-producing cells for diabetes. With heart attacks causing enormous morbidity and mortality each year, it is also hoped that adult stem cells can repair damage to the heart.

The use of adult stem cells is more widely accepted, particularly by the public, because it does not require destruction of an embryo as with embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells also don't have the same immunological challenges as embryonic stem cells because they are harvested from the patient. This means that a person's body is less likely to reject the stem cells because they are compatible with that person's unique physiological makeup.

Overall, adult stem cells don't pose the same ethical concerns and controversy in comparison with embryonic stem cells, but their practical challenges are numerous. As scientists continue to seek ways to effectively harvest adult stem cells, the public can await new treatments for some of the more serious and common diseases.

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Adult Stem Cells

Australia’s Mesoblast plans to evaluate its stem cell therapy in patients infected with COVID-19 – BioWorld Online

PERTH, Australia Australian stem cell therapy company Mesoblast Ltd. plans to evaluate its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) candidate, remestemcel-L, in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S., Australia, China and Europe.

The company is in active discussions with various governments, regulatory authorities, medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies to implement these activities.

What people are dying of is acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is the bodys immune response to the virus in the lungs, and the immune system goes haywire, and in its battle with the virus it overreacts and causes severe damage to the lungs, Mesoblast CEO Silviu Itescu told BioWorld.

Were going to be evaluating whether an injection of our cells intravenously can tone down the immune system just enough so it gets rid of the virus but doesnt destroy your lungs at the same time.

Recently published results from an investigator-initiated clinical study conducted in China reported that allogeneic MSCs cured or significantly improved functional outcomes in all seven treated patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

We have now looked at our own data in lung disease in adults where half the patients had the same kind of inflammation in the lungs as you get with coronavirus, and our cells significantly reduced the inflammation and significantly improved lung function, Itescu said, noting that he is awaiting emergency use authorization to treat patients under a clinical trial protocol.

In a post-hoc analyses of a 60-patient randomized controlled study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), remestemcel-L infusions were well-tolerated, significantly reduced inflammatory biomarkers, and significantly improved pulmonary function in those patients with elevated inflammatory biomarkers.

Since the same inflammatory biomarkers are also elevated in COVID-19, those data suggest that remestemcel-L could be useful in the treatment of patients with ARDS due to COVID-19. The COPD study results have been submitted for presentation at an international conference, with full results to be submitted for publication shortly.

Mortality in COVID-19-infected patients with the inflammatory lung condition is reported to approach 50% and is associated with older age, co-morbidities such as diabetes, higher disease severity, and elevated markers of inflammation.

Current therapeutic interventions do not appear to be improving in-hospital survival, and remestemcel-L has potential for use in the treatment of ARDS, which is the principal cause of death in COVID-19 infection.

Itescu said he didnt know of any other stem cell companies that were doing this. He said that other companies could try the approach from a research perspective but that Mesoblast has all the patents locked down.

The companys intellectual property portfolio encompasses more than 1,000 patents or patent applications in all major markets and includes the use of MSCs obtained from any source for patients with ARDS, and for inflammatory lung disease due to coronavirus (COVID-19), influenza and other viruses.

Remestemcel-L is being studied in numerous clinical trials across several inflammatory conditions, including in elderly patients with lung disease and adults and children with steroid-refractory acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD).

Mesoblasts stem cell therapy is currently being reviewed by the FDA for potential approval in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory aGVHD. The company submitted the final module of a rolling BLA in January.

Remestemcel-L is being developed for rare pediatric and adult inflammatory conditions. It is an investigational therapy comprising culture-expanded MSCs derived from the bone marrow of an unrelated donor and is administered in a series of intravenous infusions.

The stem cell therapy is believed to have immunomodulatory properties to counteract the inflammatory processes that are implicated in several diseases by down-regulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, increasing production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and enabling recruitment of naturally occurring anti-inflammatory cells to involved tissues, according to Mesoblast.

