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Category Archives: Stem Cells

Royalty Rules at the California Stem Cell Agency: Business Friendly Changes Proposed

Posted: July 22, 2012 at 3:53 pm


If you are looking to follow the money
trail at the $3 billion California stem cell agency, next Thursday's meeting of its 29-member board of directors is a good place to start.


On the agenda are revisions in its
intellectual property rules, which are all about who gets paid and how much and when – should an agency-financed product generate
significant cash.

The key question about the proposed changes is whether they will generate an appropriate return for the state, given its $6 billion investment, including interest on the bonds that finance CIRM. The impact of the changes is not crystal clear. And the staff memo does not mention two important definition changes that appear to be quite business friendly.

During the 2004 ballot campaign that
created the stem cell agency, California voters were told that the
state would share as much as $1 billion or more in royalties. Eight
years later, no royalties have materialized since CIRM research has
not yet resulted in a commercial therapy. 
At next week's meeting in Burlingame,
directors will be asked to modify CIRM rules for royalties that CIRM
staff said "could be a disincentive" for business. A staff memo said the proposals would alter provisions that create "administrative challenges and uncertainty." The memo asserted
the proposed changes would ensure "a comparable economic
return to California" equal to the existing provisions.
However, the memo provided no explanation or evidence for how that
result would come about. The proposed changes could also be applied
retroactively with the agreement of CIRM and the grantee.
Currently CIRM grantees and
collaborators must share as much as 25 percent of their licensing
revenue in excess of $500,000, depending on the proportion of agency
funding for the product. The IP rules also contain a provision for
payments in the event of development of a "blockbuster" therapy.
The staff memo described how that would work.

“It provides that grantees and
collaborators must share revenues resulting from CIRM funded research
as follows: after revenues exceed $500,000, three times the grant
award, paid at a rate of 3% per year, plus upon earning
$250M(million) in a single calendar year, a onetime payment of three
times the award, plus upon earning revenues of $500M in a single
calendar year, an additional onetime payment of three times the award
and, finally, in the instance where a patented CIRM funded invention
or CIRM funded technology contributed to the creation of net
commercial revenue greater than $500M in a single calendar year, and
where CIRM awarded $5 million or more, an additional 1% royalty on
revenues in excess of $500 million annually over the life of the
patents.”

The proposed changes would exempt "pre-commercial revenues" from the state's revenue sharing, the
memo said, in order to maximize the amount businesses can "re-invest
in product development." 
The proportionality payment provision
would be changed to require only 15 percent of licensing revenues if
CIRM's investment is less than 50 percent and 25 percent if it is
more than 50 percent. 
Revenue sharing would be extended to "commercializing entities." No definition of "commercializing entities" was provided in the board agenda material, but a June version of the changes defined them as "A For-Profit Grantee and its Collaborator or Licensee that sells, offers for sale or transfers a Drug, product(s) or services resulting in whole or in part from CIRM-Funded Research."

Not mentioned in the CIRM staff memo were two new provisions in the rules involving the definition of licensing revenue and the sale of a therapy. Both could be construed as quite favorable to businesses. According to the June version of the changes, licensing revenues are defined as a figure minus "a proportion of expenses reasonably incurred in prosecuting, defending and enforcing related patent rights equal to CIRM’s percentage of support for development."  The sale provision says that royalties on "net commercial revenue" are not due until received from sales in the United States or Europe. That provision would appear to exclude California from receiving royalties on product sales in most of the world, where it is easier to receive regulatory approval for sale of new therapies and drugs. (See here -- page 2 -- for royalty provision and here for definition of "first commercial sale"-- page 3.)

The existing IP regulations are
enshrined in a 2011 state law. However, the law also provided that
they can be altered by the agency, the CIRM memo said, “if it
determined that it was necessary to do so either to ensure that
research and therapy development are not unreasonably hindered as a
result of CIRM’s regulations or to ensure that the State of
California has an opportunity to share in the revenues derived from
such research and therapy development.”

The memo continued,

"The proposed amendments re-strike
the balance both to ensure that industry will partner with CIRM and
to ensure that the State has the opportunity to benefit from
successful therapy development."

