Category Archives: South Carolina Stem Cells

Binge-Watching TV? You May Not Sleep Well

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Poor sleep quality, increased fatigue, and insomnia in young adults are associated with binge-watching television, according to researchers. Watching multiple episodes of the same television show in succession in one sitting, on a television, computer, or mobile device raises your level of cognitive alertness, which interferes with sleep.

The researchers, whose study was published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, looked at binge-watching and sleep habits in 423 young adults between 18 and 25. Study participants completed an online survey assessing their regular TV watching, binge-watching, sleep quality, fatigue, insomnia, and alertness before going to sleep. Average binge-watching lasted 3 hours and 8 minutes and three to four episodes.

Study results suggest that more than 80 percent of young adults identify as binge-watchers, and 20.2 percent binge-watch television at least a few times per week. Binge-watchers reported more fatigue and insomnia and higher levels of alertness before going to sleep than those who dont binge-watch television. The bingers were also 98 percent more likely to have poor sleep quality.

Sourced from: Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

Published On: Aug 15th 2017

How a Low-Calorie Diet May Slow Aging

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Previous research suggests that a lifelong low-calorie diet can boost longevity, but a new mouse study demonstrates, for the first time, how restricting calories may affect circadian rhythm and, in turn, the aging process. The study was conducted by researchers at the Center for Epigenetics & Metabolism at the University of California, Irvine, and the results were published in Cell.

According to the researchers, our circadian rhythm, or biological clock, changes as a result of aging, and these changes are based in part on the metabolism of energy within our cells. In a study involving 6-monthold and 18-month-old mice, the researchers determined that older cells process energy less efficiently than younger cells. But when a group of older mice were fed a diet with 30 percent fewer calories for a period of six months, the energy process was rejuvenated promoting healthy aging.

A companion study from the Barcelona Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Spain tested body clock function in stem cells collected from older and younger mice. This study confirmed that a low-calorie diet helps protect circadian rhythm function.

Sourced from: ScienceDaily

Published On: Aug 15th 2017

Don't Look at the Sun! Solar Eclipse Safety Tips

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In the absence of cloud cover, a total solar eclipse will be visible on Monday, August 21 in a 70-mile wide band across the entire continental United States, from central Oregon through South Carolina. In a total solar eclipse, the moon moves in between the earth and the sun, completely blocking out the sun for a short period of time. Prior to the total eclipse, which will last about two minutes, and in other areas of the country, and other parts of North and Central America, a partial solar eclipse will be visible.

Ahead of this amazing event, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that viewing a partial solar eclipse without proper eye protection even very briefly can cause permanent vision loss and blindness. Looking directly at the sun can damage the retinas, light-sensitive parts of the eye that transmit what we see to our brain. Retinal damage can occur without pain and, according to the CDC, it can take a few hours, or even days, for symptoms like an inability to see colors or loss of central vision to develop. Anyone who experiences vision changes after viewing the solar eclipse next week should contact an eye care professional immediately.

The only way to look directly at the sun safely when its not eclipsed or is partly eclipsed is with a special solar filter or a handheld solar viewer. Goggles, homemade filters, and dark sunglasses do not offer enough protection. Avoid looking at the sun through an unfiltered camera including a smartphone telescope, binoculars, or any other device. You can also make your own simple and inexpensive pinhole projector to safely view the eclipse, but be sure to follow instructions for making and using the projector carefully.

Sourced from: CDC

Published On: Aug 15th 2017

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Binge-Watching TV? You May Not Sleep Well - HealthCentral.com

There are approximately 120,000 Americans on the organ transplant waiting list, about as many people as live in Charleston, South Carolina and Hartford, Connecticut. Many of these peoples lives will ultimately be saved, after long and harrowing waitsas former Vice President Dick Cheneys was. But others on the list will die before their turn comes up and a suitable donor is found.

These tragic deaths are putting increasing pressure on organ transplant ethics. Some jump the queue and travel to China to buy organsmany of which come from executed political prisoners. Others pay destitute people in developing countries for a kidney; this exploitation of the desperate poor became so rampant that Pakistan outlawed live organ donations to non-relatives and the Philippines banned organ transplant surgeries for non-citizens. Here in the U.S., public intellectuals such as Sally Satel of the American Enterprise Institutewho received a kidney from a live donorargue for changing the law to permit organ sales. Of course, people in Satels socioeconomic class would never be the sellers.

