Category Archives: Stem Cells

Baby Luca Stem Cells
Cells under 800x magnification filmed in time lapse.

By: Daniel Gennuso

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Baby Luca Stem Cells - Video

Tabadol Talk: Start-ups, stem cells STEM education
A discussion with Dr. Rana Dajani Dr. Shima Barakat http://www.facebook.com/cambridge.tabadol http://www.camtabadol.org.

By: Tabadol Cambridge

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Tabadol Talk: Start-ups, stem cells & STEM education - Video

11 hours ago Phenformin-loaded nanoparticles kill both cancer cells and cancer stem cells, leading to tumor regression. Credit: A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

Cancer stem cells are resistant to chemotherapy and consequently tend to remain in the body even after a course of treatment has finished, where they can often trigger cancer recurrence or metastasis. A new study by researchers from the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has found that using nanoparticles to deliver an anti-cancer drug that simultaneously kills cancer cells and cancer stem cells significantly reduces the recurrence and metastasis of lung cancer.

The drug phenformin is very effective against cancer stem cells. It is related to the popular anti-diabetic drug metformin but is 50 times more potent against cancer cell lines. However, phenformin is too toxic in its free form to be administered to patients at the doses required to kill both normal cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Now, Yi Yan Yang and her colleagues at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have found a way to overcome this problemusing self-assembling polymer nanoparticles to deliver the drug.

In the first study to use polymer nanoparticles to deliver phenformin to target both cancer cells and cancer stem cells, Yang and co-workers found that phenformin-loaded nanoparticles targeted both kinds of cancer cells in a mouse model of human lung cancer.

The nanoparticles released the drug in a sustained manner due to their hydrophilic shells, which "prevent enzymatic degradation of the cargo and protein adsorption onto the nanoparticles," explains Yang. "This also prolongs blood circulation so that the cargo-loaded nanoparticles have enough time to accumulate in tumor tissues."

This delivery method enabled Yang and her team to arrest the growth of cancer and cancer stem cells when the nanoparticles were delivered to implanted human lung cancer in mice.

"The results showed that the phenformin-loaded nanoparticles were more effective than free phenformin in inhibiting the growth of both cancer stem cells and normal cancer cells," Yang says. Moreover, the nanoparticles did not induce the liver toxicity observed in systemically administered phenformin.

The method can also be extended to other drugs. The team has used the nanoparticle-based delivery system in a mouse model of human breast cancer to deliver the anti-cancer drug, doxorubicinanother drug that is toxic at certain doses but is capable of killing cancer stem cells. "The combination shrank tumors by more than 40 per cent and was more effective than treatment with either drug alone," says Yang.

The team is now seeking to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to bring this technology to human clinical trials.

Explore further: Promising use of nanodiamonds to kill chemoresistant cancer stem cells more effectively

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Nano packages for anti-cancer drug delivery

A Saudi scholarship student has recently launched a humanitarian initiative in Halifax, Canada, for donation of stem cells to minority groups, sabq.com online paper has reported. Dr. Mohammad Al-Mohammadi, who was sent by the National Guard to Canada to conduct advanced studies in blood diseases and the implantation of stem cells, said that many of those who are infected with blood diseases may need stem cell implants, but find this difficult as they do not belong to European origins and therefore may not find donors that match their needs. The Saudi researcher attributed this problem to the poor representation of this minority category of people (non-Europeans) at the national registry of donors in Canada, as well as internationally. He said that most of donor registries were concentrated in developed countries where non-European minorities live and work and, accordingly, their representation in the organ donor registries becomes less frequent. Based on the above, Al-Mohammadi launched his campaign by forming a team from a group of scholarship students of various medical, engineering and administrative areas. The team intends to provide a good image of Islamic and Saudi culture, and want to stress the importance of stem cell donation and correct a lot of misconceptions in this regard. Al-Mohammadi also established web pages and forums that focus on the issue under the supervision of the Canadian organizations concerned with the registration of donors. The campaign reportedly drew a high turnout from the Canadian community, including both Muslims and non-Muslim of different ethnicities. Nagwa Mousa, a medical expert, said this initiative comes as proof of the creativity and intelligence of islamic thinking, hoping that one day the initiative will be applied all across the Arab world.

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Saudi student takes initiative for stem cells donation in Canada

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She loves art, she takes piano lessons and she was diagnosed with cancer at just two. A stranger saved her life.

Sabrina Chahir was waiting to meet the man who helped send her cancer into remission.

The 8-year-old girl from the United States, who likes art and takes piano lessons, knew he had flown across an ocean to see her, nearly four years after he donated his stem cells to help rid her blood of cancer that could have taken her life.

Recently Sabrina and Maximilian Eule, 30, had their first face-to-face meeting at a celebration in suburban Schaumburg, Illinois with Sabrina's friends and family.

