Category Archives: Stem Cells

Two Cambridge University scientists have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help develop their vision to build lung tissue in the lab. They believe the technology using stem cells could prove significant in combating lung cancer.

In a campaign supported by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), Dr Michaela Frye and Dr Ferda Oeztuerk-Winder are seeking to raise 75k on Indiegogo.

The money will cover the costs of growing and maintaining the lung tissue over the course of a year. Dr Frye said: Its no easy job, it takes researcher time and the careful construction of a bioreactor a smart piece of kit that creates the perfect conditions for growth.

The scientists have spent years studying cancer and felt it was time to tackle the biggest global cancer killer.

Dr Frye said: Lung cancer is highly aggressive and survival rates have remained stubbornly low over the past few decades. Our progress against it has not been fast enough. We want to change that.

But its no easy task; the lung is a complex organ and we struggle to see the full picture. Lung cancer is intelligent and to beat it we need to learn more about how it grows, how it develops and how it becomes resistant to treatments.

To gain a better understanding we are approaching the disease from a new angle. We recently revealed a type of cell in the lung called a stem cell. It has the ability to develop into many different types of cell found in the lung.

We want to grow these stem cells into a piece of 3D lung tissue in an instrument called a bioreactor. By using a bioreactor, we can create the perfect conditions to grow human lung tissue outside of the body. This process will give a 3D model to study what happens when lung cancer develops.

No cell acts alone. Cells communicate with each other all the time. Cells grown in 3D will give us a much clearer picture than those grown in a Petri dish. So we are aiming to shift the focus from the dish to actual lung tissue and introduce cancer cells to understand how they interact with the healthy lung cells.

By pledging towards this research backers will be supporting a groundbreaking new approach in the battle against cancer. Rewards are being offered as a token of the duos appreciation.You can pledge your support now athttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/growing-3d-lung-tissue-in-the-lab-to-beat-cancer

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Scientists seek funds to grow lung tissue in the lab

Rafael Nadal's doctor says the 14-time Grand Slam winner will receive stem cell treatment on his ailing back.

Angel Ruiz-Cotorro told The Associated Press by phone on Monday that "we are going to put cells in a joint in his spine" next week in Barcelona.

The Spanish tennis star was already sidelined for the rest of the season after having his appendix removed last week.

Ruiz-Cotorro, who has worked as a doctor for Nadal for the past 14 years, said Nadal's back pain is "typical of tennis" players and that the treatment is meant to help repair his cartilage and is similar to stem cell treatment Nadal received on his knee last year.

He said Nadal is expected to return to training in early December.

Several NFL players and baseball players have received stem cell treatment. Nadal's fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol, center of the Chicago Bulls, received stem cell treatment on his knee in 2013.

Nadal experienced severe back pain during the final of the Australian Open in January when he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka.

"(Nadal) has a problem typical in tennis with a back joint, he had it at the Australian Open, and we have decided to treat it with stem cells," Ruiz-Cotorro said.

He said that stem cells were recently extracted from Nadal for a cultivation process to "produce the necessary quantities."

"When we have them we will put them in the point of pain," he said, with the goal of "regenerating cartilage, in the midterm, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect."

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Nadal to Receive Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain - ABC News

International Stem Cell Corp., a Carlsbad-based biotech company developing stem cell therapies and biomedical products, announced that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the companys human parthenogenetic stem cells line for investigational clinical use.

Human embryonic stem cells typically come from fertilized eggs. In 2007, however, scientists at International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) reported the first successful creation of human stem cell lines from unfertilized eggs, according to Scientific American.

They used a process called parthenogenesis, in which researchers use chemicals to induce the egg to begin developing as if it had been fertilized. The egg called a parthenote behaves just like an embryo in the early stages of division. Because it contains no genetic material from a father, however, it cannot develop into a viable fetus. Just like embryonic stem cells, parthenogenetic stem cells can be coaxed to grow into different kinds of human cells or tissue, ready to be transplanted into diseased areas of the body.

"Many stem cell lines can never be used to develop commercial therapeutic products because they don't meet the FDA's ethical and quality standards, said Ruslan Semechkin, ISCOs chief scientific officer. With this clearance from the FDA, based on the safety of our cells and quality of our manufacturing processes, the company has removed any uncertainty in the potential clinical use of human parthenogenetic stem cells.

"Not only does this increase the chance that our regulatory submission for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, which we will be submitting before the end of the year, will be approved, but it also means that our human parthenogenetic stem cells can serve as the basis for investigational clinical studies for other indications, for example stroke or traumatic brain injury."