Meanwhile, many bioethicists argue that we should eliminate the dead donor rule that requires donors of vital organs to be deceased before procurement. If these advocates get their way, doctors will be allowed to euthanize seriously incapacitated patients by means of organ harvesting.

Fortunately, organ transplant medicine remains a highly ethical enterprise (although some believe that using brain death to determine readiness for organ procurement is highly questionable). But the waiting lists continue to grow, a fact measured in sleepless nights of desperation and the tragedy of avoidable deaths. This is why the news that scientists have made progress in genetically altering pigs to use in human organ transplantation is so exciting.

Specifically, scientists are learning to alter pig organs to avoid tissue rejection when the organs are transplanted and, more recently, have used a gene-editing technique to help prevent interspecies infections. From the New York Times story:

Some might feel squeamish at having an animal organ implanted into their bodies. But if the choice is between death and receiving a pig kidney, most would take the kidney. And why not? Animal body parts are already transplanted into humansfor example, pig heart valves. If it is acceptable to receive part of an animal organ to save human life, why not the entire thing?

Still, some would certainly object. Utilitarian bioethicists such as Peter Singer might claim that killing pigs for their organswhile sparing cognitively disabled humanswould amount to unethical speciesism, because it would treat humans as having greater value than pigs, based solely on their humanity. Singer rejects human exceptionalism, arguing that an individualwhether animal or humanearns the moral status of person based on the individuals mental capacities. Non-personsagain, whether human or animalhave lesser value and may be used for the benefit of persons. In this view, since pigs have greater mental capacities than people with, say, the capacities of a Terri Schiavo, cognitively disabled humans should be used as organ sources before pigs. (Singer has specifically argued that people in a persistent vegetative state should have been used in creating the hepatitis vaccine instead of chimpanzees.) If we ever accept such a philosophy, it will mark the end of universal human rights, since human non-persons could be exploited and killed for the benefit of persons.

The loudest wailing over pig-organ donation will undoubtedly come from animal rights activists. Animal rights ideology (which must be distinguished from animal welfare) holds that the capacity to suffersometimes called painienceis the proper measure of moral value. Since both animals and humans experience pain, they are morally equal. Hence, raising and killing pigs for their organs would be equivalent to killing racial minorities for the same purpose.

That is nonsense. Racism is an invidious evil because it treats intrinsic equalse.g., human beingsas if they were unequal. But there is a hierarchy of moral worth, with humans at the apex. Not only are pigs not our moral equals, but they cannot possess rights, since they are inherently incapable of assuming duties. It would not be wrong to raise these animals to save human lives. Assuming the safety issue is solved, it would be immoral not to.

This does not mean that the grim good of using pig organs would have to be a permanent policy. We must hope that an even more ethical means of supplying organs will be developed, one that would obviate the need to use sentient animals. Scientists have already learned how to change our skin cells into stem cells, and from there into particular organ tissue. Research is advancing on using these induced pluripotent stem cells to repair damaged hearts and lungs, with hope that some day this technology might even be harnessed to grow new organs from a patients own flesh.

Should that hoped-for day arrive, there will be no further moral justification for using pigs for organsany more than it is currently justifiable to hunt whales for their oil. Then we could stop the pig organ harvest and resume arguing about the ethics of eating bacon.

Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institutes Center on Human Exceptionalism. He is the author of A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement.

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Let's Use Pigs as Organ Donors - First Things

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Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)Clemson University

Health Sciences South Carolina

The Center in Cancer Stem Cell Biology and Therapy focuses on developing new technologies for isolating, growing, and manipulating cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are adult stem cells that have the ability to reproduce themselves and develop into cancer. The Center will also find ways to use adult stem cells from bone marrow or organs to treat cancer.

The work of this Center is generating further understanding of cancer stem cells and ways to eradicate them without harming healthy cells. It could lead to the engineering of healthy adult stem cells that can replace cancerous cells in the body. The Center seeks to add a repository of adult cancer stem cells to the Health Sciences South Carolina tissue repository for use in further research across South Carolina.

Another objective of the Center is to use novel treatments, such as carbon nanotubes, to inhibit the growth of cancer stem cells. MUSC's Dr. Bryan Toole and MUSC Pediatrics Professor Dr. Bernard Maria are studying the use of hyaluronan, a compound that resides on the surface of cancer stem-like cells, as a treatment for glioblastoma tumors. Hyaluronan, along with two other substances, regulates the activities of cancer stem-like cells.

In 2011, MUSC succeeded in recruiting Dr. Zihai Li, an expert in stem cell-based cancer vaccine development.

