Category Archives: Stem Cell Videos

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PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ANATOMISTS ANNUAL MEETING

Newswise The American Association of Anatomists will gather this week for its annual meeting in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2012 conference, which will draw more than 14,000 scientists from industry, government and academia. Below are some programming highlights for the anatomy meeting. All presentations will be made at the San Diego Convention Center.

Stem cells derived from breast milk that behave like embryonic stem cells

Scientists in Australia have discovered that human breast milk contains stem cells that behave very much like embryonic stem cells. These breast-milk-derived, embryonic-like stem cells are able to turn into various body cell types, including bone, fat, liver, pancreatic and brain cells. Because breast milk is plentiful and can be accessed noninvasively and ethically, this discovery opens new avenues for exploration of innovative stem-cell therapies. Also, breast milk stem cells can be used as a physiological model to study malignant transformation that occurs in breast cancer, and therefore the findings may set the basis for research into new treatments for this disease. The group is now trying to understand the potential role of these breast milk cells for breastfed babies. (12:30 p.m.2 p.m. Tuesday, 4/24, poster in exhibit area)

The buzz about the exquisite little brains of big insects

A long tradition of studying invertebrates to learn about nervous systems has contributed greatly to our understanding of the functional organization, development and evolution of the intricate networks and the neural mechanisms that are at the root of behavior. Insects in particular offer powerful experimental model systems. Today, the most prominent example is the fruit fly, whose genetic and genomic advantages attract many researchers, but whose small size is limiting for some kinds of studies. This session focuses on much larger insects with beautiful and experimentally tractable nervous systems that permit investigations that complement and extend those accomplished with diminutive species. (10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Monday, 4/23, Room 9)

From babies to bandages: reactivation of embryonic processes in adult injury repair

Embryonic tissue development and adult wound repair happen at different points in the life spectrum, but the molecules, cells and processes in that give rise to embryonic development are the same as those activated after injury. Only, the time it takes and the extent of the tissue-forming activities are quite different. Nonetheless, at this session, you might come to find that development and wound repair are just two sides of the same coin. (10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Monday, 4/23, Room 7A)

Could cartilage transplants eliminate the need for bone grafts?

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Programming Highlights: American Association of Anatomists Annual Meeting

Mike Ivey writes on all matters money in the spirit of Capital Times founder William T. Evjue, who believed that the concentration of wealth in the U.S. is not healthy for the Democracy.

When UW-Madison's James Thomson in 1998 became the first scientist to grow human embryonic stem cells in a lab, it generated tremendous excitement about the medical possibilities.

Thomson tried to downplay the breakthrough but talk spread about cures for Alzheimers or Parkinsons disease, growing livers for cirrhosis suffers or producing healthy heart cells for cardiac patients.

The miracle cures have been slow in coming, however. Scientists can replicate healthy nerve cells in a Petri dish but havent found a way to replace defective spinal cells in ALS victims, for example.

In many ways, were still at the first steps,Anita Bhattacharyya, a senior scientist in the stem cell program at the UW's Waisman Center, told a business group Tuesday.

Butproducing stem cells for others to use is proving one of Madisons more promising new business ventures. Pharmaceutical companies in particular are using stem cells to test drugs before launching into expensive further testing.

Were making these cells available to the masses, says Chris Parker, chief technology officer at Cellular Dynamics International.

Launched by Thomson -- and backed with $100 million from a local investor group -- Cellular Dynamics International was lauded recently by MIT as one of the 50 most important companies in the world

Since its founding in 2005, the company now counts 107 employees at it offices in University Research Park and is continuing to grow.

Im hiring right now, Parker joked toa lunch crowd of the Wisconsin Technology Council Tuesday.

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Biz Beat: Making stem cells "available to the masses"

From breast milk stem cells to bone repair, this years EB conference held a number of exciting advances that could one day be translated into therapies.

Milk stem cells

Australian scientists have found stem cells in breast milk that appear to behave much like embryonic stem cells. The cells differentiated into bone, fat, liver, pancreatic, and brain tissue. Because the cells can be easily collected, researchers hope they may provide a new source of cells for study and possibly future therapies. In addition, the researchers are investigating whether and how these cells are important for the health of breastfed babies.

