Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

05-02-2012 17:57 Kevin Eggan, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, USA, presentation at the Ask the Experts session in Sydney on 28 November 2011. The Ask the Experts session is held each year, in association with the International ALS/MND Symposium, to give people living with MND an opportunity to hear about the latest research from experts in the field. It is organised by the host association, MND Australia in 2011, and the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations. It is supported by the ALS Hope Foundation.

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2011, Kevin Eggan, How might stem cell research lead to a cure for ALS/MND? - Video

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Saleem H. Ali: Humanizing Stem Cell Politics

Public release date: 6-Feb-2012
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Contact: Jeff Falk
jfalk@umn.edu
612-626-1720
University of Minnesota

A University of Minnesota-led research team has proposed a mechanism for the control of whether embryonic stem cells continue to proliferate and stay stem cells, or differentiate into adult cells like brain, liver or skin.

The work has implications in two areas. In cancer treatment, it is desirable to inhibit cell proliferation. But to grow adult stem cells for transplantation to victims of injury or disease, it would be desirable to sustain proliferation until a sufficient number of cells have been produced to make a usable organ or tissue.

The study gives researchers a handle on how those two competing processes might be controlled. It was performed at the university's Hormel Institute in Austin, Minn., using mouse stem cells. The researchers, led by Hormel Institute Executive Director Zigang Dong and Associate Director Ann M. Bode, have published a report in the journal Nature Structure and Molecular Biology.

"This is breakthrough research and provides the molecular basis for development of regenerative medicine," said Dong. "This research will aid in the development of the next generation of drugs that make repairs and regeneration within the body possible following damage by such factors as cancer, aging, heart disease, diabetes, or paralysis caused by traumatic injury."

The mechanism centers on a protein called Klf4, which is found in embryonic stem cells and whose activities include keeping those cells dividing and proliferating rather than differentiating. That is, Klf4 maintains the character of the stem cells; this process is called self-renewal. The researchers discovered that two enzymes, called ERK1 and ERK2, inactivate Klf; this allows the cells to begin differentiating into adult cells.

The two enzymes are part of a "bucket brigade" of signals that starts when a chemical messenger arrives from outside the embryonic stem cells. Chemical messages are passed to inside the cells, resulting in, among other things, the two enzymes swinging into action.

The researchers also discovered how the enzymes control Klf4. They attach a small molecule--phosphate, consisting of phosphorus and oxygen--to Klf4. This "tag" marks it for destruction by the cellular machinery that recycles proteins.

Further, they found that suppressing the activity of the two enzymes allows the stem cells to maintain their self-renewal and resist differentiation. Taken together, their findings paint a picture of the ERK1 and ERK2 enzymes as major players in deciding the future of embryonic stem cells--and potentially cancer cells, whose rapid growth mirrors the behavior of the stem cells.

Klf4 is one of several factors used to reprogram certain adult skin cells to become a form of stem cells called iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, which behave similarly to embryonic stem cells. Also, many studies have shown that Klf4 can either activate or repress the functioning of genes and, in certain contexts, act as either an oncogene (that promotes cancer) or a tumor suppressor. Given these and their own findings reported here, the Hormel Institute researchers suggest that the self-renewal program of cancer cells might resemble that of embryonic stem cells.

"Although the functions of Klf4 in cancer are controversial, several reports suggest Klf4 is involved in human cancer development," Bode said.

###

Established in 1942, the Hormel Institute is a world-renowned medical research center specializing in research leading to cancer prevention and control. It is a research unit of the University of Minnesota and a collaborative cancer research partner with Mayo Clinic.

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Hormel Institute study makes key finding in stem cell self-renewal

Boris family gift propels stem cell therapies and one-stop patient care

Newswise — HAMILTON, ON (Feb. 6, 2012) – A Hamilton family is giving McMaster University $30 million to accelerate the university’s innovations in health research, education and care.

“McMaster University has proven its ability to fast forward discoveries from the lab bench to the patients’ bedside, it made perfect sense to make this investment in this world class university,” said Les Boris, on behalf of his parents’ Marta and Owen Boris Foundation. His sister Jackie Work added: “The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is ranked among the top 20 medical schools in the world. This is the best place to commit to the future.”

The funding was announced in a ceremony at the University today.

Of the total, $24 million is designated to establish The Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies, which will speed the commercial development of discoveries at the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute. The six-year-old institute has had several major breakthroughs, including the ability to turn human skin into blood.

The funds will establish two senior research chairs, one in blood stem cells and the other in neuro stem cells; set up several fellowships and technician positions;
build the facility and provide a fund for emerging opportunities.

An additional $6 million is for a unique clinic which will allow patients with complex health problems to see several specialists and have related tests during one visit. Established in partnership with Hamilton Health Sciences, this patient-oriented clinic will be built in the McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton and led by a senior research chair.