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Cancer Stem Cell Biology and Therapy | South Carolina ...

Stem cell treatment has actually ended up being a popular dispute in the global medical scene. This extremely controversial treatment has actually received blended opinions from different stakeholders in the health care market and has likewise brought in the interest of politicians, religious leaders and the basic population at large. Stem cell treatment is thought about an advanced treatment for individuals dealing with a wide variety of degenerative conditions. Some typical concerns regarding this treatment are addressed below.

Stem cells can be referred to as blank state or non-specialized cells that have the ability to become customized cells in the body such as bone, muscle, nerve or organ cells. This indicates that these unique cells can be utilized to regenerate or establish a wide range of damaged cells and tissues in the body. Stem cell treatment is for that reason a treatment that focuses on accomplishing tissue regeneration and can be used to cure health conditions and diseases such as osteoarthritis, degenerative disc illness, spinal cord injury, muscular degeneration, motor neuron disease, ALS, Parkinsons, cardiovascular disease and a lot more.

Stem cells can be drawn out from a young embryo after conception. These stem cells are frequently described as embryonic stem cells. After the stem cells are drawn out from the embryo, the embryo is ended. This is basically one of the major causes of debate in the field of stem cell studio. Many people argue that termination of an embryo is dishonest and unacceptable.

Stem cells can still be acquired through other methods as they can be found in the blood, bone marrow and umbilical cables of adult humans. Regular body cells can likewise be reverse-engineered to become stem cells that have actually restricted abilities.

Being a treatment that is still under research, stem cell therapy has not been totally accepted as a feasible treatment alternative for the above pointed out health conditions and health problems. A lot of studio is presently being performed by researchers and medical professionals in various parts of the world to make this treatment viable and reliable. There are however various constraints enforced by federal governments on research involving embryonic stem cells.

Currently, there have not been lots of case studies carried out for this kind of treatment. However, with the few case studies that have actually been performed, among the major concerns that has actually been raised is the boost in a clients threat of developing cancer. Cancer is triggered by the quick reproduction of cells that tend not to pass away so easily. Stem cells have been associated with comparable development elements that might cause development of growths and other cancerous cells in patients.

New research has however revealed pledge as researchers target at establishing stem cells that do not form into growths in later treatment stages. These stem cells can for that reason effectively change into other types of specialized cells. This therapy is therefore worth investigating into as many patients can take advantage of this revolutionary treatment.

The best stem cell provider close to Columbia SC 29201

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Stem Cell Columbia South Carolina 29201

By MARK HAYWARDNew Hampshire Sunday NewsJuly 30. 2017 1:30AM Project Manager Stephanie Robichaud (holding the clipboard) leads a tour group at the ARMI BioFabUSA launch event in the Millyard in Manchester on Friday.(DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER)MANCHESTER - Collaboration was the buzzword Friday when scientists, tech company owners and government officials flocked to the Manchester Millyard for what Gov. Chris Sununu called "the birth of an entire new industry."

If Manchester inventor Dean Kamen and New Hampshire political leaders have their way, that collaboration will bring the the country's biofabrication industry to the banks of the Merrimack River.

"These are the kinds of investments we need to be making for the future of this city," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told a crowd of nearly 400. The crowd gathered for the official launch of Kamen's latest endeavor - the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, or ARMI, and its BioFabUSA subsidiary.

ARMI is a military-backed endeavor that hopes to make the manufacture of human body parts as streamlined as the production of iPhones.

But it remained unclear last week how far the $294 million in government and private investment will translate into jobs and economic growth in Manchester.

Several people who attended the event had high praise for the collaboration that will flow from BioFab-USA. But physical proximity is not as important in this age of connectivity and instant communication, they said.

"Being physically co-located is not really necessary," said Rohan Shirwaiker, an associate professor and director of 3D tissue manufacturing research at North Carolina State University.

During tours, Shirwaiker demonstrated his research, which measures the electrical charges generated by cells to safely indicate cell health. The equipment could be used to measure the performance of stem cells used to generate human tissue.

North Carolina State University was one of 50 organizations on hand for the launch. They represent only a fraction of the regenerative medicine industry, which numbers about 700 companies, according to research cited in a 2017 National Academy of Medicine article.

The same article said the industry is expected to grow to $67.6 billion by 2020.

"We know that some (of the 50) are already making plans to move here or open operations to the state," said Gray Chynoweth, chief membership officer for ARMI.

For example, Kamen announced Friday that ARMI has hired the head of the biologics group at the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Richard MacFarland now lives in a Millyard loft, Kamen said.

