Category Archives: Stem Cells

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Sanford Health is launching a first-of-its-kind study that uses umbilical stem cells to treat people sick with COVID-19.

The Sioux Falls-based health system has enrolled five patients at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls in the trial, which uses umbilical cord lining stem cells to treat patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 both before and every they've been placed on a ventilator, it announced Tuesday, Sept. 8. It may expand the study to patients in Fargo.

We are optimistic about the potential improvement with this treatment, Dr. W. Chad Spanos, principal investigator of the clinical trial at Sanford Health, said in a news release. We look forward to enrolling more patients onto this trial and bringing promising new treatment options to our patients bedside in the future.

The randomized, placebo-controlled and blinded phase 1/2a study will look at whether infusing patients with the stem cells could be a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. The trial also aims to identify the population that will benefit most optimally by enrolling patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.

Sanford Health is the largest rural nonprofit health care system in the nation with clinics across the Upper Midwest and major medical centers in Sioux Falls, Fargo and Bemidji, Minn.

Were committed to bringing the best treatments and discoveries to our patients first, David A. Pearce, president of innovation and research at Sanford Health, said in a news release. We are thrilled to be the first health system in the country to open this trial and offer access to a novel treatment option to our patients with severe cases of COVID-19.

The study will use cells provided by RESTEM, a biotechnology firm which uses a proprietary process to rapidly replicate millions of doses from umbilical cord tissue.

Its a pleasure to work with Sanford Health and their team of professionals, said Dr. Rafael Gonzalez, senior vice president of research & development for RESTEM. We have spent many years researching the properties of (umbilical cord lining stem cells) in order to assure we are delivering the best quality cells that may provide a robust response. We look forward to the results of the study.

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Sanford Health launches first-of-its-kind study of umbilical stem cells as COVID-19 treatment - The Daily Republic

Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood research report provides deep insights into the Global Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood market revenue, parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness per market segment. The report provides an overview of the growth rate of the Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood during the forecast period, i.e., 20202027. Most importantly, the report further identifies the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. The research segments the market on the basis of product type, application, technology, and region. To offer more clarity regarding the industry, the report takes a closer look at the current status of various factors including but not limited to supply chain management, niche markets, distribution channel, trade, supply, and demand and production capability across different countries.

The Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is impacting society and the overall economy across the world. The impact of this pandemic is growing day by day as well as affecting the supply chain. The COVID-19 crisis is creating uncertainty in the stock market, massive slowing of supply chain, falling business confidence, and increasing panic among the customer segments. The overall effect of the pandemic is impacting the production process of several industries including Biotechnology Industry, and many more. Trade barriers are further restraining the demand- supply outlook. As government of different regions have already announced total lockdown and temporarily shutdown of industries, the overall production process being adversely affected; thus, hinder the overall Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood market globally. This report on Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood market provides the analysis on impact on Covid-19 on various business segments and country markets. The report also showcase market trends and forecast to 2027, factoring the impact of Covid -19 Situation.

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Stem cells from umbilical cord blood is preserved as it has capabilities of regenerating into any type of body cells. In life threatening malignant and non-malignant diseases, hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) can help in saving the life of person. In addition, the therapy is comparatively cost effective and has limited side effects. Umbilical stem cells are used for treating cancer, blood diseases like anemia and certain immune system disorders.

The stem cell umbilical cord blood (UCB) market is anticipated to grow in the forecast period owing to increasing occurrence of chronic diseases as well as rising support of government and private sector for research and development. In addition, the growing popularity for umbilical cord storage in developing countries is expected to create opportunities for market growth during the forecast period

Key players:

Detailed segmentation of the market, on the basis of Storagr Option, Disease, End User, Geography and a descriptive structure of trends of the segments and sub-segments are elaborated in the report. It also provides the market size and estimates a forecast from the year 2018 to 2027 with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South & Central America. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the Stem Cell Umbilical Cord Blood market.

Key Reasons:

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STEM CELL UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD MARKET TRENDS, GROWTH, REGIONAL ANALYSIS, GROWTH REVENUE WITH TOP COMPANY'S AND FORECAST TO 2027 The Daily Chronicle -...

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Curi Bio, a leading developer of human stem cell-based platforms for drug discovery, today announced the Mantarray platform for human-relevant 3D engineered muscle tissue (EMT) analysis. Curis Mantarray platform enables the discovery, safety, and efficacy testing of new therapeutics by providing parallel analysis of 3D EMTs with adult human-like functional profiles. By providing drug developers human-relevant tissue-specific biosystems in the preclinical stage of drug development, Curi aims to help pharmaceutical partners develop safer and more effective therapeutics in less time, at lower cost. Curi Bio is currently partnering with several leading pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of the Mantarray platform and to apply it to drug discovery and development projects.

