Category Archives: Regenerative Medicine

Enliven: Journal of Stem Cell Research Regenerative Medicine
Enliven: Journal of Stem Cell Research Regenerative Medicine is an Open access, peer reviewed international journal and it aims to publish different types of articles on emerging developments...

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Enliven: Journal of Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine - Video

BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine Cell-Based Assays Part IV
Sonya Stenfelt PhD at Karolinska Institute talks about Embryonic stem cell-based therapy for advanced macula degeneration Our objective is to develop a safe ...

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BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine & Cell-Based Assays Part IV - Video

BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine Cell-Based Assays Part II
Prof. Outi Hovatta explains human embryonic stem cells from the first derivation to clinical grade cells Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) were originally derived using mouse fetal fibroblasts...

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BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine & Cell-Based Assays Part II - Video

Meet HSCI #39;s Amar Sahay, PhD
Amar Sahay, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvar...

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BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine Cell-Based Assays Part VI
PhD Anna Falk from the Karolinska institute talks about The role of neural stem cells in neurodevelopmental disorders For psychiatric diseases, which later in life manifest in impairment of...

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BioLamina Symposium 2014 Biorelevant Approaches to Regenerative Medicine & Cell-Based Assays Part VI - Video

Tuesday, May 13 15:59:54

Dr John O'Dea, President of Engineers Ireland, today called on the Government and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to prioritise investment in the area of regenerative medicine manufacturing technology to create jobs.

The calls come ahead of the Engineers Ireland annual conference in Sligo this week.

Ireland is one of five recognised centres of medtech excellence globally, an industry which is entering a new era of regenerative medicine.

Following the recent Irish Medicines Board approval of the cell manufacturing facility at NUI Galway, Ireland also boasts one of only six regenerative medicine institutes in Europe, which is approved to manufacture stem cell therapies for human use. This resource provides the foundation for strong engineering and manufacturing employment opportunities in this emerging area.

Speaking about the future of the biomedical industry in Ireland, John O'Dea, President of Engineers Ireland, said that we need to skill up now to embrace the opportunities, and leverage the worldwide recognition we enjoy for high-quality medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing, The medical device industry is vital to Ireland's economic growth and future. It is a heavily manufacturing-focused industry which currently employs in the region of 25,000 people and is close to export levels of E8 billion.

However we cannot become complacent as employment in the industry has remained stable over the past few years. A recent study by Johnson and Johnson suggests that the regenerative medicine market will exceed $10 billion by 2020, and Ireland has an opportunity to lead the progress in this field. Therefore we must ensure strategic focus is awarded to ensuring the right skills and facilities exist in order to be at the forefront of this game-changing advancement in medicine and medical technology.

The Engineers Ireland annual conference, entitled Collaborating to Engineer a Better Society', will also address issues such as the challenge of doing business in Ireland, delivering Ireland's resources and aligning engineering education with the skills needed by industry.

Leading international innovators in the field of medical technology, Prof Alain Cribier and engineer Mark Gelfand, will be addressing the gathering of engineers on new techniques in medicine and translating physiological mechanisms into therapeutic solutions.

The one and a half day event will also feature contributions from: Martin Curley, Vice President, Intel Corporation; Jerry Grant, Head of Asset Management, Irish Water; Dr James Browne, President, NUI Galway, George Mullan, CEO, SIS Pitches, Tommy Fanning, Senior Vice President and Manager, Engineering, Industrial and Clean Technologies Division, IDA Ireland; Emma McKendrick, CEO, PUNCH Consulting Engineers, Dr John Killeen, chairman, Marine Institute; Sean Casey, managing director, Bord Gis Networks The conference will be opened by the President of Engineers Ireland, Dr John O'Dea, CEO and founder of Crospon, one of Ireland's leading indigenous medical-device companies.

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Biomedical sector is big jobs prospect

regenerative medicine,the application of treatments developed to replace tissues damaged by injury or disease. These treatments may involve the use of biochemical techniques to induce tissue regeneration directly at the site of damage or the use of transplantation techniques employing differentiated cells or stem cells, either alone or as part of a bioartificial tissue. Bioartificial tissues are made by seeding cells onto natural or biomimetic scaffolds (see tissue engineering). Natural scaffolds are the total extracellular matrixes (ECMs) of decellularized tissues or organs. In contrast, biomimetic scaffolds may be composed of natural materials, such as collagen or proteoglycans (proteins with long chains of carbohydrate), or built from artificial materials, such as metals, ceramics, or polyester polymers. Cells used for transplants and bioartificial tissues are almost always autogeneic (self) to avoid rejection by the patients immune system. The use of allogeneic (nonself) cells carries a high risk of immune rejection and therefore requires tissue matching between donor and recipient and involves the administration of immunosuppressive drugs.