"It will only accelerate our ability to learn quickly. We can grow faster here," said Dr. James Hoying, a researcher and division chief at Advanced Solutions. He said six or seven people will be part of the move.

His company has applied for patents for a six-axis BioAssemblyBot, or BAB for short, a human tissue 3D printer.

All sorts of details have to be worked out for tissue regenerations, such as the creation of hair-thin blood vessels to supply the organs, Hoying said. That hasn't happened yet, and that's why the collaboration at ARMI will be important, he said.

Others see ARMI as a way to take their research from the laboratory to the factory floor.

"We can manufacture only up to a certain level. DEKA (Kamen's Millyard company) has the ability to scale up that; frankly, we don't have," said Melanie Rodrigues, an instructor of surgery at Stanford University. Stanford is affiliated with TauTona Group, a venture capital/incubator organization in the biotech industry.

TauTona has had success in the laboratory with stem cell bandages, which would be applied to large wounds, burns and other injuries suffered in combat. It would also be helpful for diabetics, the elderly and people with blood-borne genetic disorders.

The stem cells are derived from fat cells obtained through liposuction, Rodrigues said.

She said ARMI has several advantages: the ability to automate a Defense Department connection, and Kamen.

"Dean Kamen is a genius," Rodrigues said.

She said it's too early to say where production of the product would take place, but she didn't rule out southern New Hampshire.

Other firms said ARMI amounts to a networking opportunity.

South Florida-based Akron Biotech joined ARMI to understand where the industry is going in terms of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, said Ezequiel Zylberberg, a company representative who passed out literature at the event.

Akron Biotech, a small company that manufactures biotech raw materials such as growth factors and purified proteins, hopes to supply those to companies working on ARMI-supported projects, he said. He said Akron is satisfied with South Florida at this point, and interconnectivity makes it easy to supply material to customers far away.

"For us it's just being at the table," Zylberberg said. "We don't have to be physically present."

mhayward@unionleader.com

BusinessHealthTechnologyGeneral NewsManchester

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Tech firms all-in for biofabrication with launch of Kamen's Manchester ARMI project - The Union Leader

Stem cell therapy has ended up being a popular dispute in the worldwide medical scene. This highly questionable treatment has received blended opinions from different stakeholders in the health care industry and has actually also brought in the interest of political leaders, spiritual leaders and the general population at large. Stem cell therapy is considered an innovative treatment for people struggling with a wide range of degenerative conditions. Some typical concerns regarding this therapy are answered below.

Stem cells can be described as blank state or non-specialized cells that have the capability to become customized cells in the body such as bone, muscle, nerve or organ cells. This means that these unique cells can be used to regrow or establish a wide variety of damaged cells and tissues in the body. Stem cell treatment is for that reason a treatment that targets at accomplishing tissue regeneration and can be used to treat health conditions and illnesses such as osteoarthritis, degenerative disc illness, spinal cord injury, muscular degeneration, motor nerve cell disease, ALS, Parkinsons, cardiovascular disease and a lot more.

Stem cells can be extracted from a young embryo after conception. These stem cells are typically described as embryonic stem cells. After the stem cells are extracted from the embryo, the embryo is terminated. This is essentially among the significant reasons for debate in the field of stem cell studio. Many individuals argue that termination of an embryo is dishonest and unacceptable.

Stem cells can still be acquired through other ways as they can be discovered in the blood, bone marrow and umbilical cords of adult people. Typical body cells can also be reverse-engineered to become stem cells that have actually restricted capabilities.

Being a treatment that is still under studio, stem cell therapy has actually not been totally accepted as a practical treatment alternative for the above discussed health conditions and diseases. A lot of studio is presently being carried out by scientists and medical experts in various parts of the world to make this treatment sensible and efficient. There are nevertheless various restrictions enforced by federal governments on research involving embryonic stem cells.

Currently, there havent been lots of case studies performed for this kind of treatment. However, with the few case studies that have been carried out, one of the significant concerns that has been raised is the increase in a clients danger of developing cancer. Cancer is caused by the quick multiplication of cells that tend not to die so quickly. Stem cells have actually been connected with similar growth factors that may result in development of tumors and other malignant cells in clients.