To be approved by the FDA for use in human trials and commercial therapeutic products, stem cells must be grown under what's known as good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions. GMP standards require that each batch of cells is grown in identical, repeatable conditions, ensuring that they have the same properties, and each person receiving a stem cell therapy would be getting an equivalent treatment. According to ISCO, achieving this level of consistency is difficult and requires knowing the exact identity and quantity of every component of the media that the cells grow in and characterizing cell batches extremely precisely, as well as rigorous quality control and assurance.

ISCO (OTCQB: ISCO) will use its own GMP facilities in Oceanside to produce the cells in preparation for the first clinical trial.

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Carlsbad Biotech Gets FDA Clearance For Stem Cell Line

Nov 10, 2014 Neurons (green) are detected by TuJI whereas motoneurons are revealed in red by the visicular transporter of acetylcholine. Credit: Inserm/Martinat, Ccile

The motor neurons that innervate muscle fibres are essential for motor activity. Their degeneration in many diseases causes paralysis and often death among patients. Researchers at the Institute for Stem Cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic Diseases (I-Stem - Inserm/AFM/UEVE), in collaboration with CNRS and Paris Descartes University, have recently developed a new approach to better control the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells, and thus produce different populations of motor neurons from these cells in only 14 days. This discovery, published in Nature Biotechnology, will make it possible to expand the production process for these neurons, leading to more rapid progress in understanding diseases of the motor system, such as infantile spinal amyotrophy or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Human pluripotent stem cells have the ability to give rise to every cell in the body. To understand and control their potential for differentiation in vitro is to offer unprecedented opportunities for regenerative medicine and for advancing the study of physiopathological mechanisms and the quest for therapeutic strategies. However, the development and realisation of these clinical applications is often limited by the inability to obtain specialised cells such as motor neurons from human pluripotent stem cells in an efficient and targeted manner. This inefficiency is partly due to a poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling the differentiation of these cells.

Inserm researchers at the Institute for Stem Cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic Diseases (I-Stem - Inserm/French Muscular Dystrophy Association [AFM]/University of vry Val d'Essonne [UEVE]), in collaboration with CNRS and Paris-Descartes University, have developed an innovative approach to study the differentiation of human stem cells and thus produce many types of cells in an optimal manner.

"The targeted differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells is often a long and rather inefficient process. This is the case when obtaining motor neurons, although these are affected in many diseases. Today, we obtain these neurons with our approach in only 14 days, nearly twice as fast as before, and with a homogeneity rarely achieved," explains Ccile Martinat, an Inserm Research Fellow at I-Stem.

To achieve this result, the researchers studied the interactions between some molecules that control embryonic development. These studies have made it possible to both better understand the mechanisms governing the generation of these neurons during development, and develop an optimal "recipe" for producing them efficiently and rapidly.

"We are now able to produce and hence study different populations of neurons affected to various degrees in diseases that cause the degeneration of motor neurons. We plan to study why some neurons are affected and why others are preserved," adds Stphane Nedelec, an Inserm researcher in Ccile Martinat's team.

In the medium term, the approach should contribute to the development of treatments for paralytic diseases such as infantile spinal muscular amyotrophy or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. "Rapid access to large quantities of neurons will be useful for testing a significant number of pharmacological drugs in order to identify those capable of preventing the death of motor neurons," concludes Ccile Martinat.

Explore further: Team finds a better way to grow motor neurons from stem cells

More information: Combinatorial analysis of developmental cues efficiently converts human pluripotent stem cells into multiple neuronal subtypes, Nature Biotechnology, 17 Nov 2014. DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3049

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Production of human motor neurons from stem cells gaining speed

Swab Squad | Stem Cell Transplantation: It Takes Two
70% of blood cancer patients in need of a life-saving stem cell transplant never find the donor they need. Learn about how easy it can be to join Be The Match and donate stem cells to a blood...

By: OKC GOOD

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Swab Squad | Stem Cell Transplantation: It Takes Two - Video

A team led by New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute scientists conducted a study comparing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and embryonic stem cells created using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The scientists found that the cells derived from these two methods resulted in cells with highly similar gene expression and DNA methylation patterns. Both methods also resulted in stem cells with similar amounts of DNA mutations, showing that the process of turning an adult cell into a stem cell introduces mutations independent of the specific method used. This suggests that both methods of producing stem cells need to be further investigated before determining their suitability for the development of new therapies for chronic diseases.

