Stem Cell Clinic

Transplanted stem cells help prevent bladder fibrosis after spinal cord injury

By Stem Cell Treatment

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Sep-2014

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (Sept. 3, 2014) A team of researchers from Korea and Canada have found that transplantation of B10 cells (a stable immortalized human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell line; B10 hMSC) directly into the bladder wall of mice modeled with spinal cord injury (SCI) helped inhibit the development of bladder fibrosis and improved bladder function by promoting the growth of smooth muscle cells in the bladder.

The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation and is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-1227_Lee.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause severe lower urinary tract dysfunction and conditions such as overactive bladder, urinary retention and increased bladder thickness and fibrosis. HMSCs, multipotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including bone cells, cartilage cells, and fat cells, have been transplanted into injured spinal cords to help patients regain motor function.

In this study, mice receiving the B10 hMSCs injected directly into the bladder wall experienced improved bladder function while an untreated control group did not.

"Human MSCs can secrete growth factors," said study co-author Seung U. Kim of the Division of Neurology at the University of British Columbia Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. "In a previous study, we showed that B 10 cells secrete various growth factors including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and that HGF inhibits collagen deposits in bladder outlet obstructions in rats more than hMSCs alone. In this study, the SCI control group that did not receive B10 cells showed degenerated spinal neurons and did not recover. The B10-injected group appeared to have regenerated bladder smooth muscle cells."

Four weeks after the onset of SCI, the treatment group received the B10 cells transplanted directly into the bladder wall. To track the transplanted B10 cells via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers labeled them with fluorescent magnetic particles.

"HGF plays an essential role in tissue regeneration and angiogenesis and acts as a potent antifibrotic agent," explained Kim.

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Transplanted stem cells help prevent bladder fibrosis after spinal cord injury

Research in rodents suggests potential for 'in body' muscle regeneration

By Stem Cell Medical Center

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

2-Sep-2014

Contact: Karen Richardson krchrdsn@wakehealth.edu 336-716-4453 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Winston-Salem, N.C. Sept. 2, 2014 What if repairing large segments of damaged muscle tissue was as simple as mobilizing the body's stem cells to the site of the injury? New research in mice and rats, conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, suggests that "in body" regeneration of muscle tissue might be possible by harnessing the body's natural healing powers.

Reporting online ahead of print in the journal Acta Biomaterialia, the research team demonstrated the ability to recruit stem cells that can form muscle tissue to a small piece of biomaterial, or scaffold that had been implanted in the animals' leg muscle. The secret to success was using proteins involved in cell communication and muscle formation to mobilize the cells.

"Working to leverage the body's own regenerative properties, we designed a muscle-specific scaffolding system that can actively participate in functional tissue regeneration," said Sang Jin Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of regenerative medicine and senior author. "This is a proof-of-concept study that we hope can one day be applied to human patients."

The current treatment for restoring function when large segments of muscle are injured or removed during tumor surgery is to surgically move a segment of muscle from one part of the body to another. Of course, this reduces function at the donor site.

Several scientific teams are currently working to engineer replacement muscle in the lab by taking small biopsies of muscle tissue, expanding the cells in the lab, and placing them on scaffolds for later implantation. This approach requires a biopsy and the challenge of standardizing the cells.

"Our aim was to bypass the challenges of both of these techniques and to demonstrate the mobilization of muscle cells to a target-specific site for muscle regeneration," said Lee.

Most tissues in the body contain tissue-specific stem cells that are believed to be the "regenerative machinery" responsible for tissue maintenance. It was these cells, known as satellite or progenitor cells, that the scientists wanted to mobilize.

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Research in rodents suggests potential for 'in body' muscle regeneration

Reneuron on track for clinical milestones as studies get underway

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Stem cell therapy group Reneuron said it remains on track with the first patients having been dosed in two its clinical trials.

The phase II trial for the ReN001 cell therapy candidate for stroke disability and the phase I trail for ReN009 cell therapy candidate for critical limb ischaemia have both begun.

The ReN001 trial is on course to have generated six month follow-up data by the end of 2015, while ReN009 study should give results in the first half of next year.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Hunt said that Reneuron's core therapeutic programmes remain on track towards "further important clinical milestones" over the next 18 months.

"In particular, the commencement of dosing of patients in two new clinical trials, in stroke and limb ischaemia, marks another significant step in Reneuron's evolution into a fully-fledged clinical development business and a leading player in the increasingly exciting field of cell therapy and regenerative medicine," Hunt said.

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Reneuron on track for clinical milestones as studies get underway

PM Modi meets Nobel prize winner Yamanaka, discusses treatment of sickle cell anaemia remedy

By Stem Cell Treatment

KYOTO: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday discussed cooperation with Japan to combat sickle cell anaemia that is prevalent in India's tribal regions, an official said.

