Category Archives: Stem Cells

Claims for a new, simple, technique to create stem cells.

A new report in Nature claims that bathing cells from an adult mouse in a simple acid solution turns them into potent and versatile stem cells.

The advance, carried out by the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, suggests that it may be far easier than anticipated to reprogram adult cells, possibly opening up new avenues in regenerative medicine. Scientists have long anticipated being able to grow tissues or organs using just a few cells from a patient.

Cells capable of growing and being manipulated in the lab, while retaining the ability to form a complete animal, were discovered in 1981, after being culled from mouse embryos. Then in 2006 work that later won a Nobel Prize, Japanese researchers found a way to induce any adult cell into a similar embryonic state by introducing just four genes. The resulting cells are known as iPS cells.

The new result indicates that much the same result occurs simply by subjecting cells to the stress of an acid bath.

That may provide far simpler ways to make stem cells. But the finding is so surprising that the authors said they had difficulty convincing other scientists and getting their paper published. Everyone said it was an artefact there were some really hard days, HarukoObokata, a stem cell biologist who carried out the project told Nature news.

Stem cell research has previously been troubled both by outright fraud and results that turned out to be incorrect. The latest work, which got its start several years ago in the laboratory of Charles Vacanti, a tissue engineer at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, was slow to progress for that reason. Our lab was pretty ridiculed, Vacanti told the Boston Globe.

The researchers next need to show the technique works with human cells. Until you show it works in humans, its hard to know what the application is going to be, William Lowry, a developmental biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles told the Associated Press. For now, the question of whether its a lab curiosity or a big medical benefit, thats still up in the air.

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Stressful Research Turns Cells into Stem Cells

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they used epithelial stem cells to regenerate different cell types of human skin and hair follicles that may help those going bald.

Dr. Xiaowei "George" Xu, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said they started with human skin cells called dermal fibroblasts.

By adding three genes, they converted those cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, which have the capability to differentiate into any cell types in the body. They then converted the induced pluripotent stem cells into epithelial stem cells, normally found at the bulge of hair follicles.

Starting with procedures other research teams had previously worked out to convert induced pluripotent stem cells into keratinocytes, Xu's team demonstrated that by carefully controlling the timing of the growth factors the cells received, they could force the induced pluripotent stem cells to generate large numbers of epithelial stem cells.

The team succeeded in turning more than 25 percent of the induced pluripotent stem cells into epithelial stem cells in 18 days.

Those cells were then purified using the proteins they expressed on their surfaces.

"This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles," Xu said in a statement. "And those cells have many potential applications including wound healing, cosmetics and hair regeneration."

The findings were published in Nature Communications.

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Hair-follicle generating stem cells may help with baldness

BOSTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Scientists have stumbled upon a simple way to create stem cells without embryos -- by bathing healthy adult cells in an acid bath for 30 minutes.

A team of researchers from Boston and Japan were able to transform mature blood cells from mice into the equivalent of stem cells by introducing them to an acidic environment. This is the first time that stem cells have been created without having to introduce outside DNA into the cells.

"The fate of adult cells can be drastically converted by exposing mature cells to an external stress or injury. This finding has the potential to reduce the need to utilize both embryonic stem cells and DNA-manipulated iPS cells," said senior author Charles Vacanti.

The latest development, published in the journal Nature, could be used to create stems cells easily and quickly. Stem cells are known to become other kinds of cells, and have the potential to regenerate injured parts of the body. Embryos are a controversial source of such cells, though more are under study, including Nobel-winning research in 2006 that showed skin cells could be genetically reprogrammed to become stem cells.

The researchers aren't sure how this happens, but have hypothesized that it could be due to hidden cell functions that are triggered by external stimuli.

Researchers are now attempting to use the same method to convert human blood cells and believe that if successful it could be used in not only regenerative treatment but cancer treatment as well.

"If we can work out the mechanisms by which differentiation states are maintained and lost, it could open up a wide range of possibilities for new research and applications using living cells," said first author Haruko Obokata, of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology.

[Brigham and Women's Hospital] [RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology] [Nature]

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Scientists find faster, easier way to create stem cells

Professor Austin Smith of Cambridge University, writing in the Journal Nature said the new cells could be seen as a blank slate from which any cell could emerge depending on its environment.

Remarkably, instead of triggering cell death or tumour growth as might be expected, a new cell state emerges that exhibits and unprecedented potential for differentiation into every possible cell type, he said.

The discovery has been hailed as incredible by scientists who believe it will speed up the advancement of personalised medicine.

Stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Alzheimer's, spinal cord injury, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

They could be used to regenerate organs, stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, or create skin grafts.

(This) approach in the mouse is the most simple, lowest cost and quickest method to generate pluripotent cells from mature cells, said Professor Chris Mason, Chair of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing, at University College London.

If it works in man, this could be the game changer that ultimately makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patients own cells as starting material the age of personalised medicine would have finally arrived.

Who would have thought that to reprogram adult cells to an embryonic stem cell-like (pluripotent) state just required a small amount of acid for less than half an hour an incredible discovery.