A variety of autogeneic and allogeneic cell and bioartificial tissue transplantations have been performed. Examples of autogeneic transplants using differentiated cells include blood transfusion with frozen stores of the patients own blood and repair of the articular cartilage of the knee with the patients own articular chondrocytes (cartilage cells) that have been expanded in vitro (amplified in number using cell culture techniques in a laboratory). An example of a tissue that has been generated for autogeneic transplant is the human mandible (lower jaw). Functional bioartificial mandibles are made by seeding autogeneic bone marrow cells onto a titanium mesh scaffold loaded with bovine bone matrix, a type of extracellular matrix that has proved valuable in regenerative medicine for its ability to promote cell adhesion and proliferation in transplantable bone tissues. Functional bioartificial bladders also have been successfully implanted into patients. Bioartificial bladders are made by seeding a biodegradable polyester scaffold with autogeneic urinary epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells.

Another example of a tissue used successfully in an autogeneic transplant is a bioartificial bronchus, which was generated to replace damaged tissue in a patient affected by tuberculosis. The bioartificial bronchus was constructed from an ECM scaffold of a section of bronchial tissue taken from a donor cadaver. Differentiated epithelial cells isolated from the patient and chondrocytes derived from mesenchymal stem cells collected from the patients bone marrow were seeded onto the scaffold.

There are few clinical examples of allogeneic cell and bioartificial tissue transplants. The two most common allogeneic transplants are blood-group-matched blood transfusion and bone marrow transplant. Allogeneic bone marrow transplants are often performed following high-dose chemotherapy, which is used to destroy all the cells in the hematopoietic system in order to ensure that all cancer-causing cells are killed. (The hematopoietic system is contained within the bone marrow and is responsible for generating all the cells of the blood and immune system.) This type of bone marrow transplant is associated with a high risk of graft-versus-host disease, in which the donor marrow cells attack the recipients tissues. Another type of allogeneic transplant involves the islets of Langerhans, which contain the insulin-producing cells of the body. This type of tissue can be transplanted from cadavers to patients with diabetes mellitus, but recipients require immunosuppression therapy to survive.

Cell transplant experiments with paralyzed mice, pigs, and nonhuman primates demonstrated that Schwann cells (the myelin-producing cells that insulate nerve axons) injected into acutely injured spinal cord tissue could restore about 70 percent of the tissues functional capacity, thereby partially reversing paralysis.

Studies on experimental animals are aimed at understanding ways in which autogeneic or allogeneic adult stem cells can be used to regenerate damaged cardiovascular, neural, and musculoskeletal tissues in humans. Among adult stem cells that have shown promise in this area are satellite cells, which occur in skeletal muscle fibres in animals and humans. When injected into mice affected by dystrophy, a condition characterized by the progressive degeneration of muscle tissue, satellite cells stimulate the regeneration of normal muscle fibres. Ulcerative colitis in mice was treated successfully with intestinal organoids (organlike tissues) derived from adult stem cells of the large intestine. When introduced into the colon, the organoids attached to damaged tissue and generated a normal-appearing intestinal lining.

In many cases, however, adult stem cells such as satellite cells have not been easily harvested from their native tissues, and they have been difficult to culture in the laboratory. In contrast, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can be harvested once and cultured indefinitely. Moreover, ESCs are pluripotent, meaning that they can be directed to differentiate into any cell type, which makes them an ideal cell source for regenerative medicine.

Studies of animal ESC derivatives have demonstrated that these cells are capable of regenerating tissues of the central nervous system, heart, skeletal muscle, and pancreas. Derivatives of human ESCs used in animal models have produced similar results. For example, cardiac stem cells from heart-failure patients were engineered to express a protein (Pim-1) that promotes cell survival and proliferation. When these cells were injected into mice that had experienced myocardial infarction (heart attack), the cells were found to enhance the repair of injured heart muscle tissue. Likewise, heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) derived from human ESCs improved the function of injured heart muscle tissue in guinea pigs.