Cardiovascular diseases often involve a gradual loss of cardiac contractile strength and function, ultimately leading to heart failure. Cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CMs) offer a promising route to model the contractile deficiencies seen in the hearts of patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, 2D cell models lack the physiologically relevant structure and function of 3D models. As a result, 3D engineered muscle tissues have been growing in use in the drug development industry. Yet existing 3D EMT solutions are complex and low throughput, often relying on laborious serial optical imaging of each tissue to measure contractility.

Curi will make the Mantarray platform available to pharmaceutical and research customers as a standalone bioscience instrument together with multiwell consumable plates for casting and assaying EMTs. Curi will also offer service contracts and partnerships leveraging the Mantarray technology for applications in drug discovery, disease modeling, and safety and efficacy screening. Curis Mantarray platform leverages a proprietary, label-free, non-optical, electromagnetic measurement system for direct contractility assessment of up to 24 parallel iPSC-derived 3D engineered muscle tissues simultaneously. With the Mantarray platform, scientists can achieve clinically relevant functional measurements of human iPSC-derived engineered muscle tissue contractility, with a throughput and reproducibility compatible with higher-throughput screening workflows. Mantarray brings clinically relevant functional data into the earliest stages of preclinical testing of new medicines.

Leveraging human iPSC-derived cells, Mantarray 3D tissues can be used to create high-fidelity models of human diseases. For example, Mantarray 3D EMTs can be gene-edited with a CRISPR/Cas9 system to model human diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and various cardiomyopathies. Multi-modal Mantarray data show enhanced disease stratification providing researchers with more physiological data for the discovery and validation of new therapeutics.

The Mantarray platform also provides a breakthrough cardiotoxicity safety and efficacy testing platform with novel magnetic detection of drug-induced contractile changes. The magnetic detection approach can measure both acute and chronic drug responses. Drugs can be measured on the order of seconds to minutes with enough sensitivity to measure dose-response-like behavior. Alternatively, longer-term chronic experiments can be performed over the course of days. Applications include acute and chronic structural cardiotoxicity evaluation.

At Curi Bio, our goal is to provide researchers with innovative human-relevant cells, systems, and data to accelerate the discovery of new medicines, said Curi CEO Michael Cho. By providing drug developers unprecedented access to clinically-relevant preclinical models that more closely recapitulate human cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue, Curi is closing the gap between preclinical results and clinical impact.

Dr. Nicholas Geisse, Chief Science Officer of Curi Bio, will present Curis Mantarray platform and Curis recently announced ComboMat platform in a presentation at the Discovery on Target 2020 Virtual Conference.

Event: Discovery on Target 2020Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020Time: 11:15 AM EDTSession: Disease ModelingTitle: Structural Maturation in the Development of hiPSC-Cardiomyocyte Models for Preclinical Safety, Efficacy, and Discovery

Curis Mantarray platform integrates proprietary methods and IP exclusively licensed to Curi Bio by the University of Washington.

To learn more about how the Mantarray platform can improve the predictive power of 3D EMTs, or about Curis other human-relevant preclinical platform technologies and services, please reach out at http://www.curibio.com/contact.

About Curi Bio

Curi Bios preclinical discovery platform combines human stem cells, systems, and data to accelerate the discovery of new medicines. The Curi Engine is a seamless, bioengineered platform that integrates human iPSC-derived cell models, tissue-specific biosystems, and AI/ML-enabled phenotypic screening data. Curis suite of human stem cell-based products and services enable scientists to build more mature and predictive human iPSC-derived tissueswith a focus on cardiac, musculoskeletal, and neuromuscular modelsfor the discovery, safety testing, and efficacy testing of new drugs in development. By offering drug developers an integrated preclinical platform comprising highly predictive human stem cell models to generate clinically-relevant data, Curi is closing the gap between preclinical data and human results, accelerating the discovery and development of safer, more effective medicines.

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Curi Bio Announces Mantarray Platform for Analysis of 3D Engineered Muscle Tissues for Discovery of New Therapeutics - Business Wire

For Chiara DeBiase, seeing the effects of the work carried out by blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan for whom she is director of patient services is what drives her. Its hugely important to Chiara that people are inspired to take the blood cancer charity to heart, fundraise for it and support it. For that, she holds the charitys founder Shirley Nolan in the highest regard. It always comes back to Shirley Nolan, she says. Shes the person that inspired and still inspires so many of our supporters, connecting everyone with her attitude of Ill do anything to save my childs life.