Modi met Shinya Yamanaka, Japan's stem cell pioneer and 2012 Nobel Prize winner, at Kyoto University and discussed treatment of the disease.

They discussed the "possibilities of sickle cell anaemia cure" and "prospects of cooperation among Indian and Japanese institutes", tweeted an external affairs ministry spokesman.

"The prime minister expressed concern over the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia, especially among tribal communities across India," a statement by the Indian government said.

Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various life threatening complications. It mostly occurs in regions where malaria is rampant.

"The prime minister urged Yamanaka to work towards a cure for this," the statement said.

Yamanaka said there were currently no Indian researchers at his institute, the Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application, and "he would like Indian scientists to conduct research at the institute".

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PM Modi meets Nobel prize winner Yamanaka, discusses treatment of sickle cell anaemia remedy

In Japan, Modi discusses sickle cell treatment with Nobel laureate

By Stem Cell Treatment

Modi talks with Nobel Laureate Prof Yamanaka about treatment of sickle cell anaemia. Photograph: MEA/Facebook

Japan on Sunday agreed to work with India in developing a treatment for the sickle cell anaemia after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought help for finding remedy to the deadly disease commonly found among tribals in India.

Modi, who has been keenly looking for a remedy to the disease since his days as the chief minister of Gujarat, discussed the issue with Nobel Prize winner for Medicine (2012) S Yamanaka when he visited the Kyoto University.

The PM, on the second day of his tour, raised the issue during his visit to the stem cell research facility and discussed whether Japan could be of help in this regard. Yamanaka is the director of the university.

"I wanted to understand stem cell research because cultural heritage matters as much to me as scientific heritage. I want to integrate both to make India a developed country. It was a good opportunity for me," Modi said.

The PM discussed the possibility of cooperation in finding a treatment for the disease, said External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

Sources said the Japanese side said it would work with India in jointly finding the treatment.

The sources said Modi, since his days as the Gujarat CM, has been trying to see if any solution could be found to the disease but has been helpless as no cure has been invented yet.

Sickle cell disease is a serious disorder in which the body makes sickle-shaped red blood cells. "sickle-shaped" means that the red blood cells are shaped like a crescent. Normal red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They move easily through blood vessels. Red blood cells contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

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In Japan, Modi discusses sickle cell treatment with Nobel laureate

CU scientists' discovery could lead to new cancer treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

29-Aug-2014

Contact: Kris Kitto kris@morethanpr.com 303-320-7790 The Bawmann Group

AURORA, Colo. (Sept. 2, 2014) A team of scientists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine has reported the breakthrough discovery of a process to expand production of stem cells used to treat cancer patients. These findings could have implications that extend beyond cancer, including treatments for inborn immunodeficiency and metabolic conditions and autoimmune diseases.

In an article published Aug. 29 in PLOS ONE, researchers from the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology and Taiga Biotechnologies, Inc. said they have uncovered the keys to the molecular code that appear to regulate the ability of blood stem cells to reproduce and retain their stem-like characteristics.

The team developed protein products that can be directly administered to blood stem cells to encourage them to multiply without permanent genetic modifications.

"Use of stem cells to treat cancer patients who face bone marrow transplants has been a common practice for four decades," said Yosef Refaeli, Ph.D., an associate dermatology professor and one of the study's lead scientists. "The biggest challenge, however, has been finding adequate supplies of stem cells that help patients fight infection after the procedure."

Gates Stem Cell Center Director Dennis Roop, Ph.D., recognized the magnitude of the team's work.

"Researchers have long attempted to increase the number of blood stem cells in a lab," Roop said. "Most of those approaches have been limited by the nature of the resulting cells or the inadequate number of cells produced."

The technology described in the PLOS ONE article has worked with blood stem cells obtained from cord blood, adult bone marrow or peripheral blood from adults.

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CU scientists' discovery could lead to new cancer treatment

The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC Participates in Multiple Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Conferences …

By Uncategorized

Boston, MA (PRWEB) August 29, 2014

A major challenge before new biotechnology start-up companies, especially ones in the biotech start-up dense realm of Boston-Cambridge, is gaining visibility that can lead to important strategic alliances and able investors. James Sherley, the Director of Bostons Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC), has made increasing the local and national visibility of his company an important priority since he started the company in September 2013.

In addition to a social media marketing campaign launched earlier in July of this year, Director Sherley has targeted research and development conferences both nationally and internationally to increase industry awareness of ASCTCs unique portfolio of intellectual property available for licensing and its current commercial development targets. The company is focused on producing two products to address two important needs in drug development and regenerative medicine, respectively, that it is uniquely positioned to address.