Spurring bone regrowth

For years, scientists have been searching in vain for therapies that could help bone and cartilage heal and grow. But when researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, tried to regrow cartilage in damaged knees, the tissue instead turned to bone. While the result was unhelpful for their purposes, the researchers realized that cartilage might prove useful in rebuilding damaged bone, and are now exploring such applications.

A study by another group from Tulane University reported that high oxygen levels may help turn on the genetic program that initiates bone regrowth. When tissues samples taken from amputated limbs are exposed to about 20 percent oxygensignificantly more than the 6 percent typically found in the bodythe tissue responds favorably, said Tulanes Mimi Sammarco in a press releasebut only when administered at a certain point in time. The result wont be easily applied to clinical practice because blood vessels constrict after traumatic injury to prevent blood loss, reducing the amount of oxygen that reaches the damaged tissue even more. Thus, more work is needed to understand exactly when during the healing process high oxygen contributes to bone regrowth, and whether the same phenomenon occurs in the intact body.

More oxygen for chronic pain

More oxygen may also help relieve chronic pain. The application of pure oxygen, known as hyperbaric oxygen is used to treat an excruciatingly painful syndrome that divers experience called the bends, which results from the formation of nitrogen gas bubbles in the body as divers return to normal atmospheric pressure at the surface. Although the oxygen helps treat the symptoms, rather than the pain per se, researchers at Washington State University investigated whether the oxygen administration might also help relieve pain. Indeed, treated rats recovered more quickly from experimentally induced chronic pain. The researchers believe that the oxygen is likely to act on the brain to reduce pain, rather than by alleviating inflammation. Studying the mechanism could reveal molecular targets in the brain and possibly stimulate the development of new drugs that act on the same targets, lead author Raymond Quock of WSU said in a press release.

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The Best of Experimental Biology

MOBILE, Alabama -- Here's what people are talking about this morning:

A lot more generous - It's been two years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and some say claimants of a proposed court settlement will likely get a better deal than those who applied at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility run by

Test cheating - The principal and two staff members at Scarborough Middle School in Mobile were fired in 2008 over a cheating incident involving test answers that were erased and changed in what school officials say was the worst case of cheating in the Mobile County School System.

A new therapy - A clinic in Gulf Shores is offering a new stem cell therapy to help repair joint and muscle damage for some famous patients.

The girls are back in town - The Mobile Bay LPGA Classic begins Thursday, and the area will be hosting 144 golfers vying for the title.

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In case you missed it: Test cheating, stem cells and lady golfers

ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2012) Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain's stem cells. The discovery offers new insights into normal and abnormal neurologic development and could eventually lead to regenerative therapies for neurologic disease and injury. The findings, from a collaborative effort of the laboratories of Drs. Anna Lasorella and Antonio Iavarone, were published April 22in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology.

The research builds on recent studies, which showed that stem cells reside in specialized niches, or microenvironments, that support and maintain them.

"From this research, we knew that when stem cells detach from their niche, they lose their identity as stem cells and begin to differentiate into specific cell types," said co-senior author Antonio Iavarone, MD, professor of Pathology and Neurology at CUMC.

"However, the pathways that regulate the interaction of stem cells with their niche were obscure," said co-senior author Anna Lasorella, MD, associate professor of Pathology and Pediatrics at CUMC and a member of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative.

In the brain, the stem cell niche is located in an area adjacent to the ventricles, the fluid-filled spaces within the brain. Neural stem cells (NSCs) within the niche are carefully regulated, so that enough cells are released to populate specific brain areas, while a sufficient supply is kept in reserve.

In previous studies, Drs. Iavarone and Lasorella focused on molecules called Id (inhibitor of differentiation) proteins, which regulate various stem cell properties. They undertook the present study to determine how Id proteins maintain stem cell identity.

