Category Archives: Washington Stem Cells

Why Study Stem Cells? Dedicated to regenerative therapies

Stem cell biology and regenerative medicine are believed by many to be the most promising breakthrough in medicine in decades. Indeed, along with colleagues across the country (including biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers, and clinicians), we believe that society is witnessing the early steps a revolution in science and medicine, driven by an emerging understanding of stem cells. No major university can afford to ignore this revolutionthe University of Washington is poised to meet this challenge, and to embrace this opportunity. We are personally and professionally committed to the Institute becoming a world-class leader in the ethical development of novel cell-based therapies for patients.

Transforming therapies for heart failure, spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, retinal disease, hearing loss, and orthopaedic/sports injuries. Our scientists are presently conducting research with adult, embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. We are pursuing this research with the goal of developing cures for diseases where there are few treatments at present.

Some of our research areas are listed below:

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Areas of Research | ISCRM - University of Washington

Purpose

To ensure adherence to ethical and legal principles of hESC research, the University of Washington has established an Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) Committee.

To learn quick facts about UW oversight of human embryonic stem cell research and human induced pluripotent stem cell research, view the ESCRO FACT sheet.

Principal Investigators (PIs) with existing hESC research protocols should submit a new ESCRO application no later than 3/31/2009. PIs with any new hESC research must recieve ESCRO review and approval prior to the commencement of the research.

The UW policy on hESC research, GIM-36, describes those research activities that are prohibited, those activities that are exempt from ESCRO review, and those activities permitted but require ESCRO review and approval.

Interested in learning more about stem cells and their uses? The UW houses the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM), which consists of a world-class team of over 130 faculty conducting basic research on stem cell and progenitor cells. In addition, several organizations provide educational resources for your benefit.

Link:
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight - Home

Second, this report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRCs Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Fred Alt, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School

Fred Appelbaum, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Daniel Callahan, The Hastings Center

R. Alta Charo, University of Wisconsin Law School

Carolyn Compton, McGill University

William Danforth, Washington University

Neal First, University of Wisconsin

Barbara Gastel, Texas A&M University

John Gerhart, University of California, Berkeley

Paul Gilman, Celera Genomics

Micheline Mathews-Roth, Harvard Medical School

Martin Raff, University College London

Nathan Rosenberg, Stanford University

Evan Snyder, Boston Childrens Hospital

Virginia Weldon, Monsanto Company

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Ronald Estabrook of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Floyd Bloom of the Scripps Research Institute. Appointed by the

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Reading: Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative ...

Evo-devo of basal vertebrates

Molecular regulation of synaptic structure and function

developmental genetic analysis in model organisms

Functional genomics of patterning and morphogenesis

Signal transduction in the nervous system

Genetics and therapies of muscular dystrophy

cardiovascular development

The molecular basis for cell transparency

Regulation of neuron migration and cancer

Genetic control of craniofacial development

The Molecular Basis of Somatosensory Perception

regulation of the mammalian sex chromosomes

Microenvironmental regulation of disseminated tumor cells

Using yeast to study the aging process.

Cell Adhesion in Morphogenesis and Disease

hereditary blood cancers and tumor clonality

Molecular mechanisms of aging

stem cell biology and therapy

Early embryonic zebrafish development

Electrophysiological properties of ESC-derived cardiomyocyte

Organelle biogenesis and architecture; membrane traffic.

Responses to hydrogen sulfide and hypoxia

morphogenesis and neuron migration in brain development

spontaneous electrical activity in neural development

Stem cells, Regeneration, Wnt signaling, Cancer biology

Stem cell biology of the cardiovascular system

logic and dynamics of networks controlling plant growth

Neurodegeneration & mitochondrial quality control

post-embryonic stem cells, morphogenesis and evolution

Wound repair, Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Nuclear Organization

embryogenesis and germ cell development

Aging, networks and genetic variation in Drosophila

Mouse models of improved healthspan and aging

zebrafish nervous system development and genetics

retinal development and regeneration

stem cells in development and disease, muscular dystrophy

pathways contributing to hematopoietic failure and malignanc

Evolution and Development of the Chordates

stem cell, receptor signaling, and patterning in plants

Cell polarity and cell adhesion in development and cancer

cell signaling and proteomics

Fertilization & paternal effects on early development

genome analysis of C elegans

Parkinson's disease Neural stem cell biology

Stem cells in skeletal muscle

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Developmental Biology, Stem Cells & Aging | Molecular and ...

By Editorial Board April 20, 2014

CONTROVERSIES OVER stem-cell research are so last decade or so it seemed until last week.

For the last few years, the promising field of stem-cell research has focused on a technique that skirts various ethical concerns about the treatment of human embryos and the potential to clone whole human beings. But last week, U.S. and South Korean researchers announced that they went ahead with a different technique, successfully creating stem cells cloned from the normal skin cells of adults. Their work helps to open a new avenue in stem-cell research. But it also could be a step on the way to human reproductive cloning.