New studio has actually nevertheless revealed pledge as scientists focus on establishing stem cells that do not form into growths in later treatment phases. These stem cells can therefore successfully transform into other types of specialized cells. This treatment is for that reason worth researching into as many patients can gain from this innovative treatment.

stem cell therapy in Charleston SC 29401

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Stem Cell Charleston South Carolina 29401

Stem Cells and Lupus Research

The LFA believes expanding stem cell research will accelerate the pace of discovery on the potential therapeutic benefits of stem cells and help basic and clinical researchers learn how stem cells can be used to develop life-saving treatments.

Stem cells possess the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are taken from human embryos. They are found exclusively in early-stage embryos, from which all the bodys 200-plus types of tissue ultimately grow. They are the bodys master cells.

Adult stem cells are found in mature tissues that have already developed. They are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. The body uses these cells to replace other cells that die off throughout the normal course of life. As they are not from fetal tissue, adult stem cells do not have the same ethical concerns or restrictions that embryonic stem cells do. Current research in lupus focuses on adult stem cells, namely mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are derived from bone marrow, umbilical cords or other tissues and are anti-inflammatory. These anti-inflammatory cells have unique properties that make them attractive as therapy for autoimmune diseases. Unlike with other stem cells, MSCs lack the properties that enable the immune system to detect them as being foreign. Therefore:

MSCs have been studied in inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma. In these studies, MSC treatment has been found to be effective and only minimal side effects reported.

Pioneering researchers from China have studied MSC treatment in over 200 people with lupus who had been unresponsive to standard lupus therapies. Preliminary results show that:

While the findings are groundbreaking, there was no control group in these early studies. This means that every participant received the stem cell treatment plus standard lupus therapies. A controlled trial is necessary to ensure that individuals who receive the MSC therapy plus standard lupus therapies do indeed respond better than closely matched participants who only receive standard therapy.

This first-of-its-kind phase II clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of moderate to severe lupus could help lower medication dosage, diminish the long-term effects of lupus, stop damage to vital organs, and save lives. The trial is led by Drs. Gary Gilkeson and Diane Kamen from the Medical University of South Carolina and will be conducted at six research institutions around the country.

Stem cell therapy holds promise as a safe and effective alternative for people with lupus who do not benefit from the current treatments available. Adult stem cell research has provided hope to people with formerly incurable and devastating conditions, including Parkinsons disease, leukemia, heart diseases, multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes and osteoarthritis, as well as 80 other diseases.

Previous research using this type of therapy for lupus and other diseases reported minimal side effects. Like every potential new therapy, this treatment must be tested. We remain hopeful this procedure will prove successful and be included in the arsenal of treatments for lupus.

Only one drug is available that was developed specifically to treat lupus. It took more than 50 years for a new drug to be approved for lupus and it does not work for everyone. We need treatments for lupus, and this study provides hope for the future.

We are rallying support for this promising research so it will get the attention and research funding it deserves from public and private sources.

Previous research on adult stem cells has been promisingbut more testing is needed. Thats why we need your support. We are asking donors to consider supporting this effort with a special contribution. Our goal is to raise $500,000. The funding will enable researchers to treat initial participants. Ultimately, the study will be expanded through potential funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other sources.

If you'd like to support this research, consider making a dedicated gift.

To learn more about this study and determine if you are eligible to participate, visit the MSCs in SLE Trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov.

The LFA thus far has awarded 11 grants to advance basic and clinical adult stem cell research as a treatment for lupus. Learn more about all the investigators we have funded for stem cell research.

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stem cells - Research | Lupus Foundation of America

Molecular motors carry out vital functions in all eukaryotic cells. One of these, Cytoplasmic Dynein, is critical during mitosis, migration and cellular trafficking events. We are characterizing several signaling pathways that impinge on dynein function. Our current focus is on their importance in the adult mammalian nervous system and during colon carcinogenesis in mammals.

Publications Pandey JP, Smith DS.. 2011. A Cdk5-Dependent Switch Regulates Lis1/Ndel1/Dynein-Driven Organelle Transport in Adult Axons. Journal of Neuroscience. Nov 23;31(47):17207-19. http://www.jneurosci.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/content/31/47/17207.long

Hebbar S, Mesngon MT, Guillotte AM, Desai B, Ayala R, Smith DS.. 2008. Lis1 and Ndel1 influence the timing of nuclear envelope breakdown in neural stem cells. Journal of Cell Biology. Sep 22;182(6):1063-71. http://jcb.rupress.org/content/182/6/1063.long

Hebbar S, Guillotte AM, Mesngon MT, Zhou Q, Wynshaw-Boris A, Smith DS.. 2008. Genetic enhancement of the Lis1+/- phenotype by a heterozygous mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli gene. Developmental Neuroscience. 30(1-3):157-70. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/pmc/articles/PMC3097246/?tool=pubmed