Derivatives of human ESCs are likely to produce similar results in humans, although these cells have not been used clinically and could be subject to immune rejection by recipients. The question of immune rejection was bypassed by the discovery in 2007 that adult somatic cells (e.g., skin and liver cells) can be converted to ESCs. This is accomplished by transfecting (infecting) the adult cells with viral vectors carrying genes that encode transcription factor proteins capable of reprogramming the adult cells into pluripotent stem cells. Examples of these factors include Oct-4 (octamer 4), Sox-2 (sex-determining region Y box 2), Klf-4 (Kruppel-like factor 4), and Nanog. Reprogrammed adult cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, are potential autogeneic sources for cell transplantation and bioartificial tissue construction. Such cells have since been created from the skin cells of patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer disease and have been used as human models for the exploration of disease mechanisms and the screening of potential new drugs. In one such model, neurons derived from human iPS cells were shown to promote recovery of stroke-damaged brain tissue in mice and rats, and, in another, cardiomyocytes derived from human iPS cells successfully integrated into damaged heart tissue following their injection into rat hearts. These successes indicated that iPS cells could serve as a cell sou
rce for tissue regeneration or bioartificial tissue construction.

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regenerative medicine -- Encyclopedia Britannica

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 08, 2014

Xcelthera Inc, a major innovator in the stem cell research market and one of the first U.S. companies formed for clinical applications of human embryonic stem cell (human ES cell) therapeutic utility for unmet medical needs, and its joint research partner San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Patent No. 8,716,017 entitled, Technologies, Methods, and Products of Small Molecule-Directed Tissue and Organ Regeneration from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. This newly-issued patent is the first among a portfolio of intellectual property of Xcelthera Inc covering PluriXcel human stem cell technology platform for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart muscle cell therapy products.

Neurodegenerative and heart diseases are major health problems and cost the worldwide healthcare system more than $500 billion annually. The limited capacity of these two cell systems -- neurons and cardiomyocytes -- for self-repair makes them suitable for stem cell-based neuronal and heart therapies. Nevertheless, to date, the existing markets lack a clinically-suitable human neuronal cell source or cardiomyocyte source with adequate regenerative potential, which has been the major setback in developing safe and effective cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative and heart diseases. Xcelthera proprietary PluriXcel technology allows efficient derivation of clinical-grade human ES cell lines and direct conversion of such pluripotent human ES cells by small molecule induction into a large commercial scale of high quality human neuronal or heart muscle cells, which constitutes clinically representative progress in both human neuronal and cardiac therapeutic products for treating neurodegenerative and heart diseases.

PluriXcel technology of Xcelthera Inc is milestone advancement in stem cell research, offering currently the only available human cell therapy products with the pharmacological capacity to regenerate human neurons and contractile heart muscles that allow restitution of function of the central nervous system (CNS) and heart in the clinic. Through technology license agreement with San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute, Xcelthera Inc has become the first in the world to hold the proprietary breakthrough technology for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart cell therapy products for commercial and therapeutic uses.

As neurodegenerative and heart diseases incur exorbitant costs on the healthcare system worldwide, there is a strong focus on providing newer and more efficient solutions for these therapeutic needs. Millions of people are pinning their hopes on stem cell research. PluriXcel technology platform of Xcelthera Inc is incomparable, providing life scientists and clinicians with novel and effective resources to address major health concerns. Such breakthrough stem cell technology has presented human ES cell therapy derivatives as a powerful pharmacologic agent of cellular entity for a wide range of incurable or hitherto untreatable neurodegenerative and heart diseases. Introduction of medical innovations and new business opportunities based on PluriXcel technology will shape the future of medicine by providing pluripotent human ES cell-based technology for human tissue and function restoration, and bringing new therapeutics into the market.

About Xcelthera Inc.

Xcelthera INC (http://www.xcelthera.com) is a new biopharmaceutical company moving towards clinical development stage of novel and most advanced stem cell therapy for a wide range of neurological and cardiovascular diseases with leading technology and ground-breaking medical innovation in cell-based regenerative medicine. The Company was recently incorporated in the state of California to commercialize the technologies and products developed, in part, with supports by government grants to the founder, by San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute (SDRMI), an non-profit 501C3 tax-exempt status independent biomedical research institute that is interested in licensing its PATENT RIGHTS in a manner that will benefit the public by facilitating the distribution of useful products and the utilization of new processes, but is without capacity to commercially develop, manufacture, and distribute any such products or processes. Xcelthera is a major innovator in the stem cell research market and one of the first companies formed for clinical applications of human embryonic stem cell (human ES cell) therapeutic utility for unmet medical needs. The Company is the first to hold the proprietary breakthrough technology for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart muscle cell therapy products for commercial and therapeutic uses. The Company owns or has exclusive rights in a portfolio of intellectual property or license rights related to its novel PluriXcel human stem cell technology platforms and Xcel prototypes of human stem cell therapy products. The inception of Xcelthera is driven by the urgent need for clinical translation of human ES cell research discoveries and innovations to address unmet medical challenges in major health problems. Xcelthera breakthrough developments in human ES cell research dramatically increase the overall turnover of investments in biomedical sciences to optimal treatment options for a wide range of human diseases. The overall strategy of the Company is to use cutting-edge human stem cell technology to develop clinical-grade functional human neural and cardiac cell therapy products from pluripotent human ES cells as cellular medicine or cellular drugs to provide the next generation of cell-based therapeutic solutions for unmet medical needs in world-wide major health problems. The Company is currently offering Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to accredited investors through equity crowdfunding to raise fund for its pre-IPO business operation and filing confidential IPO as an emerging growth company according to the JOBS Act to create a public market for its common stock and to facilitate its future access to the public equity market and growth of the Company.