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Australia's Mesoblast plans to evaluate its stem cell therapy in patients infected with COVID-19 - BioWorld Online

Astronauts growing new organs on International Space Station – The Independent

Astronauts are growing the beginnings of new organs on board the International Space Station.

The experiment is an attempt to grow human tissue by sending adult human stem cells into space, and allowing them to grow in space.

Eventually, it is hoped, the stem cells will develop into bone, cartilage and other organs. If that is successful, the discoveries could be used to try and grow organs for transplant, the scientists involved say.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The experiment uses weightlessness as a tool, according to Cara Thiel, one of the two researchers from the University of Zurich who are conducting the research. The lack of gravity on board the International Space Station will be used to encourage the stem cells to grow into tissue in three dimensions, rather than the single-layerstructures that form on Earth.

It is being conducted by the astronauts on board the International Space Station using a mobile mini-laboratory that was sent on a SpaceX rocket last week. The experiment will last for a month, during which scientists will watch to see how the stem cells grow.

Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas flom fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telelscope in February 2010

Nasa/ESA/STScI

The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012

Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy

Nasa

Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth

Getty

An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust

Nasa

The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth

Getty

Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015

Nasa/APL/SwRI

A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun

Nasa

Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand

Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona

Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015

Nasa/Scott Kelly

Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas flom fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telelscope in February 2010

Nasa/ESA/STScI

The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012

Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy

Nasa

Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth

Getty

An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust

Nasa

The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth

Getty

Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015

Nasa/APL/SwRI

A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun

Nasa

Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand

Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona

Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015

Nasa/Scott Kelly

If it is successful, they hope to switch from a small laboratory to bigger production. From there, they could use the process to generate tissue for transplants by taking cells from patients, or generating organ-like materialthat could be used to test drugs, either ensuring that it works for a specific patients or reducing the number of animals used in experiments.

On Earth, tissue grows in monolayer cultures: generating flat, 2D tissue. But investigations both in space and Earth suggest that in microgravity, cells exhibit spatially unrestricted growth and assemble into complex 3D aggregates, saidOliver Ullrich, who is also leading the research.

Previous research has involved simulated ad real experiments, mostly using tumour cells, and placing real human stem cells into microgravity simulators. But for the next stage of the research there is no alternative to the ISS, he says, because 3D tissue formation of this kind requires several days or even weeks in microgravity.

After the month-long experiment, the scientists will get the samples back and expect to see successful formation oforganoids smaller, more simple versions of organs inside the test tubes. The test tubes were launched with stem cells and are expected to return to Earth with organ-like tissue structures inside, said Professor Ullrich.

Scientists are still not sure why the conditions of the International Space Station lead to the assembly of complex 3D tissue structures. Professor Ullrich and other scientists are still continuing to research how the gravitational force and the molecular machinery in the cell interact to create new and different kinds of tissue on Earth and in space.

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Astronauts growing new organs on International Space Station - The Independent

How to build a body from scratch, Altered Carbon-style – SYFY WIRE

The world of Netflix's Altered Carbon is one where consciousness is no longer tethered to the physical body. It can be, and regularly is, uploaded into "cortical stacks," which are implanted at the base of the neck. In the event of death, a persons consciousness can be reloaded into a new body, known as a "sleeve." For those less fortunate, like protagonist Takeshi Kovacs, that might mean receiving a body thats not your own. In one particularly existential example from the series first episode, it might even mean a young child being uploaded into the body of an adult.

For those with means, however, the mind can be placed into a swiftly made, identical clone, allowing them to return to their lives with little interruption. We've covered what it might take to create a digital copy of a persons mind before (spoiler: it wouldnt be easy), but Altered Carbon's techno-immortality requires a second piece: the swift creation of replacement bodies.

One of the major hurdles that has kept real-world cloning from being the game changer everyone suspected it might be after the birth of Dolly, the first successfully cloned mammal, is the relatively slow development of human bodies. If you wanted to clone a 50-year-old human and get them back to the same stage of development, it would take you 50 years. That's a little too slow to make use of in the same way science fiction does.