Mesngon MT, Tarricone C, Hebbar S, Guillotte AM, Schmitt EW, Lanier L, Musacchio A, King SJ, Smith DS. . 2006. Regulation of cytoplasmic dynein ATPase by Lis1. Journal of Neuroscience. Feb 15;26(7):2132-9. http://www.jneurosci.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/content/26/7/2132.long

D. Smith. 2003. Cdk5 in neuroskeletal dynamics. Neurosignals. Sep-Oct;12(4-5):239-51. http://content.karger.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/produktedb/produkte.asp?DOI=74626&typ=pdf

Smith DS, Tsai LH.. 2002. Cdk5 behind the wheel: a role in trafficking and transport?. Trends in Cell Biology. Jan;12(1):28-36. http://www.sciencedirect.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/science/article/pii/S096289240102181X

Smith DS, Greer PL, Tsai LH.. 2001. Cdk5 on the brain. Cell Growth and Differentiation. Jun;12(6):277-83. http://cgd.aacrjournals.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/cgi/content/full/12/6/277

Niethammer M, Smith DS, Ayala R, Peng J, Ko J, Lee MS, Morabito M, Tsai LH. 2000. NUDEL is a novel Cdk5 substrate that associates with LIS1 and cytoplasmic dynein. Neuron. Dec;28(3):697-711. http://www.sciencedirect.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/science/article/pii/S0896627300001471

Smith DS, Leone G, DeGregori J, Ahmed MN, Qumsiyeh MB, Nevins JR.. 2000. Induction of DNA replication in adult rat neurons by deregulation of the retinoblastoma/E2F G1 cell cycle pathway. Cell Growth and Differentiation. Dec;11(12):625-33. http://cgd.aacrjournals.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/cgi/content/full/11/12/625

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Newswise Almost all injuries, even minor skin scratches, trigger an inflammatory response, which provides protection against invading microbes but also turns on regenerative signals needed for healing and injury repair a process that is generally understood but remains mysterious in its particulars.

Writing in the February 25 online issue of Nature, an international team of scientists, headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, report finding new links between inflammation and regeneration: signaling pathways that are activated by a receptor protein called gp130. We found that gp130 is capable of activating several signaling pathways that turn on a number of transcription factors known to have a key role in stem cell biology, said the studys lead author, Koji Taniguchi, MD, PhD, assistant project scientist in the Department of Pharmacology at UC San Diego.

These transcription factors specifically STAT3, YAP and Notch stimulate the proliferation and survival of normal tissue stem cells, which lead to healing and repair, said senior author Michael Karin, PhD, Distinguished Professor Pharmacology and Pathology and head of UC San Diegos Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction.

While the work was mainly conducted on a mouse model of intestinal injury, similar to the one that underlies human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), we provide evidence that the same mechanism may control liver regeneration, which suggests a general role in tissue repair, said Karin.

In addition to explaining a key biomedical phenomenon, the researchers said the findings have important clinical implications for the treatment of IBD and colorectal cancer. The major signal sensed by gp130 is the inflammatory hormone (cytokine) IL-6 and closely related proteins. Expression of IL-6 has been found to be elevated in IBD, both in Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis, giving rise to the possibility that inhibition of IL-6 binding to its receptor a complex between gp130 and a specific IL-6 binding protein may ameliorate the pathology of IBD.

But just the opposite has been observed. Drugs that block the binding of IL-6 to its receptor complex actually increase the risk of intestinal perforation and bleeding, making them unsuitable for the treatment of IBD. The new work suggests that IL-6 and the signaling pathways it stimulates are not the cause of IBD, but are part of the natural protective reaction to the initial injury and inflammatory response associated with the onset of IBD.

The Taniguchi and Karin team say it is important that future treatments not interfere with the healing response triggered by IL-6 and gp130. Nonetheless, the same pathways involved in healing and regeneration can go awry and become chronically stimulated in colorectal cancer.

The new work defines several molecular targets suitable for development of new targeted therapies for this very common malignancy the third leading cause of cancer-related death, though Karin cautioned that such treatments should not be combined with conventional and highly toxic anti-cancer drugs whose major side effect is damage and inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, a disease known as mucositis that will only be exacerbated by blocking the regenerative response triggered by IL-6.

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Researchers Find Link Between Inflammation, Tissue Regeneration and Wound Repair Response