Unlocking the Secrets of Aging: Researchers Reveal Key to Intestinal Balance – SciTechDaily

University of Helsinki researchers discovered that the capacity of intestinal stem cells to maintain cellular balance in the gut diminishes with age, and identified a new mechanism linking nutrient adaptation of these stem cells to aging. This insight could lead to methods for preserving gut function in the elderly.

The ability of intestinal stem cells to preserve the cellular equilibrium in the gut diminishes with age. Scientists at the University of Helsinki have identified a novel interaction between the adaptation of intestinal stem cells to nutrients and the aging process. The finding may make a difference when seeking ways to maintain the functional capacity of the aging gut.

The cellular balance of the intestine is carefully regulated, and it is influenced, among other things, by nutrition: ample nutrition increases the total number of cells in the gut, whereas fasting decreases their number. The relative number of different types of cells also changes according to nutrient status.

The questions of how the nutrition status of the gut controls stem cell division and differentiation, and how the nutrient adaptation of stem cells changes as during aging have not been comprehensively answered. Nutrient adaptation refers to the way in which nutrients guide cell function.

On the left: Model organism fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), gastrointestinal tract highlighted in green. On the right: Microscope images of the fruit fly intestine where cell nuclei are stained (cyan). The intestine on the top is from well-fed animal, and the intestine below from an animal kept on a restricted diet. Credit: Jaakko Mattila

Researchers at the University of Helsinki identified a new regulatory mechanism that directs the differentiation of intestinal stem cells under a changing nutrient conditions. Cell signaling activated by nutrients increases the size of stem cells in the fruit fly intestine. The size of the stem cells, in turn, controls the cell type into which the stem cells differentiate. For stem cell function, flexible regulation of their size is essential.

In other words, the size of the cells dynamically increases or decreases, depending on the dietary conditions. Such flexibility enables stem cells to differentiate in accordance with the prevailing nutrient status. By utilizing intestine-wide cell imaging, the researchers found that the nutrient adaptation of stem cell size and the resulting differentiation vary in different regions of the gut.

Our observations demonstrate that the regulation of intestinal stem cells is much more region-specific than previously understood. This may be relevant to, for example, how we think about the pathogenetic mechanisms of intestinal diseases, says Jaakko Mattila, the corresponding author of the research article from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki.

The researchers also observed that the ability of intestinal stem cells to react to a changing nutrient status is greatly reduced in older animals. They also found that, in older animals, stem cells are in a state where they are constantly large in size, which restricts their ability to differentiate. With aging, flexible regulation of stem cell size was markedly better preserved in animals that had been kept under a diet regime that is known as intermittent fasting. In the past, intermittent fasting has been shown to prolong the lifespan of animals, and the results now obtained indicate that the improved preservation of stem cell function may underlie this prolongation.

According to the researchers, the mechanisms associated with the functioning, nutrient adaptation, and aging of human and fruit fly stem cells are fairly similar.

We believe that these findings have a broader significance towards understanding how to slow down the loss of tissue function caused by aging by controlling the nutrient adaptation of stem cells. However, more information is needed on the effect of the mechanism on human intestinal stem cells. Our work on the nutrient adaptation of stem cells continues, says Professor Ville Hietakangas from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences and the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki.

Reference: Stem cell mTOR signaling directs region-specific cell fate decisions during intestinal nutrient adaptation by Jaakko Mattila, Arto Viitanen, Gaia Fabris, Tetiana Strutynska, Jerome Korzelius and Ville Hietakangas, 9 February 2024, Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi2671

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Unlocking the Secrets of Aging: Researchers Reveal Key to Intestinal Balance - SciTechDaily

Human stem-cell-based therapy for Parkinson’s disease proven safe PET – BioNews

A small clinical trial involving 12 patients with Parkinson's disease has reported no safety concerns with a newly developed human stem-cell-based therapy.

The therapy called TED A9 was delivered as a cell transplant injected directly into the brain of the participants as part of a Phase 1/2a clinical trial, which is principally concerned with assessing safety and dosing requirements.

The drug's developer, S.Biomedics, in Seoul, South Korea, claimed in a press release: 'According to Professor Jin-Woo Chang, [the principal investigator of the transplant conducted at Severance Hospital, Seoul,] none of the 12 Parkinson's disease participants had any side effects, complications, or unusual adverse reactions following the transplantation of TED-A9'.

The trial participants were aged between 50 and 75 years old, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease for more than five years, and had already motor complications such as freezing of gait or dyskinesia.

To ensure and monitor the safety of the treatment, an initial three patients were injected with a low dose (3.15 million cells) and monitored for three months, before another three patients were treated at high dose (6.3 million cells) and also monitored for three months.