The team developed a genetically altered strain of mice in which Id proteins were silenced, or knocked down, in NSCs. In the absence of Id proteins, mice died within 24 hours of birth. Their brains showed markedly lowered NSC proliferative capacity, and their stem cell populations were reduced.

Studies of NSCs from this strain of mice revealed that Id proteins directly regulate the production of a protein called Rap1GAP, which in turn controls Rap1, one of the master regulators of cell adhesion. The researchers found that the Id-Rap1GAP-Rap1 pathway is critical for the adhesion of NSCs to their niche and for NSC maintenance. "There may be other pathways involved, but we believe this is the key pathway," said Dr. Iavarone. "There is good reason to believe that it operates in other kinds of stem cells, and our labs are investigating this question now."

"This is a new idea," added Dr. Lasorella. "Before this study, the prevailing wisdom was that NSCs are regulated by the niche components, conceivably through the release of chemical attractants such as cytokines. However, our findings suggest that stem cell identity relies on this mechanism."

More research needs to be done before the findings can be applied therapeutically, Dr. Iavarone said. "Multiple studies show that NSCs respond to insults such as ischemic stroke or neurodegenerative diseases. If we can understand how to manipulate the pathways that determine stem cell fate, in the future we may be able to control NSC properties for therapeutic purposes."

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'Housekeeping' mechanism for brain stem cells discovered

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) Research group headed by Professor Takashi Tsuji demonstrates regenerating "functional hair regeneration from adult stem cells" Substantial advance in the development of next-generation of "organ replacement regenerative therapies"

Organ replacement regenerative therapy is purported to enable the replacement of organs damaged by disease, injury or aging in the foreseeable future. A research group led by Professor Takashi Tsuji (Professor in the Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, and Director of Organ Technologies Inc.) has provided a proof-of-concept for bioengineered organ replacement as a next stage of regenerative therapy.

Reporting in Nature Communications the group demonstrate that bioengineered hair follicle germ reconstructed from adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cells can regenerate fully functional hair follicle and hair growth. Their bioengineered follicles showed restored hair cycles and piloerection through the rearrangement of follicular stem cells and their niches. The bioengineered hair follicle also developed the correct structures and formed proper connections with surrounding host tissues such as the epidermis, arrector pili muscle and nerve fibers.

This study thus reveals the potential applications of adult tissue-derived follicular stem cells as a bioengineered organ replacement therapy.

This was collaborative research with Lecturer Tarou Iri and Professor emertius Tetsuhiko Tachikawa (Department of Oral Pathology, Showa University School of Dentistry, Japan), Professor Akio Sato (Department Regenerative Medicine, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Japan) and Associate Professor Akira Takeda (Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Japan).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ResearchSEA, via ResearchSEA.

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Hair regeneration from adult stem cells

By Suling Liu, Hasan Korkaya, and Max S. Wicha | April 1, 2012

Inthe 30-year battle waged since the initiation of the war on cancer, there have been substantial victories, with cures for childhood malignancies among the most important. Our ever-expanding understanding of cellular and molecular biology has provided substantial insights into the molecular underpinnings of the spectrum of diseases we call cancer. Yet, while researchers view this as tremendous progress, many patients have seen only limited improvement. In fact, the relatively modest gains achieved in treating the most common malignancies have caused some to say that we are actually losing the war on cancer.

Based on new intelligence, oncologists are making informed battle plans to attack a particularly pernicious enemythe cancer stem cell. Controversial though they are, cancer stem cells are an incredibly promising target. If treatment-resistant cancer, and the metastases that transplant the cancer throughout the body, could be attributed to the actions of a single cell type, it could explain many of the treatment failures and provide a novel way to attack the disease.

The idea that cancers are driven by cells with embryonic features is an old one. Many cancers regress to a less differentiated state, expressing proteins that are usually expressed only in the embryo or during early development. It is only in the past 20 years or so, however, that additional observations led to the hypothesis that these embryonic-like cells were a separate subpopulation that fueled tumor expansion, much the same way that stem cells churn out the cells that make up a particular organ.