Board action next week will give the
go-ahead for posting the proposals as part of the official state
administrative rules process. They are subject to additional changes
in that process. 
The agenda originally contained the full text of the changes. However, that material has been dropped from the board agenda. An earlier version can be found here and here. We have queried the agency about the reason for dropping the text in the board agenda.

(Editor's note: The agency has now reposted the version of the text of the changes that was on the agenda earlier, saying that it was having problems with its web site. For the definitions of terms, however, it is still necessary to refer to the June documents.)

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UC Davis Researchers Score Big in $113 Million Stem Cell Award Round

Posted: July 22, 2012 at 3:53 pm


Scientists at the University of
California at Davis
are set to win nearly half of $113 million
expected to be awarded next week by the California stem cell agency
as it pushes aggressively to turn research into marketplace cures.

Directors of the $3 billion agency are
virtually certain to approve awards to three researchers at UC Davis,
which operates its medical school and other research facilities in
nearby Sacramento. The other three expected winners are from UCLA,
Stanford
and StemCells, Inc., of Newark, Ca., a publicly traded firm.
The $113 million round is the second largest research round in CIRM's history, surpassed only by an
another, earlier $211 million “disease team” round. The latest
effort is aimed at bringing proposed clinical trials to the FDA for approval or possibly starting trials within four years. That deadline
is close to the time when CIRM is scheduled to run out of cash unless
new funding sources are developed.
CIRM is currently exploring seeking
private financing. It could also ask voters to approve another state
bond issue. (Bonds currently provide the only real source of cash for
CIRM.)  In either case, the agency needs strong, positive results from
its grantees to support a bid for continued funding.
The CIRM board is scheduled to approve
the latest awards one week from tomorrow at a public meeting in Burlingame in the San Francisco area. The agency's policy is to
withhold the identities of applicants and winners until after formal
board action. The California Stem Cell Report, however, has pieced
together their identities from public records.
Here are the winners and links to the
grant review summaries, listed in order of the CIRM scientific
scores:
  • Vicki Wheelock, UC Davis, $19 million,
    for development of a genetically modified cell therapy for
    Huntington's disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder.
    Scientific score 87.
  • Antoni Ribas, UCLA, $20 million, for
    genetic reprogramming of cells to fight cancer. Scientific score 84.
  • Nancy Lane, UC Davis, $20 million, for
    development of a small molecule to promote bone growth for the
    treatment of osteoporosis. Scientific score 80.
  • John Laird, UC Davis, $14.2 million,
    for development of mesenchymal stem cells genetically modified for
    treatment of critical limb ischemia, which restricts blood flow in
    the lower leg and can lead to amputation. Scientific score 79.
  • StemCells, Inc., (principal
    investigator not yet known), $20 million, for development of human
    neural stem cells to treat chronic cervical spinal cord injury. The
    company, founded by Stanford scientist Irv Weissman, who serves on
    its board, said earlier this year that it had filed two applications
    in this round, one of which dealt with cervical cord spinal injury.
    No other applicants filed a proposal for such research. Scientific score 79.
  • Robert Robbins, Stanford, $20 million,
    development of a human embryonic stem cell treatment for end-stage
    heart failure.
    Scientific score 68.

In the case of businesses, the awards
come in the form of loans. Grants go to nonprofits. One of the
reasons behind the varying mechanisms is the difference in CIRM's
intellectual property rules for businesses and nonprofits.