Visit Xcelthera Inc. at http://www.xcelthera.com.

For more information or investment opportunity about Xcelthera series A round, please contact: Xuejun H Parsons, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Xcelthera Inc. http://www.xcelthera.com 888-706-5396 or 858-243-2046 investors(at)xcelthera.com or parsons(at)xcelthera.com

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Xcelthera Inc Secures First U.S. Patent for Large-Scale Production of High Quality Human Embryonic Stem Cells and ...

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Newswise DALLAS May 7, 2014 UT Southwestern Medical Center today announced the formation of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine led by Dr. Eric Olson, Chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology.

This new Center was made possible by a $10 million endowment gift from the Hamon Charitable Foundation. It is being established to promote discoveries that will provide new approaches to healing and regeneration, including advances in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and organ fabrication.

We look forward to the emergence of the Hamon Center as a leading source of transformative insights into regenerative science and medicine, said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. We are delighted to be able to announce this very generous gift from the Hamon Foundation, the establishment of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, and this important new role for Dr. Olson.

Dr. Olsons work has produced new insights into heart development and regeneration. His work has illuminated a detailed genetic model for heart development that provides a framework for how these genes function in normal and abnormal heart development. These advances provide a basis for the development of new approaches to the treatment and prevention of cardiac defects in infants and cardiac repair in adults, including several therapeutics already in development.

We all know what degeneration is. Thats what happens with age. Regeneration is the opposite. It centers on how to rejuvenate aged and diseased tissues, said Dr. Olson. The goal of this Center is to understand the basic mechanisms for tissue and organ formation, and then to use that knowledge to regenerate, repair, and replace tissues damaged by aging and injury.

Under Dr. Olsons leadership, the Hamon Center will both foster collaborative interactions among existing faculty and, with its appointing authority, recruit junior and senior new faculty. In addition, the Center will support new core facilities, expanded biobank activities, and the development of new training and educational activities related to regenerative science and medicine.

Dr. Olsons work has been widely recognized by numerous awards and honors, including his election to the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. More recently, he received the Passano Award in 2012, the Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research in 2013, and also in 2013, the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.

Dr. Olson has been a member of the UTSouthwestern community since he was recruited in 1995 to be the founding Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology. He holds the Annie and Willie Nelson Professorship in Stem Cell Research, the Pogue Distinguished Chair in Research on Cardiac Birth Defects, and the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Science.

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Molecular Biology Chair Eric Olson to Head to New Hamon Center for Regenerative Medicine

The future of the University of Minnesotas regenerative medicine research program is looking brighter than ever.

State and federal leaders in the past have denied funding for the Universitys Office of Regenerative Medicine, which includes the Stem Cell Institute, because some had ethical disagreements with stem cell research.

But this legislative session, with a DFL majority and an overall shift in public opinion, researchers and legislators are confident funding will come through this year.

The current House bill sets aside $450,000 for the Office of Regenerative Medicine, while the Senate version outlines a $5 million increase each year from 2015-17. The bills texts dont specify how funds should be used and how they would be divided between the University and the Mayo Clinic, its research partner.

The Senates bill mandates that anadvisory task force comprised of members from the University, the Mayo Clinic and private industry, as well as two other regenerative medicine experts, recommend how to spend the state funding.

Dayton didnt include funds for the research in his original budget proposal this year, but Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, said there seems to be a general consensus among legislators to work together and decide on a funding amount.

I have not heard many naysayers, she said.

Changing perceptions

The state plays a major role in moving the institutes research forward.

These days, legislators are more open to it than they were in the past, said Dr. Andre Terzic, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine.

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Legislature could boost U stem cell research