The Marta and Owen Boris Foundation was established by Marta and Owen Boris who created the Hamilton cable company Mountain Cablevision and developed it over 50 years before selling it to Shaw Communications in 2009.

Owen Boris died in April, 2011.

“McMaster has been renewing its commitment to our community, and to have community members make such a significant contribution to the University is truly outstanding,” said Patrick Deane, president of McMaster. “Great research, great discoveries, and better patient care. The Boris family gift will accelerate nour ability to make great things happen.”

Dr. John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences, added: “This is an innovative and action oriented family. They understand the great potential McMaster has to make medical breakthroughs, and their willingness to place their bets on McMaster is a tremendous vote of confidence in us.”

Mick Bhatia is scientific director of the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute. He said: “In a short time we’ve become world renowned for our human stem cell discoveries. Now is the time to move these discoveries to the patient.”

About the clinic for day patients, Dr. Akbar Panju, professor and deputy chair clinical of the Department of Medicine, said the new format is unique in Canada and will put patients first.

“Too often patients go from office to office to receive essential medical care from several specialists. This clinic will ensure they will get everything they need in one place,” he said, noting that the clinic will also be a centre of learning for
health sciences students and residents from many disciplines.

McMaster University, one of four Canadian universities listed among the Top 100 universities in the world, is renowned for its innovation in both learning and discovery. It has a student population of 23,000, and more than 150,000 alumni in 128 countries.

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$30m Gift to Fast Forward Stem Cell Therapies and One-Stop Patient Care

27-01-2012 10:07 http://www.insidershealth.com Reverse Aging Fountain of Youth Reversed Aging Stem Cell Research Has the Fountain of Youth been discovered? Is reversed aging really in our future? University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine may just have found the answer through a study involving lab mice with a rapid-aging disease. Once the mice received a muscle stem cell injection, the doctors were pleased to find that it reversed the effects of aging in the sick mice! Reverse Aging Fountain of Youth Reversed Aging Stem Cell Research http://www.insidershealth.com

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Reverse Aging Discovery thru Stem Cell Research - Video

McMaster University is on its way to moving stem cell research “from the bench to the bedside” thanks to a $30 million boost from a local family.

The Marta and Owen Boris Foundation made the large donation to establish a human stem cell therapy centre and a unique clinic for patients with complex health conditions.

Owen, the founder of Mountain Cablevision, was in talks with McMaster about investing in their work before he died last April. His children and wife contacted the university a month later and carried out his vision, firming up their commitment last November.

The Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies will be developed as part of the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute using $24 million of the funds.

“It’s getting over that chasm from the bench to the bedside that this (donation) is going to allow us to do,” the institute’s scientific director Dr. Mick Bhatia said.

The centre will give scientists the resources to focus on converting McMaster’s breakthroughs — such as the ability to make blood or types of neural cells with stem cells — into clinical applications through investigative trials, Bhatia said.

“In the absence of this donation, I think we would not be in the position to move our discoveries forward,” he said. “This is a huge leg-up. I’m hoping what it’s really going to do is have a ripple effect to change the way McMaster views translating basic science.”

They plan on developing human stem cell therapies targeting leukemia and possibly neural diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, said Dr. John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the faculty of health sciences.

The remaining $6 million will go toward building a clinic in partnership with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) where patients with complex health issues can see specialists and undergo tests in one visit.

This was a result of his parents’ frustrating experiences in recent years with co-ordinating specialists and getting diagnostic testing done in Canada, said Owen’s son, Les Boris.

They ended up going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where they had a case manager who co-ordinated their appointments with specialists and made sure testing was done in-house, he said. “They like the idea of a one-stop shop … (My father) said: ‘This is the kind of model we need here in this country.’”

Kelton said the medical clinic, which will be built in the university’s medical centre, will look for rapid turnaround times and avoid duplications of lab tests. McMaster and HHS will also evaluate the clinic’s success and keep an electronic medical record that patients could access, he said.

Kelton and Owen met three years ago and had their last meeting about the projects three days before the philanthropist died.

Owen had worked on the Avro Arrow and was frustrated with Canada’s lost opportunity of making jet planes for the world, Kelton said.

“He said, ‘Tell me about some opportunities (that) – if we invested in it – could make Hamilton and McMaster world-class. What are some of the areas like an Avro Arrow?’”

The funds for the human stem cell therapy centre will go toward hiring a research chair in blood stem cells and a research chair in neural stems cells, setting up several fellowships and technician positions, and building the facility.

Bhatia says they hope to bring in new scientists and fellows by the early summer.

The Boris family previously donated $6 million to addiction research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare for its new mental health hospital being built on the Mountain and another $5 million for the da Vinci SI Surgical Robotic System.