We don't have the means to artificially age a body at a rapid pace, but what if we were able to shortcut these limitations to put it plainly, what would it take to build an adult body from scratch?

BONES

If you want to build a person from scratch, you must first make the universe. Carl Sagan said something like that, I think. Just after that, though, youll need a skeleton. Without bones, youll be left with little more than a Cronenbergian nightmare, cool in its own way, but not what were shooting for.

Today, if you have trouble with your bones, your options are limited. The first option, and in most cases the best one, is to let the bone heal itself. Your body is pretty resilient and capable of repairing most day-to-day injuries, even the ones accompanied by a sickening crack. If the injury is really bad, things get a little more medieval. Surgeons might use a series of metal plates and screws to hold your bones in place and give them time for your bodys healing processes to do their work. But those solutions only work for relatively minor injuries where the bone tissue is at least moderately intact.

When it comes to bone replacements, things are a little tougher.

Again, we can return to metal. Like the Wolverine, you might have part of your skeleton replaced or covered over with metal. This might be sufficient in specific cases, but it all feels a little crude.

Ramille Shah, Ph.D., headed a team out of Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering to create a new material capable of instigating rapid bone regeneration. The team used 3D printers (the invention that never stops giving) and a mixture of 90 percent hydroxyapatite, a natural element of human bones, and 10 percent medical polymer to build bone constructs.

The result is a bit of artificial bone modeled in whatever shape the patient needs. It is porous, allowing for blood vessels and other tissues to easily integrate. The elastibone (perhaps the worst superhero name, trademark pending) stimulates bone regeneration and degrades over time. The intent is for the artificial structure to dissipate, leaving actual bone in its place. A technology like this would go a long way to repairing complex bone defects in all manner of patients, but is particularly promising in pediatrics, where the patients are still growing.

But, in order to truly build a bone from scratch, well need something even better. Thats where Nina Tandon and EpiBone come in.

This technology would work by taking a sample of fatty tissue, something readily available if your plan is to build a copy of an existing person, and use it to extract stem cells. Those cells would then be applied to a 3D printed scaffold of a cows bone which has been scrubbed of all its living cells. Those undifferentiated stem cells would then be placed into a bioreactor (something which sounds made up but is very real) and coaxed into growing into a fully formed bone in just a few weeks. Given enough bioreactors, and enough cows (pour one out for our fallen bovine brethren) you could feasibly grow an entire skeleton in the time it takes for you to finally fold the laundry thats been sitting in the corner of your room.

Now that youve got a skeleton, youre going to need some

ORGANS

For a long time, there weren't many ways to get a new organ if you needed one. The most commonly used method (we hope) was to get your name on a list and wait for a donor. The unfortunate reality of organ donation is that there are more people who need organs than there are organs available. Even when an organ does become available, the odds are against you that theyll match your bodys preferences, and even if you get a match, theres always the threat of rejection.

Organ transplants are a veritable miracle procedure and, while we sometimes take them for granted, they are evidence of our living in truly wizardly times in medical science. But science is never content with the status quo and humanity is forever wondering if we can further laugh in the face of nature. The preferred solution would be to develop a way to craft bespoke organs, made from the recipients' own cells.

Growing cells in a petri dish is old hat. Weve been doing that for longer than many of us have been alive. The trouble is, you can take a heart cell and induce it to multiply in a dish, but all you end up with is a dish-shaped collection of heart cells. That might be good for studying cellular biology, not so good for pumping blood through a person.

A collection of cells does not an organ make. You need something more a scaffold. Each of your organs is a complex collection of various cell types clinging to a protein structure. You can think of that structure as the framing around which the rest of a house is built. Without it, you've got little more than some insulation and drywall tossed into a haphazard stack. You need that scaffold.

There are hopes that one day well be able to build them via (drum roll please) 3D printing, but were not there yet. The level of minute detail involved is beyond our current ability. So, we have to borrow from nature.