The NYSCF Research Institute is one of the only laboratories in the world that currently pursues all forms of stem cell research including SCNT and iPS cell techniques for creating stem cells. The lack of laboratories attempting SCNT research was one of the reasons that the NYSCF Research Institute was established in 2006.

"We do not yet know which technique will allow scientists to create the best cells for new cellular therapies," said Susan L. Solomon, NYSCF CEO and co-founder. "It is critical to pursue both SCNT and iPS cell techniques in order to accelerate research and bring new treatments to patients."

While both techniques result in pluripotent stem cells, or cells that can become any type of cell in the body, the two processes are different. SCNT consists of replacing the nucleus of a human egg cell or oocyte with the nucleus of an adult cell, resulting in human embryonic stem cells with the genetic material of the adult cell. In contrast, scientists create iPS cells by expressing a few key genes in adult cells, like a skin or blood cell, causing the cells to revert to an embryonic-like state. These differences in methods could, in principle, result in cells with different properties. Advances made earlier this year by NYSCF Research Institute scientists that showed that human embryonic stem cells could be derived using SCNT revived that debate.

"Our work shows that we now have two methods for the generation of a patient's personal stem cells, both with great potential for the development of treatments of chronic diseases. Our work will also be welcome news for the many scientists performing basic research on iPS cells. It shows that they are likely working with cells that are very similar to human embryonic stem cells, at least with regard to gene expression and DNA methylation. How the finding of mutations might affect clinical use of stem cells generated from adult cells is the subject of an ongoing debate," said Dr. Dieter Egli, NYSCF Senior Research Fellow, NYSCF -- Robertson Investigator, Assistant Professor in Pediatrics & Molecular Genetics at Columbia University, and senior author on the paper.

The study, published today in Cell Stem Cell, compared cell lines derived from the same sources using the two differing techniques, specifically contrasting the frequency of genetic coding mutations seen and measuring how closely the stem cells matched the embryonic state through the analysis of DNA methylation and of gene expression patterns. The scientists showed that both methods resulted in cell types that were similar with regard to gene expression and DNA methylation patterns. This suggested that both methods were effective in turning a differentiated cell into a stem cell.

The scientists also showed that cells derived using both SCNT and iPS techniques showed similar numbers of genetic coding mutations, implying that neither technique is superior in that regard. A similar number of changes in DNA methylation at imprinted genes (genes that are methylated differentially at the maternal versus the paternal allele) were also found. It is important to note that both types of techniques led to cells that had more of these aberrations than embryonic stem cells derived from an unfertilized human oocyte, or than embryonic stem cells derived from leftover IVF embryos. These findings suggest that a small number of defects are inherent to the generation of stem cells from adult differentiated cells and occur regardless of the method used.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by New York Stem Cell Foundation. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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SCNT derived cells, IPS cells are similar, study finds

(Ivanhoe Newswire) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In 1990 the Human Genome Project started. It was a massive scientific undertaking that aimed to identify and map out the body's complete set of DNA. This research has paved the way for new genetic discoveries; one of those has allowed scientists to study how to fix bad chromosomes.

Our bodies contain 23 pairs of them, 46 total. But if chromosomes are damaged, they can cause birth defects, disabilities, growth problems, even death.

Case Western scientist Anthony Wynshaw-Boris is studying how to repair damaged chromosomes with the help of a recent discovery. He's taking skin cells and reprogramming them to work like embryonic stem cells, which can grow into different cell types.

You're taking adult or a child's skin cells. You're not causing any loss of an embryo, and you're taking those skin cells to make a stem cell. Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, M.D., PhD, of Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine told Ivanhoe.

Scientists studied patients with a specific defective chromosome that was shaped like a ring. They took the patients' skin cells and reprogrammed them into embryonic-like cells in the lab. They found this process caused the damaged ring chromosomes to be replaced by normal chromosomes.

It at least raises the possibility that ring chromosomes will be lost in stem cells, said Dr. Wynshaw-Boris.

While this research was only conducted in lab cultures on the rare ring-shaped chromosomes, scientists hope it will work in patients with common abnormalities like Down syndrome.

What we're hoping happens is we might be able to use, modify, what we did, to rescue cell lines from any patient that has any severe chromosome defect, Dr. Wynshaw-Boris explained.

It's research that could one day repair faulty chromosomes and stop genetic diseases in their tracks.

The reprogramming technique that transforms skin cells to stem cells was so ground-breaking that a Japanese physician won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2012 for developing it.