A number of groups, including our own, have identified cancer stem cell markers enabling the isolation and characterization of these cells. In addition, the development of in vitro and mouse functional assays has led to a veritable explosion of research on cancer stem cells from both blood-derived malignancies and solid tumors., However, the limitations of these markers and assays have generated heated debate regarding which tumors follow a stem cell model, and which do not. New data from our lab and from others is helping to clarify some of these areas of debate with the goal of better understanding how these cells can be identified and characterized.

A cancer stem cell (CSC) is defined as a cell that has the ability to self-renew, dividing to give rise to another malignant stem cell, as well as to produce the phenotypically diverse, differentiated tumor cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Evidence for CSCs was first documented in leukemia, where it was clear that only a small subset of cancer cells was capable of perpetuating the cancer upon serial transplantation from one mouse to another. Extensive knowledge of normal blood stem cells facilitated our recognition and understanding of leukemia stem cells. Evidence for CSCs in solid tumors has been more controversial, because it is more technically challenging to divide a solid mass into individual cells without damage or alteration, and knowledge of the properties of normal-tissue stem cells in these organs is more limited. However, some of the areas of contention may be resolved by continuing research into the biology of these CSCs.

Relatively modest gains achieved in treating the most common malignancies have caused some to say that we are actually losing the war on cancer.

One of the points of confusion in CSC biology is the question of where these cells come from. Do they arise from normal stem cells that have become cancerous through mutation, or do they arise from partially differentiated tissue-progenitor cells that have acquired the ability to self-renew? Recent evidence suggests CSCs may arise from either source.

A second misconception is that the definition of CSCs precludes the possibility that cancers arise from sequential mutations that accumulate over many cell generations and are selected for through a Darwinian processthe so-called clonal evolution model. Some have proposed that the CSC model is a competing theory of carcinogenesis. In fact, both models may be correct. There is evidence that CSCs may also be genetically unstable, resulting in clonal evolution that generates several distinct CSC clones in a tumor.

While the identification of CSC markers and the development of in vitro and mouse models have led to important advances in the field, each of these markers and models has limitations that have fueled debate. Markers used to isolate cancer stem cells, such as CD44, CD24, CD133, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), and Hoechst dye exclusion, have proven useful for identifying these cell populations in tumor samples. However, expression of these markers is highly dependent on experimental conditions such as culture medium and oxygen concentration. Similarly, in vitro assays that rely on the ability to form spherical colonies in suspension can be useful, but are notoriously inaccurate. Since the definition of CSCs is ultimately an operational one, the most reliable assay for these cells has been their ability to initiate tumors when transplanted into mouse models. Because the immune system will reject any implanted foreign tissue, researchers have had to use immunosuppressed mice to test for human CSCs. In some tumor types, such as melanoma, the proportion of cells capable of initiating tumors is dependent on the degree of immunosuppression in the mouse models utilized. However, the more immunosuppressed mouse models may actually overestimate the true frequency of CSCs.

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Are Cancer Stem Cells Ready for Prime Time?

Washington, Mar 31 : Intestinal crypts have been found to hold a special population of intestinal stem cells that respond to damage and help prevent cancer, a study says.

These crypts are small areas of the intestine where new cells are formed to continuously renew the digestive tract. Researchers from Vanderbilt University, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and their colleagues are focusing on one protein expressed in our intestines called Lrig1.

Their research also shows the diversity of stem cells in the intestines is greater than previously thought.

"Identification of these cells and the role they likely play in response to injury or damage will help advance discoveries in cancer," said Shawn Levy, PhD, faculty investigator at the HudsonAlpha Institute and an author of the study.

The intestines and colon are normally lined with a single layer of cells to absorb nutrients from food. There are regular small pockets in the intestines called crypts, where stem cells are gathered. Rapid turnover of the lining cells and replacement by new lining cells made in the crypt, keep the intestines and colon healthy and keep damaged cells from turning into cancerous ones.

The new paper demonstrates that, although the makeup of stem cells in the crypt is still controversial, the Lrig1 protein can distinguish a group of long-lived cells at the base of the crypt. These Lrig1-positive stem cells do not regularly replace lining cells, but instead are only activated when there is damage or injury to the intestine.