CIRM's Grant Working Group earlier this
year approved the applications during closed door sessions. The full
CIRM board has ultimate authority on the applications, but it has
almost never rejected a positive action by the grant reviewers.
The board originally allotted $243 million for this round. Directors could reach into the 15
applications rejected by reviewers and approve any of them, which the
board has done in other rounds. In this round, three rejected
applications scored within seven points of the lowest rated
application approved by reviewers, which could lead some directors
to argue that the scores are not significantly different. One of the
three came from Alexandra Capela of StemCells, Inc., and was scored at 61. The other two and their scores are Clive Svendsen of
Cedars-Sinai, score 64, for ALS research, and Roberta Brinton of
USC, score 63, for an Alzheimer's project.
Rejected applicants also can appeal
reviewer decisions to the full CIRM board in writing and in public
appearances before directors.
Twenty-three researchers were eligible
to apply for funding, CIRM told the California Stem Cell Report.
Applicants qualified by either winning a related planning grant from
CIRM last year or by being granted an exception to that requirement
by CIRM staff. Of the 22 researchers who ultimately applied(one
nonprofit dropped out), six came from biotech businesses. Three of
those qualified through exceptions. Three other businesses won
planning grants last year out of the eight businesses that applied.
CIRM has come under fire for its
negligible funding of stem cell firms and is moving to embrace
industry more warmly.
Only one of the grants approved by
reviewers involves research with human embryonic stem cells, which
was the critical key to creation of the California stem cell agency.
California voters established the agency in 2004 on the basis that it
was needed because the Bush Administration had restricted federal
funding of human embryonic stem cell research.  

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California's $12.4 Million Stem Cell Recruitment Lure

Posted: July 22, 2012 at 3:53 pm


Directors of the California stem cell
agency next Thursday are likely to approve spending $12.4 million to
lure a couple of stem cell stars to the Golden State.

It is part of a $44 million recruitment
program that has brought three highly regarded scientists to three
California research institutions, all of which have representatives
on the CIRM board. (See here, here and here.)
As usual, the $3 billion stem cell agency does not
identify the potential recipients in advance of the meeting or the
institutions that are recruiting them. However, if you have a modicum
of knowledge about the specific fields involved, it is likely that
you can identify them based on the information in CIRM's review summaries and some Internet searching.
One of the proposed research grants–a
$5.7 million award--would go a scientist who won raves from CIRM's
reviewers. The researcher was described as an “exceptional
scientist and one of the leading young developmental biologists.”
Reviewers gave his proposal a score of 90 and, in summary, said,

“Major strengths include the
candidate's exceptional productivity and contributions to the fields
of mammalian embryology and kidney development, the significance and
potential of the research program, the PI's proven leadership
capabilities, and the outstanding institutional commitment.”

 The other grant was larger–$6.7
million–but reviewers raised a number of questions about the
candidate although they recommended it for funding. The
review summary ranked the application at 57 and said,

“In summary, this is an application
from an established leader in NSC biology to pursue research focused
on disease mechanisms in PD. Strengths of the proposal include the
quality of the PI, the focus of the project on an interesting
hypothesis, and the leadership in basic science that the candidate
would bring to the applicant institution. Weaknesses included
deficiencies in the research plan, the limited track-record of the PI
in PD research and an institutional environment lacking adequate
support for basic science investigations.“

Last January, in a rare move, CIRM
directors rejected a $6.3 million recruitment grant with a score of
76 sought by the Buck Institute, which is not represented on the
board.
The proposals are scheduled to be acted
on at a public CIRM board meeting in Burlingame, Ca.

(Editor's note: an earlier version of this item incorrectly said the total of both grants was $13.4 million.)

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Sweat glands grown from newly identified stem cells

Posted: July 21, 2012 at 10:11 am

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2012) To date, few fundamentals have been known about the most common gland in the body, the sweat glands that are essential to controlling body temperature, allowing humans to live in the worlds diverse climates. Now, in a tour de force, researchers at The Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have identified, in mice, the stem cell from which sweat glands initially develop as well as stem cells that regenerate adult sweat glands.

In their study, published in Cell, the scientists devised a strategy to purify and molecularly characterize the different kinds of stem cell populations that make up the complex sweat duct and glands of the skin. With this information in hand, they studied how these different populations of stem cells respond to normal tissue homeostasis and to different types of skin injuries, and how the sweat glands differ from their close cousins, the mammary glands.

No sweat. Researchers in Elaine Fuchs's lab identified four different types of paw-skin progenitor cells that are responsible for homeostasis and wound repair. This image shows that the sweat ductal and epidermal progenitors (in red) proliferate and repair an epidermal scratch wound; the sweat gland progenitors (in blue and green) show no signs of proliferation to this type of wound, but instead respond to deep glandular wounds. Mammary gland stem cells respond to hormonal induction by greatly expanding glandular tissue to increase milk production, explains Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor at Rockefeller and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In contrast, during a marathon race, sweat gland stem cells remain largely dormant, and glandular output rather than tissue expansion accounts for the 3 liters of sweat our body needs. These fascinating differences in stem cell activity and tissue production are likely at the root why breast cancers are so frequent, while sweat gland cancers are rare. Their findings might also help in the future to improve treatments for burn patients and to develop topical treatments for people who sweat too much, or too little.