Professor Mason said the development was likely to speed up the development of technology in everyday clinical practice although warned that was still years away.

Dr Dusko Ilic, Reader in Stem Cell Science, Kings College London, said the findings were revolutionary.

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'Stem cells' created in less than 30 minutes in 'groundbreaking' discovery

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Newswise PHILADELPHIA - If the content of many a situation comedy, not to mention late-night TV advertisements, is to be believed, theres an epidemic of balding men, and an intense desire to fix their follicular deficiencies.

One potential approach to reversing hair loss uses stem cells to regenerate the missing or dying hair follicles. But it hasnt been possible to generate sufficient number of hair-follicle-generating stem cells until now.

Xiaowei George Xu, MD, PhD, associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues published in Nature Communications a method for converting adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs), the first time anyone has achieved this in either humans or mice.

The epithelial stem cells, when implanted into immunocompromised mice, regenerated the different cell types of human skin and hair follicles, and even produced structurally recognizable hair shaft, raising the possibility that they may eventually enable hair regeneration in people.

Xu and his team, which includes researchers from Penns departments of Dermatology and Biology, as well as the New Jersey Institute of Technology, started with human skin cells called dermal fibroblasts. By adding three genes, they converted those cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have the capability to differentiate into any cell types in the body. They then converted the iPS cells into epithelial stem cells, normally found at the bulge of hair follicles.

Starting with procedures other research teams had previously worked out to convert iPSCs into keratinocytes, Xus team demonstrated that by carefully controlling the timing of the growth factors the cells received, they could force the iPSCs to generate large numbers of epithelial stem cells. In the Xu study, the teams protocol succeeded in turning over 25% of the iPSCs into epithelial stem cells in 18 days. Those cells were then purified using the proteins they expressed on their surfaces.

Comparison of the gene expression patterns of the human iPSC-derived epithelial stem cells with epithelial stem cells obtained from human hair follicles showed that the team had succeeded in producing the cells they set out to make in the first place. When they mixed those cells with mouse follicular inductive dermal cells and grafted them onto the skin of immunodeficient mice, they produced functional human epidermis (the outermost layers of skin cells) and follicles structurally similar to human hair follicles.

This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles, Xu says. And those cells have many potential applications, he adds, including wound healing, cosmetics, and hair regeneration.

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Converting Adult Human Cells to Hair-Follicle-Generating Stem Cells

January 28, 2014

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

While a Chinese cream may not have cured George Costanzas baldness in a classic Seinfeld episode, stem cell research from scientists at the University of Pennsylvania has shown the potential for regenerating hair follicles which could lead to relief for hair-challenged men everywhere.

According to a new report published in the journal Nature Communications, the Pennsylvania researchers have developed a groundbreaking method for converting adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs). Similar previous efforts have failed to generate an adequate number of hair-follicle-generating stem cells.

In the study, epithelial stem cells were inserted into immunocompromised mice. The stem cells regenerated the various cell types for human skin and hair follicles, and provided structurally identifiable hair shafts, raising the possibility of hair regeneration in humans.

The study team began with human skin cells referred to as dermal fibroblasts. By incorporating three genes, they modified those cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have the capacity to differentiate into any cell types in the human body. Next, they modified the iPS cells into epithelial stem cells, commonly located at the base of hair follicles.

Starting with procedures other research groups had worked out to transfer iPSCs into skin cells, Xus team figured out that by carefully manipulating the timing of the cell growth factors, they could drive the iPSCs to produce large quantities of epithelial stem cells. This method was able to turn more than 25 percent of the iPSCs into epithelial stem cells within 18 days. Those cells were then purified based on the proteins they showed on their surfaces.

Comparison of the engineered cells with epithelial stem tissue obtained from hair follicles revealed the team succeeded in making the cells they set out to produce. After mixing all those cells with mouse follicular inductive dermal cells and attaching them onto the pores and skin of immunodeficient mice, the team was able to produce efficient outer layers of human skin tissue and follicles structurally similar to those generated by human hair.

This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles, said study author Dr. Xiaowei George Xu, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and dermatology at the university. He added that these cells could be used for healing, cosmetics and hair regeneration.

Xu cautioned that iPSC-derived epithelial stem cells are not yet ready for human subjects.

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Are Stem Cells The Cure To Baldness?

Could the cure for baldness be found within our own skin?

For the first time, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania were successfully able to take human skin cells and transform them into hair-follicle-generating stem cells. These cells were then transplanted onto mice, and turned into human-like skin and hair follicles. The mice eventually grew tiny hair shafts.

The study was published Jan. 28 in Nature Communications.

The researchers began by using a type of skin cell known as dermal fibroblasts. They added three genes in order to transform them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These stem cells have the ability to transform into other cells found throughout the body.

Specifically, the iPSCs in this study were made into epithelial cells, which make up connective, muscle and nerve tissue. These cells are normally found at the bulb-like ends of hair follicles. The team was able to accomplish this by controlling the cells' growth time, and were able to turn 25 percent of the iPSCs into epithelial stem cells in about 18 days.