The two had emailed and video-chatted. But Sabrina's mother, Natalia Wehr, said it was important to her to meet Eule in person.

"It's your daughter, and this person we don't know did something so wonderful," Wehr said. "You need to know who that is."

SABRINA'S STORY - DIAGNOSED AT TWO

Sabrina was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, one of the most common types of cancer in children, when she was 2. The cancer cells were in more than 80 percent of her blood.

The girl's cancer had gone into remission before, but she soon relapsed. After rounds of treatment and infections that caused Sabrina to go blind temporarily, doctors at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago told Sabrina's family she would need a stem cell transplant.

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Eight-year-old girl meets her stem cell donor

COLLEGE STATION Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife Research have developed a new technology to determine sensitivity or resistance to rabies virus.

We were able to create a novel platform such that we could look at how pathogens, such as bacteria or virus or even drugs or radiation, interact with specific human genes, said lead researcher Dr. Deeann Wallis, AgriLife Research assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics. It allows us a new way to profile the genes involved in sensitivity or resistance to certain agents.

The rabies work is being reported in the journal Stem Cells.

Our study is the first to show pre-existing libraries of mutant stem cells can be differentiated into different cell types en mass and screened to identify meaningful genes involved in a cells response to infection, Wallis said. Moreover, this technique can be used to identify human genes that are involved in any type bacterial or viral infection, or even response to drugs, toxins or radiation. This is a relatively novel way for researchers to discover gene function and assess human host response.

Understanding sensitivity or resistance to rabies is important, she said, not only because the disease still causes 55,000 deaths a year globally, but it could also potentially be weaponized and used as a biowarfare agent.

Wallis said the five-year study used murine embryonic stem cells from a library of mutant stem cells typically used to generate knockout mice.

A knockout mouse is a laboratory mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or knocked out, an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. Such cells and mice are frequently used as a model to study human genes, Wallis noted.

She explained that each stem cell clone has a different gene mutated.The researchers took a panel of a variety of different genes and were able to query each cell line separately.

For the first time ever, we were able to take thousands of different stem cell lines, each carrying a separate mutation, and differentiate them into neurons, she said. It was quite a large task to miniaturize this. We were able to show with genes that are known to be involved in rabies virus that if we mutated a gene in the mouse, we still can see differences in sensitivity and resistance to rabies virus in these cells.

Knockout mouse stem cells have only one copy of each gene, whereas a regular cell would have two copies of every gene. Therefore, other researchers thought it was not possible to see an impact of a particular gene because half of it is still there, she said.

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Stem cells help researchers peg rabies resistance

A TEENAGER'S quest to find a bone marrow match and beat his leukaemia has inspired school friends to go on to save the lives of two perfect strangers.

Jack Coen and Joe Rowbottom, both 18, were at Bradford Grammar School when fellow pupil Alex Anstess, now 16, was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2012.

After hearing a talk in school about registering on the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow register, they - and others - signed up and both of them have gone on to successfully donate stem cells.

Jack, from Ilkley, who donated in October last year after being found to be a perfect match for a patient needing a bone marrow transplant, said: I just thought if you have the opportunity to save someones life then why not? If I was in that position, Id want someone to do it for me.

"On the day, I thought about the other person receiving my stem cells and hoped I could give them more Christmases with their family. If I never make another good decision for the rest of my life, I have at least made one good and worthwhile decision by donating."

And Joe, from Yeadon, who donated his stem cells last month, said: It was so easy to spit in a tube and sign up. It was weird to think a stranger was dependent on me and yet its such a small thing to do. It was actually surprising something so simple could save someones life. Knowing Alex spurred me on to donate because I knew what the person was going through. Its great to see Alex back at school and proves the donor register does work.

Although Alex, of Cullingworth, had gone into remission after his 2012 diagnosis, the cancer returned in July last year and doctors broke the news that his life depended on a bone marrow transplant. It was The Anthony Nolan Trust that found him a perfect match and he had the procedure in September last year, helping him on the road to recovery.

His mum, Sue, said: I cannot describe the feeling of seeing that little bag of stem cells come in for Alex. We waited a long time for that moment and Ill never forget the relief we felt. Were so thankful to the donor who literally saved his life. Its absolutely brilliant that Jack and Joe have gone on to donate and help another family like ours."

Bradford Grammar headteacher Kevin Riley said: The school motto is Hoc Age which we usually translate as Just do it. What a wonderful example Jack and Joe are of that determination to help others. Im proud of them and the other students who have responded to the appeal.

If you are aged 16-30 and in good health you too can sign up to the Anthony Nolan register at anthonynolan.org. To find out more about the Register & Be a Lifesaver programme, email registerandbe@AnthonyNolan.org or call 0207 284 8213.