No side effects, complications, or unusual adverse reactions were seen in either group during the three-month assessment period. Therefore, the clinical trial continued by adding three further patients to each of the low-dose and high-dose groups. Again, no safety concerns were seen.

Parkinson's symptoms are caused by the progressive loss of neurons that produce dopamine, a major chemical messenger in the brain. The TED-A9 therapy contains dopaminergic progenitor (precursor) cells, which had themselves been derived in the lab from embryonic stem cells.

The drug developers at S.Biomedics hope that the dopaminergic precursor cells in TED-A9 will treat Parkinson's disease by replacing the mature dopamine-producing nerve cells that are lost in patients.

Professor Dong-Wook Kim, a neurosurgeon and the principal developer of TED-A9, said: 'We have developed a fundamental therapeutic mechanism that directly replaces dopaminergic neurons lost in patients with Parkinson's disease. TED-A9 could represent a fundamental treatment that surpasses current therapies, which only temporarily alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease,'.

The trial is expected to continue until February 2026, allowing safety of the therapy to be monitored for a total of five years. As part of the study, exploratory efficacy will also be examined for two years using clinical measures of motor symptoms and a patient questionnaire of daily life quality.

More Information is available at ClinicalTrials.gov.

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Human stem-cell-based therapy for Parkinson's disease proven safe PET - BioNews

BioXcel Therapeutics Announces European Patent Office’s Grant of Patent for Method of Treating Agitation in Dementia Using Sublingual…

Newly granted patent aligns with Company’s focus on expanding geographic coverage and strengthening intellectual property protection for BXCL501 Newly granted patent aligns with Company’s focus on expanding geographic coverage and strengthening intellectual property protection for BXCL501

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BioXcel Therapeutics Announces European Patent Office’s Grant of Patent for Method of Treating Agitation in Dementia Using Sublingual...

University of Calgary Joins the Phase II Trial of LSALT Peptide Targeting Cardiac Surgery Associated-Acute Kidney Injury

TORONTO, March 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arch Biopartners Inc., (“Arch” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture: ARCH and OTCQB: ACHFF), announced today that a research team from the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine has joined the Phase II trial for LSALT peptide targeting the prevention and treatment of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI). LSALT peptide is the Company’s lead drug candidate for preventing and treating inflammation injury in the kidneys, lungs and liver.

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University of Calgary Joins the Phase II Trial of LSALT Peptide Targeting Cardiac Surgery Associated-Acute Kidney Injury

Clene Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication Characterizing the Protein Corona of the Investigational Neurodegenerative Disease Drug, CNM-Au8®

SALT LAKE CITY, March 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clene Inc. (Nasdaq: CLNN) (along with its subsidiaries, “Clene”) and its wholly owned subsidiary Clene Nanomedicine Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving mitochondrial health and protecting neuronal function to treat neurodegenerative diseases, including (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS), today reported the publication of “Protein Corona Composition of Gold Nanocatalysts” in the journal ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, a journal of the American Chemical Society that publishes innovative and impactful research with translational relevance across a broad spectrum of biological sciences.

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Clene Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication Characterizing the Protein Corona of the Investigational Neurodegenerative Disease Drug, CNM-Au8®

New Positive Data Presented on Briquilimab Conditioning in Patients with Fanconi Anemia

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: JSPR) (Jasper), a biotechnology company focused on development of briquilimab, a novel antibody therapy targeting c-Kit (CD117) to address mast cell driven diseases such as chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU), announced additional positive Phase 1b/2a data on briquilimab as a conditioning agent in the treatment of Fanconi Anemia (FA).

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New Positive Data Presented on Briquilimab Conditioning in Patients with Fanconi Anemia

Nuvectis Pharma to Present at the 36th Annual Roth Conference

FORT LEE, NJ, March 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nuvectis Pharma, Inc. (“Nuvectis”, “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative precision medicines for the treatment of serious conditions of unmet medical need in oncology, today announced that Ron Bentsur, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 36th Annual Roth Conference.

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Nuvectis Pharma to Present at the 36th Annual Roth Conference

Avenue Therapeutics Receives Positive Listing Determination from Nasdaq

MIAMI, March 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATXI) (“Avenue” or the “Company”), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of neurologic diseases, today announced that by decision dated March 11, 2024, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel granted the Company’s request for an extension to evidence compliance with all applicable criteria for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, including the $1.00 bid price and $2.5 million stockholders’ equity requirements, through May 20, 2024. The Company is considering all available options that may enable it to timely evidence compliance with the continued listing criteria and maintain its listing on Nasdaq; however, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to do so.

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Avenue Therapeutics Receives Positive Listing Determination from Nasdaq