She turned her life upside down for Anthony, and although we didnt find a stem cell donor in time for him, she continued on her quest for everyone else in a similar situation. Everything I do comes back to that Shirley and Anthony Nolan and the desperation of her search, the tragedy of her bereavement and that she kept going for others. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Chiaras first post with Anthony Nolan was as head of patient experience over seven years ago, which was an entirely new role. Im a clinician and have worked in transplant services, and I was very excited at the way this post was dedicated to patients and their families, she says. Up until then everything was focused on getting the cells to the patients but what happened after the transplant didnt have the same dedicated focus, so I saw the role as essentially closing the circle when it came to the care Anthony Nolan provided, 40 years after it all began.

It always comes back to Shirley. Shes the person that inspired and still inspires so many of our supporters

Everything Chiaras team has done has been driven by the patients voice and the vision of ensuring every transplant patient has access to Anthony Nolan specialist care, which is funded by supporters. One of my proudest moments was when we managed to raise the funds to appoint the first three clinical nurse specialist [CNS] posts, she says. I knew the value that would bring to patients care. We now have a team of 12 CNSs and three clinical psychologists working in 12 of the 33 hospitals in the UK providing stem cell transplants. We hope that over the next three to four years we will have enough funding to have at least one Anthony Nolan post in each hospital.

That dedicated care and support given to patients post-transplant is what Chiara and her team constantly focus on, aiming to continually increase staff capacity and improve patient care. The hardest days are when Im made sharply aware that we need to do more, she says. Sometimes patients have a successful transplant and then die because of side effects like graft-versus-host disease [where the donated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells see the recipient's body as foreign, and the donated cells/bone marrow attack the body] and that is heart-breaking.

You think: really? After all this? Their bravery and determination You could cry.

The best moments are equally emotional, though obviously at the other end of the scale. I took a team to the British Transplant Games in 2015 and Ill never forget watching the parents of a four-year-old girl whod had a successful transplant and was taking part in the 60 metre dash, she says. The expression on their faces as she pounded towards them will stay with me forever as will a man weeping with happiness as he watched his little boy play tennis.

What Anthony Nolan does for families is what makes me love my job and makes me even more determined to provide the same for others.

Chiara feels a great responsibility not just to the patients but to the financial supporters of Anthony Nolan who make the work possible. In terms of recovery, we have two main aims, she says. Funding clinical trials, which are key to success, and also to provide equity of access to dedicated care. These supporters make that work possible and in turn save so many lives, so its hardly surprising that Im always saying: is this a good use of our money? Would Shirley approve? I think she would.

This article is an advertisement feature for Anthony Nolan.

Every day, Anthony Nolan matches incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells or bone marrow to people with blood cancer and blood disorders who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

You can help save more lives.Every financial donation helps give more people with blood cancer a second chance of life. Without your support, there is no cure.

Visit anthonynolan.org/savelives and help save lives today.

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What it's like to be director of patient services for Anthony Nolan - Telegraph.co.uk

Differences in biological sex can dictate lifelong disease patterns, says a new study by Michigan State University researchers that links connections between specific hormones present before and after birth with immune response and lifelong immunological disease development.

Published in the most recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study answers questions about why females are at increased risk for common diseases that involve or target the immune system like asthma, allergies, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome. The findings by Adam Moeser, Emily Mackey and Cynthia Jordan also open the door for new therapies and preventatives.

This research shows that its our perinatal hormones, not our adult sex hormones, that have a greater influence on our risk of developing mast cell-associated disorders throughout the lifespan, says Moeser, Matilda R. Wilson Endowed Chair, professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and the studys principle investigator. A better understanding of how perinatal sex hormones shape lifelong mast cell activity could lead to sex-specific preventatives and therapies for mast cell-associated diseases."

Mast cells are white blood cells that play beneficial roles in the body. They orchestrate the first line of defense against infections and toxin exposure and play an important role in wound healing, according to the study, Perinatal Androgens Organize Sex Differences in Mast Cells and Attenuate Anaphylaxis Severity into Adulthood.

However, when mast cells become overreactive, they can initiate chronic inflammatory diseases and, in certain cases, death. Moesersprior research linked psychological stress to a specific mast cell receptor and overreactive immune responses.