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Stem cells to repair broken chromosomes

Scientists at Sweden's Lund University have hailed study a 'breakthrough' Found stem cells can heal the damage caused by Parkinson's disease Parkinson's UK said there remain many questions before human trials

By Ben Spencer, Science Reporter for the Daily Mail

Published: 08:18 EST, 7 November 2014 | Updated: 09:14 EST, 7 November 2014

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Stem cells can be used to heal the damage in the brain caused by Parkinson's disease, according to scientists in Sweden.

They said their study on rats heralded a 'huge breakthrough' towards developing effective treatments.

There is no cure for the disease, but medication and brain stimulation can alleviate symptoms.

Parkinson's UK said there were many questions still to be answered before human trials could proceed.

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Damage to the brain caused by Parkinson's can be 'healed' using stem cells

StemTherapy - Moving stem cells towards the clinic
The Strategic Research Area in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, StemTherapy, is a national initiative on developing stem cell-based approaches for regen...

By: Faculty of Medicine Lund University

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StemTherapy - Moving stem cells towards the clinic - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Nov-2014

Contact: David McKeon dmckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440 New York Stem Cell Foundation @nyscf

New York, NY (November 6, 2014) - A team led by New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute scientists conducted a study comparing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and embryonic stem cells created using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The scientists found that the cells derived from these two methods resulted in cells with highly similar gene expression and DNA methylation patterns. Both methods also resulted in stem cells with similar amounts of DNA mutations, showing that the process of turning an adult cell into a stem cell introduces mutations independent of the specific method used. This suggests that both methods of producing stem cells need to be further investigated before determining their suitability for the development of new therapies for chronic diseases.

The NYSCF Research Institute is one of the only laboratories in the world that currently pursues all forms of stem cell research including SCNT and iPS cell techniques for creating stem cells. The lack of laboratories attempting SCNT research was one of the reasons that the NYSCF Research Institute was established in 2006.

"We do not yet know which technique will allow scientists to create the best cells for new cellular therapies," said Susan L. Solomon, NYSCF CEO and co-founder. "It is critical to pursue both SCNT and iPS cell techniques in order to accelerate research and bring new treatments to patients."

While both techniques result in pluripotent stem cells, or cells that can become any type of cell in the body, the two processes are different. SCNT consists of replacing the nucleus of a human egg cell or oocyte with the nucleus of an adult cell, resulting in human embryonic stem cells with the genetic material of the adult cell. In contrast, scientists create iPS cells by expressing a few key genes in adult cells, like a skin or blood cell, causing the cells to revert to an embryonic-like state. These differences in methods could, in principle, result in cells with different properties. Advances made earlier this year by NYSCF Research Institute scientists that showed that human embryonic stem cells could be derived using SCNT revived that debate.

"Our work shows that we now have two methods for the generation of a patient's personal stem cells, both with great potential for the development of treatments of chronic diseases. Our work will also be welcome news for the many scientists performing basic research on iPS cells. It shows that they are likely working with cells that are very similar to human embryonic stem cells, at least with regard to gene expression and DNA methylation. How the finding of mutations might affect clinical use of stem cells generated from adult cells is the subject of an ongoing debate," said Dr. Dieter Egli, NYSCF Senior Research Fellow, NYSCF - Robertson Investigator, Assistant Professor in Pediatrics & Molecular Genetics at Columbia University, and senior author on the paper.

The study, published today in Cell Stem Cell, compared cell lines derived from the same sources using the two differing techniques, specifically contrasting the frequency of genetic coding mutations seen and measuring how closely the stem cells matched the embryonic state through the analysis of DNA methylation and of gene expression patterns. The scientists showed that both methods resulted in cell types that were similar with regard to gene expression and DNA methylation patterns. This suggested that both methods were effective in turning a differentiated cell into a stem cell.

The scientists also showed that cells derived using both SCNT and iPS techniques showed similar numbers of genetic coding mutations, implying that neither technique is superior in that regard. A similar number of changes in DNA methylation at imprinted genes (genes that are methylated differentially at the maternal versus the paternal allele) were also found. It is important to note that both types of techniques led to cells that had more of these aberrations than embryonic stem cells derived from an unfertilized human oocyte, or than embryonic stem cells derived from leftover IVF embryos. These findings suggest that a small number of defects are inherent to the generation of stem cells from adult differentiated cells and occur regardless of the method used.

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Scientists find that SCNT derived cells and IPS cells are similar