For now, the study represents a baby step towards these clinical goals, but a giant leap forward in our understanding of sweat glands, says the studys lead author, Catherine P. Lu, a postdoctoral researcher in Fuchss Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development.

Each human has millions of sweat glands but they have rarely been extensively studied possibly due to the difficulty of gathering enough of the tiny organs to research in a lab, says Lu. The mouse is traditionally used as a model for human sweat gland studies, so in this project, Lu and colleagues laboriously extracted sweat glands from the tiny paw pads of mice the only place they are found in these and most other mammals.

The research team sought to discover whether the different cells that make up the sweat gland and duct contained stem (progenitor) cells, which can help repair damaged adult glands. We didnt know if sweat stem cells exist at all, and if they do, where they are and how they behave, she says. The last major studies on proliferative potential within sweat glands and sweat ducts were conducted in the early 1950s before modern biomedical techniques were used to understand fundamental bioscience.

Fuchs team determined that just before birth, the nascent sweat duct forms as a downgrowth from progenitor cells in the epidermis, the same master cells that at different body sites give rise to mammary glands, hair follicles and many other epithelial appendages. As each duct grows deeper into the skin, a sweat gland emerges from its base.

Lu then led the effort to look for stem cells in the adult sweat gland. The gland is made up of two layers -- an inner layer of luminal cells that produce the sweat and an outer layer of myoepithelial cells that squeeze the duct to discharge the sweat.

Lu devised a strategy to fluorescently tag and sort the different populations of ductal and glandular cells. The Fuchs team then injected each population of purified cells into different body areas of female host recipient mice to see what the cells would do.

Interestingly, when introduced into the mammary fat pads, the sweat gland myoepithelial cells generated fluorescent sweat gland-like structures. Each fluorescent gland had the proper polarized distribution of myoepithelial and luminal cells, and they also produced sodium potassium channel proteins that are normally expressed in adult sweat glands but not mammary glands, Lu says.

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More South Floridians Trying “Stem Cell Makeover”

Posted: July 21, 2012 at 10:11 am

Its fairly widely known that stem cells can mean life-saving treatments for deadly diseases.

Now, they are being used in the fight against wrinkles and more and more South Floridians are turning to the stem cell makeover.

Donna Pritchit is one of them. The 64-year-old headed into the operating room recently, wanting to turn back the hands of time without it being totally obvious.

I dont want someone to stop and go by and say Oh, she had a facelift. I want to have someone say Donna went on vacation she must be having a great life, she said before the $5,000 procedure began.

Dr. Sharon McQuillan at the Ageless Institute in Aventura marked the areas where she would take fat out of Pritchits belly and place it back into her face.

The retired teacher also hoped it would be her last step in getting rid of embarrassing acne scars.

I never wanted to go out in daylight and have anyone see me, she said.

More South Florida Health News

The outpatient procedure began with traditional liposuction, and then McQuillan and her team processed that fat and concentrated the stem cells so they could be injected into Pritchits wrinkles and in places where she has lost fullness.

Well, stem cells in general are the cells in your body that regenerate tissue and heal tissue, and they make the skin look beautiful and younger, McQuillan explained. And they also the fat to remain alive so that the volume that we create stays, which has been a problem with fat transfer in the past.

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One step closer to growing a tooth

Posted: July 20, 2012 at 2:13 pm

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) To build a tooth, a detailed recipe to instruct cells to differentiate towards proper lineages and form dental cells is needed. Researchers in the group of Professor Irma Thesleff at the Institute of Biotechnology in Helsinki, Finland have now found a marker for dental stem cells. They showed that the transcription factor Sox2 is specifically expressed in stem cells of the mouse front tooth.