Moeser also previously discovered sex differences in mast cells.Female mast cells store and release more inflammatory substanceslike proteases, histamine and serotonin, compared with males. Thus, female mast cells are more likely than male mast cells to kick-start aggressive immune responses. While this may offer females the upper hand in surviving infections, it also can put females at higher risk for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

IBS is an example of this, says Mackey, whose doctoral research is part of this new publication.

While approximately 25% of the U.S. population is affected by IBS,women are up to four times more likelyto develop this disease than men.

Moeser, Mackey and Jordans latest research explains why these sex-biased disease patterns are observed in both adults and prepubertal children. They found that lower levels of serum histamine and less-severe anaphylactic responses occur in males because of their naturally higher levels of perinatal androgens, which are specific sex hormones present shortly before and after birth.

Mast cells are created from stem cells in our bone marrow, Moeser said. High levels of perinatal androgens program the mast cell stem cells to house and release lower levels of inflammatory substances, resulting in a significantly reduced severity of anaphylactic responses in male newborns and adults.

We then confirmed that the androgens played a role by studying males who lack functional androgen receptors, says Jordan, professor of Neuroscience and an expert in thebiology of sex differences.

While high perinatal androgen levels are specific to males, the researchers found that while in utero, females exposed to male levels of perinatal androgens develop mast cells that behave more like those of males.

For these females, exposure to the perinatal androgens reduced their histamine levels and they also exhibited less-severe anaphylactic responses as adults, says Mackey, who is currently a veterinary medical student at North Carolina State University.

In addition to paving the way for improved and potentially novel therapies for sex-biased immunological and other diseases, future research based will help researchers understand how physiological and environmental factors that occur early in life can shape lifetime disease risk, particularly mast cell-mediated disease patterns.

While biological sex and adult sex hormones are known to have a major influence on immunological diseases between the sexes, were learning that the hormones that we are exposed to in utero may play a larger role in determining sex differences in mast cell-associated disease risk, both as adults and as children, Moeser said.

Reference: Mackey E, Thelen KM, Bali V, et al. Perinatal androgens organize sex differences in mast cells and attenuate anaphylaxis severity into adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. Published online September 11, 2020:201915075. doi:10.1073/pnas.1915075117.

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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How the Hormones You're Born With Influence Disease Risk - Technology Networks

DUBLIN, Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPS Cell) Industry Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Since the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) a large and thriving research product market has grown into existence, largely because the cells are non-controversial and can be generated directly from adult cells. It is clear that iPSCs represent a lucrative market segment because methods for commercializing this cell type are expanding every year and clinical studies investigating iPSCs are swelling in number.

Therapeutic applications of iPSCs have surged in recent years. 2013 was a landmark year in Japan because it saw the first cellular therapy involving the transplant of iPSCs into humans initiated at the RIKEN Center in Kobe, Japan. Led by Masayo Takahashi of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB), it investigated the safety of iPSC-derived cell sheets in patients with macular degeneration. In another world-first, Cynata Therapeutics received approval in 2016 to launch the world's first formal clinical trial of an allogeneic iPSC-derived cell product (CYP-001) for the treatment of GvHD. Riding the momentum within the CAR-T field, Fate Therapeutics is developing FT819, its off-the-shelf iPSC-derived CAR-T cell product candidate. Numerous physician-led studies using iPSCs are also underway in Japan, a leading country for basic and applied iPSC applications.

iPS Cell Commercialization

Methods of commercializing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are diverse and continue to expand. iPSC cell applications include, but are not limited to:

Since the discovery of iPSC technology in 2006, significant progress has been made in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. New pathological mechanisms have been identified and explained, new drugs identified by iPSC screens are in the pipeline, and the first clinical trials employing human iPSC-derived cell types have been initiated. The main objectives of this report are to describe the current status of iPSC research, patents, funding events, industry partnerships, biomedical applications, technologies, and clinical trials for the development of iPSC-based therapeutics.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Report Overview

2. Introduction

3. History of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCS)

4. Research Publications on IPSCS

5. IPSCS: Patent Landscape

6. Clinical Trials Involving IPSCS

7. Funding for IPSC

8. Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: An Overview

9. Human IPSC Banking

10. Biomedical Applications of IPSCS

11. Other Novel Applications of IPSCS

12. Deals in the IPSCS Sector

13. Market Overview

14. Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kpc95y

About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Opportunities in the Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPS Cell) Industry - PRNewswire

Some skin, eggs and tissue samples are all that remain of Malaysia's last rhino, Iman, who died last November after years of failed breeding attempts.