“We’re very appreciative that we’re in a position to be doing something for the community,” Les said. “And it was the community that put us in the position to do this.

dawong@thespec.com

905-526-2468 | @WongatTheSpec

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$30 million donation from Boris family will help McMaster turn stem cell research into therapy

Scrapping the nascent all-Canadian Avro Arrow jet fighter program in 1959 is still mourned as a national blunder but, 53 years later, the law of unintended consequences is drawing from it unexpected bounty.

Owen Boris, as a young engineer, was a technically savvy worker who lost his job when the Avro program ended; he returned to Hamilton where he started installing television antennae for neighbours. From there he built a modern high-speed Internet, telephone and cable company that he sold in 2009 for an estimated $300 million.

The businessman did not forget his disappointment with the demise of Avro and never again wanted Canadian innovation to be squandered.

Mr. Boris died suddenly in April at the age of 79 but, on Monday, at a ceremony in Hamilton, his family is announcing a $30-million donation in his name to McMaster University to spur medical research and innovation, primarily in human stem-cell therapies.

“Owen Boris was very frustrated with a couple of things,” said Dr. John Kelton, vice-president of McMaster’s faculty of health sciences and dean of its Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

“He had been involved with the Avro Arrow and many times he said how frustrated he was that Canada was on the edge of having one of the finest aviation machines and it was squandered. He saw it as a failed opportunity for Canada. That bothered him.”

Mr. Boris was also frustrated by Canada’s often cumbersome health-care system. “He went to the Mayo Clinic and wondered why we can’t have something like a Mayo Clinic in Canada,” Dr. Kelton said.

The donation aims to posthumously address both of those frustrations.

Of the donation, $24-million will establish the Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies, designed to speed the commercial development of discoveries, and $6-million will create a special hospital clinic where patients with complex health problems can see several specialists and have related tests during one visit.

“Owen compared stems cells to the Avro Arrow program — he asked why, with all the basic research that’s happening here at McMaster, can we not get it into patients more quickly? If children are dying of leukemia and stem cells might save them, why aren’t we doing it yet?” said Dr. Kelton of his discussions with Mr. Boris shortly before his death.

“And he asked why is it so hard to get health care in Canada that is fast and efficient?”

McMaster University

Owen Boris liked speed in jets, boats and medicine.

Mr. Boris was all about fast and efficient. It was what sparked his love of the Arrow, pushed him to set speed-boat racing records and to build and fly his own plane. It was also a mantra for his business.

Dissatisfied with both the quality and quantity of television reception in the 1950s, he built a television tower in the backyard of his Hamilton home to pull in a better signal and additional channels from Toronto, Buffalo and Cleveland.

When neighbours asked him about it, he dug trenches to bury cables from his tower to their homes to share the signal.

It wasn’t long before providing cable television became his main focus and, under the name Mountain Cable and with the help of his wife, Marta, business roared. Renamed Mountain Cablevision it became one of the largest and most technically advanced independent cable TV providers in Canada.

McMaster University hopes to match Mr. Boris’ passion for speed and success in the medical field through the cash infusion.

“My dad had been to the Mayo Clinic a couple of times and raved about it,” said Les Boris, Mr. Boris’s son. “We’re looking to see that type of model and infrastructure created here, so that people can have access to the best doctors, efficient diagnosis and immediate treatment.”

“Without any wait times,” added his sister, Jackie Work.

In response, the university visited the Mayo Clinic to look for ways to apply its philosophy to Canada’s universal health-care system.

The bulk of the Boris money, however, will boost efforts at the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, with an eye on moving research out of the lab and into the hospital.

“The Boris family want us to fast track the basic research to get it into patients. They are a family intent on moving things forward and here is a chance to operationalize that,” Dr. Kelton said.

The money will allow the school to recruit top researchers to the six-year-old institute that has already had several breakthroughs, including the ability to turn human skin into blood.

The Boris funds will establish two senior research chairs, one in blood stem cells and the other in neuro stem cells, with $5-million in funding each, the largest at the university.

“That is so large it will let us bring in the top dogs,” Dr. Kelton said. “It gives us a hunting licence to go out and get them and fund the lab and their research.”

The money will also fund several fellowships, technician positions and infrastructure building.

The Boris family has already given away millions.

Last year, the family donated $11-million to Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Healthcare: $6-million to fund alcohol addiction research in memory of Mr. Boris’s son, Peter, who suffered from alcohol addiction before his death at age 44, and $5-million to buy an advanced robotic surgical system.

Before his death, Mr. Boris gave $3-million to fund a stem-cell vision research position at the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation.

“This is a continuation of the gifts that our family has already started giving back to the Hamilton community,” said Ms. Work. Added Les Boris: “We want to give back to the people in this city who supported our business for years.”