In addition, the researchers show that the Lrig1 protein functions to prevent cancer as a tumour suppressor molecule. When the protein is completely absent from a mouse model, the mice all develop adenomas and then tumours. This suggests that Lrig1 is an important target for understanding and treating intestinal and colon cancer.

"RNA sequencing work at HudsonAlpha found that the Lrig1-positive stem cells are molecularly different in multiple ways from previously identified crypt stem cells, in keeping with their role in responding to damage," said Levy.

He added that further work on genes expressed or silenced in this population of cells will increase understanding of both normal and cancer cell progression in the intestines.

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Now, tales from the crypt could help in fight against cancer

A leukemia patient who was twice turned down by a Shanghai stem cell donor recovered from the disease after receiving her mother's half-match stem cells and a unit of umbilical cord blood from Shanghai.

Jiang Jing, a 23-year-old Jiangsu Province native, left the transplant cabin at No. 1 Hospital affiliated with Suzhou University yesterday, fully recovered.

Jiang's saga was dramatic. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia on April 1 last year and was informed by the hospital that a full match donor was found in September. The transplant was scheduled for March 6 this year.

Jiang started to undergo therapy for stem cell transplant on February 24 to suppress her immune system, paving the way for the healthy stem cells from the donor, a Shanghai university student.

However the donor backed out on March 1. She agreed a second time to give a donation on March 5 but again backed away, this time leaving the hospital secretly at midnight after receiving an injection as preparation for the donation. There were reports that the would-be donor, who was not named, faced pressure from her family to forego the procedure.

Since medication had stopped Jiang's blood-forming function on March 6, she could survive for only seven days if not undergoing transplant. Doctors decided to transplant her mother's half-match stem cells and a unit of umbilical cord blood from the Shanghai Cord Blood Bank.

The umbilical cord blood, which had an 80 percent match to Jiang, was used to reduce rejection and streamline the transplant.

Though the incident had a happy ending, it has stirred wide discussion online as some web users accused the student of putting the patient's life in danger through her actions.

But health insiders said people must have the right to change their minds.

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Eastday-Rejected by donor, leukemia patient saved by mother

Is your child about to lose her milk tooth? Instead of throwing it away, you can now opt to use it to harvest stem cells in a dental stem cell bank for future use in the face of serious ailments. Now thats a tooth fairy story coming to life.

Still relatively new in India, dental stem cell banking is fast gaining popularity as a more viable option over umbilical cord blood banking.

Stem cell therapy involves a kind of intervention strategy in which healthy, new cells are introduced into a damaged tissue to treat a disease or an injury.

The umbilical cord is a good source for blood-related cells, or hemaotopoietic cells, which can be used for blood-related diseases, like leukaemia (blood cancer). Having said that, blood-related disorders constitute only four percent of all diseases, Shailesh Gadre, founder and managing director of the company Stemade Biotech, said.

For the rest of the 96 percent tissue-related diseases, the tooth is a good source of mesenchymal (tissue-related) stem cells. These cells have potential application in all other tissues of the body, for instance, the brain, in case of diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons; the eye (corneal reconstruction), liver (cirrhosis), pancreas (diabetes), bone (fractures, reconstruction), skin and the like, he said.

Mesenchymal cells can also be used to regenerate cardiac cells.

Dental stem cell banking also has an advantage when it comes to the process of obtaining stem cells.

Obtaining stem cells from the tooth is a non-invasive procedure that requires no surgery, with little or no pain. A child, in the age group of 5-12, is any way going to lose his milk tooth. So when its a little shaky, it can be collected with hardly any discomfort, Savita Menon, a pedodontist, said.

Moreover, in a number of cases, when an adolescent needs braces, the doctor recommends that his pre-molars be removed. These can also be used as a source for stem cells. And over and above that, an adults wisdom tooth can also be used for the same purpose, Gadre added.

Therefore, unlike umbilical cord blood banking which gives one just one chance - during birth - the window of opportunity in dental stem cell banking is much bigger.

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Your child’s milk tooth can save her life