ASCTCs most advanced product is an assay that can detect, very early in the drug development pipeline, drug candidates that will ultimately fail because of their toxicity to tissue stem cells. ASCTC developed the new technology in partnership with AlphaSTAR, Corporation, located in Long Beach, California. Currently, such lurking drugs are not detected until after expensive animal testing, more expensive clinical trials, or worse, after marketing. Director Sherley refers to the second product as, A future of pounds and pounds of normal adult tissue stem cells. The company holds a patented technology for mass production of human tissue stem cells. The initial production target is human liver stem cells that can be used to make mature human liver cells for use in drug development and to support liver transplant patients. The company also holds patents for production of pancreatic stem cells and hair follicle stem cells.

The sponsor the 2014 Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Conference, in Boston, September 15-16, Terrapinn, Inc., invited ASCTC to attend as a VIP guest. Although ASCTC will not make a formal presentation at this conference, Director Sherley will participate in a roundtable discussion on the topic, Articulating value for up-and-coming regenerative medicine, stem cell and cell-based therapies.

Later in September (22-24), Director Sherley will present one of the selected Next Generation Presentations for new companies at BioPharm America 2014, also taking place in Boston. In addition to the public presentation, ASCTC will also participate in confidential partnering meetings with potential investors and strategic alliance partners arranged by conference organizers.

In October, Director Sherley will present to a primarily academic research audience a more detailed accounting of ASCTCs computer simulation technology for quantifying tissue stem cells in culture. This technology is the basis for the companys new assay for tissue stem cell toxicity. Director Sherley is particularly interested in the response from several experts in tissue stem cell growth dynamics who are invited speakers. The symposium, which will take place at Rhode Island Hospital, a medical affiliate of Brown University in Providence, has the goal of presenting emerging disruptive research in the area of Novel Stem Cells and Vesicles. Director Sherley is a member of the symposium organizing committee. ************************************************************************************************************* The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) is a Massachusetts life sciences company established in September 2013. ASCTC Director and founder, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is the foremost authority on the unique properties of adult stem cells. The companys patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems production and quantification 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 iPSCs. Currently, ASCTC is employing its technological advantages to pursue commercialization of mass-produced therapeutic human liver cells and facile assays that are early warning systems for drug candidates with catastrophic toxicity due to adverse effects against adult tissue stem cells.

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The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC Participates in Multiple Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Conferences ...

New tool aids stem cell engineering for medical research

By Uncategorized

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

28-Aug-2014

Contact: Robert Nellis newsbureau@mayo.edu 507-284-5005 Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. A Mayo Clinic researcher and his collaborators have developed an online analytic tool that will speed up and enhance the process of re-engineering cells for biomedical investigation. CellNet is a free-use Internet platform that uses network biology methods to aid stem cell engineering. Details of CellNet and its application to stem cell engineering are described in two back-to-back papers in the journal Cell.

"This free platform has a broad range of uses for all types of cell-based investigations and can potentially offer help to people working on all types of cancer," says Hu Li, Ph.D., investigator in the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, and co-lead investigator in the two works. "CellNet will indicate how closely an engineered cell resembles the real counterpart and even suggests ways to adjust the engineering."

The network biology platform contains data on a wide range of cells and details on what is known about those cell types. Researchers say the platform can be applied to almost any study and allows users to refine the engineering process. In the long term, it should provide a reliable short cut to the early phases of drug development, individualized cancer therapies, and pharmacogenetics.

CellNet uses 21 cell types and tissues and data from 56 published human and mouse engineering studies as a basis for analyzing and predicting cell fate and corresponding engineering strategies. The platform also offers classification scores to determine differentiation and conversion of induced pluripotent stem cells. It reveals incomplete conversion of engineered microphages and hepatocytes. CellNet can be used for interrogation of cell fate following expression profiling, by classifying input by cell type, quantifying gene regulatory network status, and identifying aberrant regulators affecting the engineering process. All this is valuable in predicting success of engraftment of cancer tumors in mouse avatars for cancer and drug development research. CellNet can be accessed at cellnet.hms.harvard.edu.

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Co-lead authors with Dr. Li are Patrick Cahan, Ph.D., and Samantha Morris, Ph.D., of Boston Children's Hospital. The senior investigators are George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Children's and senior investigator on both studies and James Collins, Ph.D., Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and the William F. Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, co-senior investigator on one of the studies.

Investigators are supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, specifically, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Children's Hospital Stem Cell Program; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation; the Ellison Medical Foundation; the Doris Duke Medical Foundation; the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine.

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New tool aids stem cell engineering for medical research

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