Despite the development of new bioengineering protocols, building a tooth from stem cells remains a distant goal. Demand for it exists as loss of teeth affects oral health, quality of life, as well as ones appearance. To build a tooth, a detailed recipe to instruct cells to differentiate towards proper lineages and form dental cells is needed. However, the study of stem cells requires their isolation and a lack of a specific marker has hindered studies so far.

Researchers in the group of Professor Irma Thesleff at the Institute of Biotechnology in Helsinki, Finland have now found a marker for dental stem cells. They showed that the transcription factor Sox2 is specifically expressed in stem cells of the mouse incisor (front tooth). The mouse incisor grows continuously throughout life and this growth is fueled by stem cells located at the base of the tooth. These cells offer an excellent model to study dental stem cells.

The researchers developed a method to record the division, movement, and specification of these cells. By tracing the descendants of genetically labeled cells, they also showed that Sox2 positive stem cells give rise to enamel-forming ameloblasts as well as other cell lineages of the tooth.

Although human teeth dont grow continuously, the mechanisms that control and regulate their growth are similar as in mouse teeth. Therefore, the discovery of Sox2 as a marker for dental stem cells is an important step toward developing a complete bioengineered tooth. In the future, it may be possible to grow new teeth from stem cells to replace lost ones, says researcher Emma Juuri, a co-author of the study.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Helsingin yliopisto (University of Helsinki), via AlphaGalileo.

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Mechanisms that allow embryonic stem cells to become any cell in the human body identified

Posted: July 18, 2012 at 8:11 pm

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) New research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on pluripotency -- the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves indefinitely and to differentiate into all types of mature cells. Solving this problem, which is a major challenge in modern biology, could expedite the use of embryonic stem cells in cell therapy and regenerative medicine.

If scientists can replicate the mechanisms that make pluripotency possible, they could create cells in the laboratory which could be implanted in humans to cure diseases characterized by cell death, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and other degenerative diseases.

To shed light on these processes, researchers in the lab of Dr. Eran Meshorer, in the Department of Genetics at the Hebrew University's Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, are combining molecular, microscopic and genomic approaches. Meshorer's team is focusing on epigenetic pathways -- which cause biological changes without a corresponding change in the DNA sequence -- that are specific to embryonic stem cells.

The molecular basis for epigenetic mechanisms is chromatin, which is comprised of a cell's DNA and structural and regulatory proteins. In groundbreaking research performed by Shai Melcer, a PhD student in the Meshorer lab, the mechanisms which support an "open" chromatin conformation in embryonic stem cells were examined. The researchers found that chromatin is less condensed in embryonic stem cells, allowing them the flexibility or "functional plasticity" to turn into any kind of cell.

A distinct pattern of chemical modifications of chromatin structural proteins (referred to as the acetylation and methylation of histones) enables a looser chromatin configuration in embryonic stem cells. During the early stages of differentiation, this pattern changes to facilitate chromatin compaction.

But even more interestingly, the authors found that a nuclear lamina protein, lamin A, is also a part of the secret. In all differentiated cell types, lamin A binds compacted domains of chromatin and anchors them to the cell's nuclear envelope. Lamin A is absent from embryonic stem cells and this may enable the freer, more dynamic chromatin state in the cell nucleus. The authors believe that chromatin plasticity is tantamount to functional plasticity since chromatin is made up of DNA that includes all genes and codes for all proteins in any living cell. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate chromatin function will enable intelligent manipulations of embryonic stem cells in the future.

"If we can apply this new understanding about the mechanisms that give embryonic stem cells their plasticity, then we can increase or decrease the dynamics of the proteins that bind DNA and thereby increase or decrease the cells' differentiation potential," concludes Dr. Meshorer. "This could expedite the use of embryonic stem cells in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, by enabling the creation of cells in the laboratory which could be implanted in humans to cure diseases characterized by cell death, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and other degenerative diseases."

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Researchers turn skin cells into brain cells, a promising path to better Parkinson’s treatment

Posted: July 18, 2012 at 12:11 am

ScienceDaily (July 17, 2012) Using adult stem cells, Johns Hopkins researchers and a consortium of colleagues nationwide say they have generated the type of human neuron specifically damaged by Parkinson's disease (PD) and used various drugs to stop the damage.