The epithelial stem cells were then mixed with mice hair follicle skin cells. They were then transplanted onto mice who had their immune systems suppressed. The cells produced human outer skin layer cells and follicles that were close to actual human hair follicles, which then grew the beginning of the hair shafts.

Dr. Xiaowei George Xu, associate professor of pathology, laboratory medicine and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine, said in a press release that these cells may be able to do more than generate hair. They could also be used in wound care and in cosmetics.

This is the first time anyone has made scalable amounts of epithelial stem cells that are capable of generating the epithelial component of hair follicles, Xu explained.

But, the research is still far from practical use. The next step is to create the other type of cell found in hair, dermal papillae, which are small bumps of cells found in the second layer of skin that poke into the top layer of skin. These dermal papillae create our fingerprints, among other things. For the experiments, the researchers used mice cells to make up for the lack of human ones.

When a person loses hair, they lose both types of cells, Xu said. We have solved one major problem, the epithelial component of the hair follicle. We need to figure out a way to also make new dermal papillae cells, and no one has figured that part out yet.

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Bye bye baldness? Researchers regrow hair using skin cells

AAP Scientists in Ireland aim to produce adult cells to combat conditions like arthritis.

Stem cells for human use are to be made in a university lab in the first medical program of its kind in Ireland.

Scientists behind the new facility at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway will aim to produce adult cells to combat conditions like arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.

Stem cells created at the lab will be used in clinical trials following regulatory approval - the first of which is to test their effects on critical limb ischemia, a common complication associated with diabetes which often results in amputation.

The cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), will undergo safety tests after being isolated from bone marrow from donors and grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities.

The university said it will position it as a global player in regenerative medicine.

NUI Galway's Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland is the first facility in Ireland to receive a licence from the Irish Medicines Board to manufacture culture-expanded stem cells for human use.

And it is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for the process.

"Developing Galway's role as med-tech hub of global standing, the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland captures NUI Galway's commitment to bring bold ideas to life," said NUI Galway president Dr Jim Browne.

"Innovation can bridge the gap between patient and provider and meet the needs of industry and the wider society in a balanced way."

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Ireland university lab in stem cells move

Published Monday, 27 January 2014

A young teenager with diabetes tests his blood levels. (UTV)

Scientists behind the new facility at the National University of Ireland Galway will aim to produce adult cells to combat conditions like diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.

Stem cells created at the lab will be used in clinical trials following regulatory approval - the first of which is to test their effects on critical limb ischemia, a common complication associated with diabetes which often results in amputation.

The cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), will undergo safety tests after being isolated from bone marrow from donors and grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities.

The university said it will position it as a global player in regenerative medicine.

NUI Galway's Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland is the first facility on the island of Ireland to receive a licence from the Irish Medicines Board to manufacture culture-expanded stem cells for human use.

It is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for the process.

Some 70% of pharmaceutical companies have regenerative medicine therapies in development, with 575 active trials in cell and gene therapy under way.

There are more than 1,900 cell therapy clinical trials ongoing worldwide with regenerative medicine products generating more than $1bn in revenue in 2012.

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Stem cells lab to open in Galway

An early-phase clinical trial of an experimental vaccine that targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, has been launched by researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Department of Neurosurgery, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center and Department of Neurology.

Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells have the ability to self-renew and generate new cells, but instead of producing healthy cells, they create cancer cells. In theory, if the cancer stem cells can be destroyed, a tumor may not be able to sustain itself, but if the cancer originators are not removed or destroyed, a tumor will continue to return despite the use of existing cancer-killing therapies.

The Phase I study, which will enroll about 45 patients and last two years, evaluates safety and dosing of a vaccine created individually for each participant and designed to boost the immune system's natural ability to protect the body against foreign invaders called antigens. The drug targets a protein, CD133, found on cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other cancers.

Immune system cells called dendritic cells will be derived from each patient's blood, combined with commercially prepared glioblastoma proteins and grown in the laboratory before being injected under the skin as a vaccine weekly for four weeks and then once every two months, according to Jeremy Rudnick, MD, neuro-oncologist in the Cedars-Sinai Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Neurology, the study's principal investigator.

Dendritic cells are the immune system's most powerful antigen-presenting cells -- those responsible for helping the immune system recognize invaders. By being loaded with specific protein fragments of CD133, the dendritic cells become "trained" to recognize the antigen as a target and stimulate an immune response when they come in contact.

The cancer stem cell study is the latest evolution in Cedars-Sinai's history of dendritic cell vaccine research, which was introduced experimentally in patient trials in 1998.

Cedars-Sinai's brain cancer stem cell study is open to patients whose glioblastoma multiforme has returned following surgical removal. Potential participants will be screened for eligibility requirements and undergo evaluations and medical tests at regular intervals. The vaccine and study-related tests and follow-up care will be provided at no cost to patients. For more information, call 1-800-CEDARS-1 or contact Cherry Sanchez by phone at 310-423-8100 or email cherry.sanchez@cshs.org.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Clinical trial studies vaccine targeting cancer stem cells in brain cancers