National Post
ahumphreys@nationalpost.com

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From the Avro disappointment to the gift of stem-cell research

31-01-2012 13:32 James P. Watson, MD lecture sample from the 11th Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine Conference, Fall 2011, Las Vegas, Nevada Pre-Conference Track 2: Regenerative and Cell Based Medicine This lecture focused on regenerative and cell-based medicine, Autologous Stem Cell Research. This field continues to grow in use by physicians across the world. From platelet rich plasma to culture expanded stem cells, the need for information about the applications of these therapies to treat patients has never been greater. This track will focus on the latest developments in cell-based medicine with speakers who are driving the research and using these technologies as part of their everyday practice of medicine. For more information about our upcoming conference visit our website http://www.agemed.org Or contact us at conference@agemed.org

Link:
An Overview of Data Trends in Autologous Stem Cell Research and Clinical Use - James P. Watson, MD - Video

08-01-2012 17:21 A project for school about why embroyonic stem cell treatment is wrong. I do not own this song all rights go to Roy Shakked.

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Stem Cell Research Debate - Video

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Stem Cell Research;  Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 04 Feb 2012 - 10:00 PST

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The February edition of Neurosurgery reports that animal experiments in brain-injured rats have shown that stem cells injected via the carotid artery travel directly to the brain, greatly enhancing functional recovery. The study demonstrates, according to leading researcher Dr Toshiya Osanai, of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan, that the carotid artery injection technique could, together with some form of in-vivo optical imaging to track the stem cells after transplantation, potentially be part of a new approach for stem cell transplantation in human brain trauma injuries (TBI).

Dr. Osanai and team assessed a new "intra-arterial" technique of stem cell transplantation in rats, with the aim of delivering the stem cells directly to the brain without having to go through the general circulation. They induced TBI in the animals before injecting stem cells into the carotid artery seven days later.

The stem cells were obtained from the rats' bone marrow and were labeled with "quantum dots" prior to being injected. Quantom dots are a biocompatible, fluorescent semiconductor created with nanotechnology that emit near-infrared light with much longer wavelengths that penetrate bone and skin, enabling a non-invasive method of monitoring the stem cells for a period of four weeks following transplantation.

This in vivo optical imaging technique enabled the scientists to observe that the injected stem cells entered the brain on the first attempt, without entering the general circulation. They observed that the stem cells started migrating from the capillaries into the injured part of the brain within three hours.

At week 4, the researchers noted that the rats in the stem cell transplant group achieved a substantial recovery of motor function, compared with the untreated animals that had no signs of recovery.

The team learnt, after examining the treated brains, that the stem cells had transformed into different brain cell types and aided in healing the injured brain area.

Over the last few years, the potential of stem cell therapy for curing and treating illnesses and conditions has been growing rapidly. Below is a list of some of its possible uses.

Stem cells represent a potential, new important method of treatment for those who suffered brain injuries, TBI and stroke. But even though bone marrow stem cells, similar to the ones used in the new study, are a promising source of donor cells, many questions remain open regarding the optimal timing, dose and route of stem cell delivery.

In the new animal study, the rats were injected with the stem cells one week after TBI. This is a "clinically relevant" time, given that this is the minimum time it takes to develop stem cells from bone marrow.

Transplanting the stem cells into the carotid artery is a fairly simple procedure that delivers the cells directly to the brain.

The experiments have also provided key evidence that stem cell treatment can promote healing after TBI with a substantial recovery of function.

Dr. Osanai and team write that by using in vivo optical imaging:

"The present study was the first to successfully track donor cells that were intra-arterially transplanted into the brain of living animals over four weeks."

A similar form of imaging technology could also prove beneficial for monitoring the effects of stem cell transplantation in humans, although the tracking will pose challenges, due to the human skull and scalp being much thicker than in rats.

The researchers conclude:

"Further studies are warranted to apply in vivo
optical imaging clinically."

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our neurology / neuroscience section for the latest news on this subject. "Therapeutic Effects of Intra-Arterial Delivery of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells in Traumatic Brain Injury of Rats—In Vivo Cell Tracking Study by Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging"
Osanai, Toshiya; Kuroda, Satoshi; Sugiyama, Taku; Kawabori, Masahito; Ito, Masaki; Shichinohe, Hideo; Kuge, Yuji; Houkin, Kiyohiro; Tamaki, Nagara; Iwasaki, Yoshinobu
Neurosurgery. 70(2):435-444, February 2012. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e318230a795 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Petra Rattue. "Treating Brain Injuries With Stem Cell Transplants - Promising Results." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 4 Feb. 2012. Web.
4 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241215.php&gt;

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Treating Brain Injuries With Stem Cell Transplants - Promising Results