Their experiments on cells in the laboratory, reported in the July 4 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, could speed the search for new drugs to treat the incurable neurodegenerative disease, but also, they say, may lead them back to better ways of using medications that previously failed in clinical trials.

"Our study suggests that some failed drugs should actually work if they were used earlier, and especially if we could diagnose PD before tremors and other symptoms first appear," says one of the study's leaders, Ted M. Dawson, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dawson and his colleagues, working as part of a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke consortium, created three lines of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from the skin cells of adults with PD. Two of the cell lines had the mutated LRKK2 gene, a hallmark of the most common genetic cause of PD. Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to their most primitive state. Under the right circumstances, they can develop into most or all of the 200 cell types in the human body.

In the laboratory, the consortium scientists used the iPS cells to create dopamine neurons, those that bear the brunt of PD. Around age 60, people who have the disorder typically begin to show symptoms, including shaking (tremors) and difficulty with walking, movement and coordination. In the United States, at least 500,000 people are believed to have PD, and an estimated 50,000 new cases are reported annually.

Dawson says the ability to experiment with a form of "Parkinson's in a dish" should lead to further understanding of how the disease originates, develops and behaves in humans. Although scientists have been able to stop the disease in mice, the compounds used to do so have not worked in people, suggesting that human PD behaves differently than animal models of the disorder. Dawson, director of Johns Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering, says the researchers began with the belief that PD is strongly linked to disruption of the dopamine neurons' mitochondria, the energy-making power plants of the cells. Mitochondria undergo regular turnover in which they fuse together and then split apart. Normal neurons make new mitochondria and degrade older mitochondria in a balanced way to supply just the amount of energy needed.

PD, Dawson says, is believed to damage this system, leaving too few functional mitochondria and producing too many brain-damaging oxygen-free radicals.

Dawson and his colleagues looked for -- and found -- evidence of impaired mitochondria in the neurons they derived from PD patients.

They also found that the neurons they generated from PD patients were more susceptible to stressors, such as the pesticide rotenone, placed on them in the lab. Those neurons were more likely to become damaged or to die than the neurons derived from the skin of healthy individuals.

Satisfied that their stem cell-generated neurons were behaving like dopamine brain cells, the scientists next set out to see if they could slow the damage occurring in the PD neurons by introducing various compounds to the cells. They tested Coenzyme Q10, rapamycin and the LRRK2 kinase inhibitor GW5074, all of which are known to reverse mitochondrial defects in animals. The cells responded favorably to all three treatments, preventing stressors from continuing to damage the mitochondria.

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Northern Wisconsin high schoolers learn with stem cells, UW researchers

Posted: July 18, 2012 at 12:11 am

Eighteen top science students from northern Wisconsin high schools have earned the opportunity to hone their laboratory skills and work alongside leading researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison at a summer science camp focused on stem cells.

Hosted by the Morgridge Institute for Research, a nonprofit biomedical research institute affiliated with UW-Madison, the four-day summer science camp starts today and will cover a number of hands-on activities. Students will participate in neural and cardiac differentiation labs, attend lectures from top UW-Madison researchers and enjoy some time for fun and relaxation at campus attractions including Union South and the Kohl Center.

Students will work with both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Human embryonic stem cells are blank-slate, or pluripotent, cells that have the capacity to differentiate into any of the more than 220 cell types in the human body. Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from reprogrammed skin cells show some differences from human embryonic stem cells and also are the focus of much promising research for human health and pharmaceutical development.

Human embryonic stem cells were first isolated on the UW-Madison campus by James Thomson, who also was among the first to create induced pluripotent stem cells. Today, Wisconsin researchers are considered leaders in developing an understanding of these cells as they search for treatments and cures for diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and heart disease. Wisconsin scientists also are pioneering the use of stem cells to help develop better and safer medicines.

Students will use stem cell lines that were established approximately 10 years ago. These cells continue to play a vital role in international research because of their flexibility and well-documented performance characteristics.