Now scientists are pinning their hopes on experimental stem cell technology to bring back the Malaysian variant of the Sumatran rhinoceros, making use of cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos.

"I'm very confident," molecular biologist Muhammad Lokman Md Isa told Reuters in his laboratory at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

"If everything is functioning, works well and everybody supports us, it's not impossible."

The smallest among the world's rhinos, the Sumatran species was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015. Once it had roamed across Asia, but hunting and forest clearance reduced its numbers to just 80 in neighboringIndonesia.

Iman, 25, died in a nature reserve on Borneo island, following massive blood loss caused by uterine tumors, within six months of the death of Malaysia's last male rhino, Tam.

Efforts to get the two to breed had not worked.

"He was the equivalent of a 70-year-old man, so of course you don't expect the sperm to be all that good," said John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), who has campaigned for about four decades to save Malaysia's rhinos.

"It was obvious that, to increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos inIndonesia. But right till today,Indonesiais still not keen on this."

Across the border

Indonesia's environment ministry disputed accusations of cross-border rivalry as a reason why Malaysia's rhinos died out, saying talks continue on ways to work with conservationists in the neighboring southeast Asian nation.

"Because this is part of diplomatic relations, the implementation must be in accordance with the regulation of each country," said Indra Exploitasia, the ministry's director for biodiversity conservation.

The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to produce sperm and eggs that will yield test-tube babies to be implanted into a living animal or a closely related species, such as the horse.

The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, which number just two. Researchers in that effort reported some success in 2018 in producing embryonic stem cells for the southern white rhino.

But the process is still far from producing a whole new animal, say Thomas Hildebrandt and Cesare Galli, the scientists leading the research.

And even if it worked, the animals' lack of genetic diversity could pose a threat to long-term survival, Galli told Reuters.

Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia, hoping success will provide lessons to help his country's rhinos.

"It may take five, 10, 20 years, I don't know," Arief added. "But there has already been some success involving lab rats in Japan, so that means there is a chance."

Japanese researchers have grown teeth and organs such as pancreas and kidneys using embryonic stem cells from rats and mice in efforts to grow replacement human organs.

For now, however, Iman's hide will be stuffed and put on display alongside Tam in a Borneo museum.

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Back from the dead? Stem cells give hope for revival of Malaysia's extinct rhinos - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

The last Sumatran rhinoceros individual of Malaysia Iman, photographed at her sanctuary on the island of Borneo in October 2019.KAISA SIREN / LEHTIKUVA

Some skin, eggs and tissue samples are all that remain of Malaysias last rhino, Iman, who died last November after years of failed breeding attempts.

Now scientists are pinning their hopes on experimental stem cell technology to bring back the Malaysian variant of the Sumatran rhinoceros, making use of cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos.

Im very confident, molecular biologist Muhammad Lokman Md Isa told Reuters in his laboratory at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

If everything is functioning, works well and everybody supports us, its not impossible.

The smallest among the worlds rhinos, the Sumatran species was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015. Once it had roamed across Asia, but hunting and forest clearance reduced its numbers to just 80 in neighboring Indonesia.

Iman, 25, died in a nature reserve on Borneo island, following massive blood loss caused by uterine tumors, within six months of the death of Malaysias last male rhino, Tam.

Efforts to get the two to breed had not worked.

He was the equivalent of a 70-year-old man, so of course you dont expect the sperm to be all that good, said John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), who has campaigned for about four decades to save Malaysias rhinos.

It was obvious that, to increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos in Indonesia. But right till today, Indonesia is still not keen on this.

ACROSS THE BORDER

Indonesias environment ministry disputed accusations of cross-border rivalry as a reason why Malaysias rhinos died out, saying talks continue on ways to work with conservationists in the neighboring southeast Asian nation.

Because this is part of diplomatic relations, the implementation must be in accordance with the regulation of each country, said Indra Exploitasia, the ministrys director for biodiversity conservation.

The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to produce sperm and eggs that will yield test-tube babies to be implanted into a living animal or a closely related species, such as the horse.

The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, which number just two. Researchers in that effort reported some success in 2018 in producing embyronic stem cells for the southern white rhino.

But the process is still far from producing a whole new animal, say Thomas Hildebrandt and Cesare Galli, the scientists leading the research.

And even if it worked, the animals lack of genetic diversity could pose a threat to long-term survival, Galli told Reuters.

Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia, hoping success will provide lessons to help his countrys rhinos.

It may take five, 10, 20 years, I dont know, Arief added. But there has already been some success involving lab rats in Japan, so that means there is a chance.

Japanese researchers have grown teeth and organs such as pancreas and kidneys using embryonic stem cells from rats and mice in efforts to grow replacement human organs.

For now, however, Imans hide will be stuffed and put on display alongside Tam in a Borneo museum.

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Scientists hope to bring Malaysian rhinoceros back from extinction with stem cell technology - The Province

HOUSTON, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FibroGenesis, a clinical stage company developing fibroblast based therapeutic solutions for unmet medical needs, announced today new data supporting utilization of its PneumoBlast product in treatment of COVID-19. Laboratory experiments comprised of admixing PneumoBlast with activated monocyte or endothelial cells demonstrated significant inhibition of tissue factor expression. Tissue factor is the key molecule inducing blood clotting in COVID-19 patients. Monocytes are cells which normally protect the body against pathogens. In the case of COVID-19, monocytes enter the lungs and cause coagulation. Endothelial cells are cells which make up the inside of the blood vessel and regulate substance flow between the bloodstream and surrounding tissues.

It was observed that treatment of activated monocytes with PneumoBlast resulted in a 77% reduction of tissue factor expression as compared to untreated monocytes (p< 0.001). Mixture of mesenchymal stem cells with activated monocytes resulted in a 13% inhibition of tissue factor expression (p= 0.01). Furthermore, in activated endothelial cells, PneumoBlast decreased expression of tissue factor by 80% (p< 0.001), whereas mesenchymal stem cells resulted in a 30% (p= 0.01) reduction.

It is believed that a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 occurs because of unrestrained blood clotting. Studies have shown the high propensity for clotting in COVID-19 patients is associated with inflammation. The Company previously demonstrated PneumoBlast reduces proteins necessary for inflammation, such as TNF-alpha. The current study shows PneumoBlast can also work downstream of inflammation and directly suppress the clotting cascade.

This data is truly stunning, said Tom Ichim, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of FibroGenesis. Currently one of the major obstacles to successful treatment of COVID-19 is the unusually high level of unregulated coagulation, which in many cases is not resolved by standard anticoagulants. The ability of PneumoBlast cells to reduce blood clotting potential in both monocytic and endothelial cells speaks volumes about the multifactorial mechanisms by which we believe our product will work on COVID-19.

We are thankful for our team of clinical collaborators and scientists who are exploring and identifying novel mechanisms by which PneumoBlast appears to be effective against COVID-19, commented Pete OHeeron, President and CEO of FibroGenesis. We are the first cell therapy company to address the issue of coagulation in COVID-19. We see this, as another indication of the superiority of fibroblasts compared to stem cells.

About FibroGenesis

Based in Houston, Texas, FibroGenesis, is a regenerative medicine company developing an innovative solution for chronic disease treatment using human dermal fibroblasts. Currently, FibroGenesis holds 235+ U.S. and international issued patents/patents pending across a variety of clinical pathways, including Disc Degeneration, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Cancer, Diabetes, Liver Failure, Colitis and Heart Failure. Funded entirely by angel investors, FibroGenesis represents the next generation of medical advancement in cell therapy.

Visit http://www.Fibro-Genesis.com.

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FibroGenesis Reports Breakthrough in Prevention of COVID-19 Blood Clotting - GlobeNewswire

This article was originally published here

Front Med. 2020 Aug 6. doi: 10.1007/s11684-020-0810-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 was identified in December 2019. The symptoms include fever, cough, dyspnea, early symptom of sputum, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is the immediate treatment used for patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Herein, we describe two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan to explore the role of MSC in the treatment of COVID-19. MSC transplantation increases the immune indicators (including CD4 and lymphocytes) and decreases the inflammation indicators (interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein). High-flow nasal cannula can be used as an initial support strategy for patients with ARDS. With MSC transplantation, the fraction of inspired O2 (FiO2) of the two patients gradually decreased while the oxygen saturation (SaO2) and partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) improved. Additionally, the patients chest computed tomography showed that bilateral lung exudate lesions were adsorbed after MSC infusion. Results indicated that MSC transplantation provides clinical data on the treatment of COVID-19 and may serve as an alternative method for treating COVID-19, particularly in patients with ARDS.

PMID:32761491 | DOI:10.1007/s11684-020-0810-9

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Clinical study using mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 - DocWire News