Scientists are able to take an existing organ and strip it of its surface cells by pumping detergent through it (good for removing pesky stains and unwanted biological material). Whats left is a ghostly protein structure ready for seeding.

All that's left is to take tissue samples from the recipient and seed them onto the structure, pop it into one of those handy bioreactors, and let the cells get to work. Eventually, youll end up with an organ made of the patients own tissues. Current tests are pretty impressive, but were still a ways off from having a functioning process. The number of different tissue types involved in complex organs is a barrier and the complexity of small structures like circulatory vessels is another. Still, the technology is promising and would not only allow us to build any and all organs in record time, it would solve the organ transplant shortage and save countless lives.

So, now youve got a rigid skeleton filled with juicy oozing organs. Your neighbors are starting to wonder about the smell coming from your garage and youre grateful this abominable creature is not yet sentient because it would very likely go running for the hills. At least it would if it had

MUSCLES

Look, we all know its been a while since youve been to the gym. You bought a membership for the new year and you went a few times. You really meant well but life happened and, somehow, it all got away from you. We get it. It happens to the best of us.

While you might not have the muscle mass you wish you had, you still have quite a lot. The average persons body is comprised of somewhere between 35 and 40 percent muscle, give or take. Thats a lot. Even after all of your efforts with bioreactors, youve only managed to make 60 percent of a person. Its nothing to be scoffed at, but you arent done yet.

In order to complete next steps, youre going to need more tissue samples and a few friends from Duke University.

Using human cells that were no longer stem cells but not yet muscle cells, Nenad Bursac and Lauran Madden, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and a postdoctoral researcher, respectively, were able to successfully create functioning muscle tissues in a lab.

They grew the tissue samples and, using a 3D scaffold and a nutritive gel, ended up with working muscle fibers. These bundles of muscle fibers included receptors capable of taking in external stimuli and contracted when acted on by electricity.

For their part, the intent is not to build novel muscular structures, but to test the efficacy of drugs to treat diseases. According to Bursac, drug tests in the laboratory matched results seen in living patients. Those patients with muscular ailments could provide a tissue sample, that sample could then be grown into fiber bundles and used to test various drug treatments, ex vivo, to find a workable treatment without all the trial and error usually required.

Thanks to Bursac and the team at Duke, youve now built almost all of Takeshi Kovacs. Hes twitching and moving around on the table. He might be screaming a little, thanks to those vat-grown lungs and hes still oozing a bit. Most of all, hes embarrassed by his nakedness. A lots changed in the intervening centuries, but not the need for

SKIN

Youve got your terrible Frankensteinian gift all put together, all thats left is the wrapping. Here, too, is an area were moderately familiar with. When a patient loses skin through injury, a graft can be taken from elsewhere and used to replace the damaged tissue. It gets the job done, some skin is better than no skin of course, but theres still room for improvement.

More recently, bioengineers have had some success in growing sheets of epithelial tissue for implantation but they lacked oil and sweat glands. Again, close, but not quite. Until

A study undertaken at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, led by Takashi Tsuji took cells from the gums of mice and used chemicals to revert them to a stem-cell-like state. The cells were used to grow complex skin tissues.

Once the tissues were ready, they were transplanted onto living mice and were found to develop normally. Not only did those tissues function as a protective barrier, the primary function of skin, but they also succeeded in developing hair follicles and sweat glands. Even more importantly, they successfully integrated with surrounding tissue systems like muscle groups and nerves.

There are, of course, other tissue types weve not covered, each of them important to the successful functioning of a body, but if these emerging technologies are any indication, were well on our way in those areas as well.

So, youve done it. Youve made a full-grown human from scratch in months rather than decades. All thats left is to upload a mind and youre well on your way to cyberpunk chicanery. Go forth, Kovacs, we're rooting for you. And dont mess up this body, please. It was really hard to make. Thanks.

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How to build a body from scratch, Altered Carbon-style - SYFY WIRE