The students participating in the camp, held July 16-19, attend schools and educational centers including Cornell High School; Forward Service Corp.; Oconto Falls High School; Oneida Nation High School; and Rhinelander High School. The students earned the honor of attending through their classroom performance and dedication during months of preparatory study.

Students participating in the stem cell camp are:

The stem cell science camp was designed to provide an enrichment experience in an advanced scientific field while introducing promising students to the variety of academic opportunities on the UW-Madison campus.

"Through the camp, we are able to provide students with an in-depth opportunity to broaden their horizons in science, technology and medicine while highlighting the tremendous career opportunities in these rapidly growing fields," says Rupa Shevde, a senior scientist and director of outreach experiences for the Morgridge Institute for Research. "The students benefit from learning about the cutting-edge research that is going on while at the same time gaining hands-on experience with stem cells and other critically important research tools. Introducing the students to stem cells allows us to teach a variety of concepts including the genetic aspects of human diseases and important ethical considerations for researchers."

This summer's stem cell science camp also will feature lectures and presentations from a number of UW-Madison stem cell researchers, including:

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StemCells, Inc. Announces Its Human Neural Stem Cells Restore Memory in Models of Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted: July 18, 2012 at 12:11 am

NEWARK, Calif., July 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (STEM), today announced preclinical data demonstrating that its proprietary human neural stem cells restored memory and enhanced synaptic function in two animal models relevant to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The data was presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 in Vancouver, Canada.

The study results showed that transplanting the cells into a specific region of the brain, the hippocampus, statistically increased memory in two different animal models. The hippocampus is critically important to the control of memory and is severely impacted by the pathology of AD. Specifically, hippocampal synaptic density is reduced in AD and correlates with memory loss. The researchers observed increased synaptic density and improved memory post transplantation. Importantly, these results did not require reduction in beta amyloid or tau that accumulate in the brains of patients with AD and account for the pathological hallmarks of the disease.

The research was conducted in collaboration with a world-renowned leader in AD, Frank LaFerla, Ph.D., Director of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND), and Chancellor's Professor, Neurobiology and Behavior in the School of Biological Sciences at UCI. Matthew Blurton-Jones, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Neurobiology and Behavior at UCI, presented the study results.

"This is the first time human neural stem cells have been shown to have a significant effect on memory," said Dr. LaFerla. "While AD is a diffuse disorder, the data suggest that transplanting these cells into the hippocampus might well benefit patients with Alzheimer's. We believe the outcomes in these two animal models provide strong rationale to study this approach in the clinic and we wish to thank the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine for the support it has given this promising research."

Stephen Huhn, M.D., FACS, FAAP, Vice President and Head of the CNS Program at StemCells, added, "While reducing beta amyloid and tau burden is a major focus in AD research, our data is intriguing because we obtained improved memory without a reduction in either of these pathologies. AD is a complex and challenging disorder. The field would benefit from the pursuit of a diverse range of treatment approaches and our neural stem cells now appear to offer a unique and viable contribution in the battle against this devastating disease."

About Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder that results in loss of memory and cognitive function. Today there is no cure or effective treatment option for patients afflicted by Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, approximately 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, including nearly half of people aged 85 and older. The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is expected to increase rapidly as a result of the country's aging population.

About StemCells, Inc.

StemCells, Inc. is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics and tools for use in stem cell-based research and drug discovery. The Company's lead therapeutic product candidate, HuCNS-SC(R) cells (purified human neural stem cells), is currently in development as a potential treatment for a broad range of central nervous system disorders. In a Phase I clinical trial in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a fatal myelination disorder in children, the Company has shown preliminary evidence of progressive and durable donor-derived myelination in all four patients transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells. The Company is also conducting a Phase I/II clinical trial in chronic spinal cord injury in Switzerland and recently reported positive interim safety data for the first patient cohort. The Company has also initiated a Phase I/II clinical trial in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and is pursuing preclinical studies in Alzheimer's disease. StemCells also markets stem cell research products, including media and reagents, under the SC Proven(R) brand. Further information about StemCells is available at http://www.stemcellsinc.com.

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StemCells, Inc. Announces Its Human Neural Stem Cells Restore Memory in Models of Alzheimer's Disease

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