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Teenager's quest to beat leukaemia inspires school friends to donate stem cells to help people in need

Associate Professor Helen Abud at Monash University. Photo: Chris Hopkins

A gene that evolved with the first multicellular animals 600 million years ago has been found to control the survival of stem cells in the human bowel. This opens a pathway to regenerating the lining of the bowel in people with bowel disease, and in those who are undergoing chemotherapy.

The gene may also predict the rate of spread of colorectal cancer.

These are some of the findings by a group of Melbourne researchers published this month in the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organisation journal.

Lead authors Associate Professor Helen Abud, from the Monash School of Biomedical Sciences, and Associate Professor Gary Hime, a University of Melbourne stem cell geneticist, made their discovery by studying the specialised tissue which forms the inner lining of the digestive tract that absorbs nutrients, and where bowel cancer starts.

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The tissue was examined using a unique culture system that can be used to study the role of the protein in healthy and cancerous tissue as well as in chemotherapy and radiation-resistant tumours.

Professor Abud says the lining of the bowel is a particularly volatile part of the body, dying off and being renewed every week.

"It's a protection mechanism, because the bowel is such a harsh environment," Professor Abud said. "It relies on a store of stem cells making new cells as the old cells are being lost."

When this balance is disrupted, mutations can arise which lead to a rapid production of cancer cells. Or, conversely, an infection can cause the stem cells to die off and the lining isn't replaced, causing painful inflammation and ulcers.

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Ancient gene a possible key to curing bowel disease

The author has posted comments on this articleIANS | Mar 12, 2015, 12.10PM IST

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University have successfully engineered custom blood cells after correcting a genetic error in stem cells from patients with sickle cell disease.

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"It may be possible in the not-too-distant future to provide patients with sickle cell disease with an exciting new treatment option," said Linzhao Cheng, member of the institute for cell engineering at the Johns Hopkins.

This method of generating custom blood cells may also be applicable for other blood disorders.

The problem is that over time, patients' bodies often begin to mount an immune response against the foreign blood.

"Their bodies quickly kill off the blood cells so they have to get transfusions more and more frequently," Cheng added.

To solve that problem, the researchers started with patients' blood cells and reprogrammed them into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells which can make any other cell in the body and grow indefinitely in the laboratory.

They then used a relatively new genetic editing technique called CRISPR to snip out the sickle cell gene variant and replace it with the healthy version of the gene.

The final step was to coax the stem cells to grow into mature blood cells.

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US researchers develop custom blood cells in lab

Durham, NC (PRWEB) March 11, 2015

Scientists report in the current issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine that they have been able to clone a line of defective stem cells behind a rare, but devastating disease called Fanconi Anemia (FA). Their achievement opens the door to drug screening and the potential for a new, safe treatment for this often fatal disease.

FA is a hereditary blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure (FA-BMF) and cancer. Patients who suffer from FA have a life expectancy of 33 years. Currently, a bone marrow transplant offers the only possibility for a cure. However, this treatment has many risks associated with it, especially for FA patients due to their extreme sensitivity to radiation and chemotherapy.

Although various consequences in hematopoietic stem cells (the cells that give rise to all the other blood cells) have been attributed to FA-BMF, its cause is still unknown, said Megumu K. Saito, M.D., Ph.D., of Kyoto Universitys Center for iPS Cell and Application, and a lead investigator on the study. His laboratory specializes in studying the kinds of pediatric diseases in which a thorough analysis using mouse models or cultured cell lines is not feasible, so they apply disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) instead.

To address the FA issue, he explained, our team (including colleagues from Tokai University School of Medicine) established iPSCs from two FA patients who have the FANCA gene mutation that is typical in FA. We were then able to obtain fetal type immature blood cells from these iPSCs.

When observing the iPSCs, the researchers found that the characteristics of immature blood cells from FA-iPSCs were different from control cells. The FA-iPSCs showed an increased DNA double-strand break rate, as well as a sharp reduction of hematopoietic stem cells compared to the control group of non-FA iPSCs.

These data indicate that the hematopoietic consequences in FA patients originate from the earliest hematopoietic stage and highlight the potential usefulness of iPSC technology for explaining how FA-BMF occurs, said Dr. Saito. Since conducting a comprehensive analysis of patient-derived affected stem cells is not feasible without iPSC technology, the technology provides an unprecedented opportunity to gain further insight into this disease.

This work shows promise for identifying the initial pathological event that causes the disease, which would be a first step in working toward a cure, said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

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The full article, Pluripotent cell models of Fanconi anemia identify the early pathological defect in human hemoangiogenic progenitors, can be accessed at http://www.stemcellstm.com.

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Stem Cell Clones Could Yield New Drug Treatment for Deadly Blood Disease