Some ethical worries are reasonable, but they are not enough reason to hold back this research.

Since the late 1990s, scientists have held out the prospect of extraordinary new treatments from pluripotent stem cells, which are stem cells that can grow into all sorts of different tissues at researchers urging. Scientists might be able to grow insulin-producing cells for patients with diabetes. People suffering from macular degeneration might not have to lose their sight. There is even the potential to grow whole organs, matched exactly to patients, that could replace diseased ones.

Early research often involved taking stem cells from embryos discarded during in-vitro fertilization therapy. That procedure stoked opposition from people concerned about embryo destruction during scientific experimentation. Then scientists developed a different technique for harvesting stem cells that involved reprogramming adult cells, no embryos involved.

Work on that procedure continues, but there is concern in some quarters that it will not reliably and uniformly produce usable stem cells. So other scientists have been working on something called somatic cell nuclear transfer, which involves taking the nucleus out of a human egg and replacing it with the nucleus from an adult cell. Last weeks announcement came from researchers who had refined the nuclear transfer process and achieved the results they were looking for pluripotent human stem cells.

The procedure is not perfect. It took a lot of eggs to record a few successes. Moreover, it is the sort of technique scientists would use if they were trying to engage in reproductive cloning creating fully formed human beings who are exact genetic copies of other human beings. The question is whether researchers who arent interested in reproductive cloning should be barred from refining the nuclear transfer process lest a rogue scientist decides to try Xeroxing people.

Wed say that they should not be restricted if the method may advance the search for bona fide stem-cell therapies. The potential to directly and significantly reduce human suffering is too great to close off every line of research but the one that carries zero controversy. There is, moreover, a clear ethical distinction between cloning a humans cells in order to redeploy them in medical treatment and growing a genetic copy of a human being. As long as scientists do not cross ethical lines much farther from where they are now lines that Congress could write into federal law researchers should have the flexibility to go in whichever direction is scientifically useful.

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In stem-cell research, the potential ... - Washington Post

Each week, Dr. Dennis Lox receives inquiries from around the world regarding stem cell therapy.

Many patients are turning to stem cell therapy as a means of nonsurgical joint pain relief when their mobility and quality of life are severely affected by conditions like osteoarthritis, torn tendons, and injured ligaments. Dennis M. Lox, M.D. specializes in this progressive, innovative treatment that may be able to help you return to an active, fulfilling life.

Since 1990, Dennis M. Lox, M.D. has been helping patients increase their quality of life by reducing their pain. He emphasizes non-surgical treatments and appropriate use of medications, if needed.

Dr. Dennis Lox an expert in Stem Cell Therapy for knee osteoarthritis and sports injuries, and Dr. Lox has treated numerous international patients with knee OA at his Tampa Bay, Florida clinic, as the growing trend to see the top stem cell physicians in the United States grows with international patients. Each week Dr. Dennis Lox is consulted by a growing number of international patients for a variety of problems besides just the knee for Stem Cell Therapy. As a result Dr. Lox has opened an office in the Washington D. C./ Northern Virginia area to treat International patients with stem cells as travel to the Washington D. C. airports has greater accessibility. Knee osteoarthritis is a common problem with aging. Traditional therapies used to treat osteoarthritis fail to halt the progression of arthritis. This is a frustrating situation for patients. The emergence of regenerative medicine and stem cell treatments for osteoarthritis has become more popular. The appeal of stem cells is that they may differentiate into other cells needed for the repair process of arthritis such as cartilage, bone and muscle cells. This reparative effect is ideal for the situation in which traditional therapies such as arthritis medications and cortisone injections do not alter the progression of osteoarthritis.

Stem cells are also potent anti-inflammatory and immune regulating cells which may reduce the pain and swelling associated with inflammation. The knee is a frequently injured joint and the leading joint with arthritis. Dr. Lox utilizes stem cells to treat international patients with knee disorders ranging from those experiencing arthritis to the professional athlete.

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Washington DC Stem Cells - Dr. Lox Stem Cells

Human lung organoids will help scientists learn more about lung diseases, test new drugs

IMAGE:Scientists, led by the University of Michigan Medical School, coax stem cells to form mini lungs, 3-D structures that mimic human lungs and survived in the lab for 100 days.... view more

Credit: University of Michigan Health System

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Scientists have coaxed stem cells to grow the first three-dimensional mini lungs.

Previous research has focused on deriving lung tissue from flat cell systems or growing cells onto scaffolds made from donated organs.

In a study published in the online journal eLife the multi-institution team defined the system for generating the self-organizing human lung organoids, 3D structures that mimic the structure and complexity of human lungs.

"These mini lungs can mimic the responses of real tissues and will be a good model to study how organs form, change with disease, and how they might respond to new drugs," says senior study author Jason R. Spence, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine and cell and developmental biology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

The scientists succeeded in growing structures resembling both the large airways known as bronchi and small lung sacs called alveoli.

Since the mini lung structures were developed in a dish, they lack several components of the human lung, including blood vessels, which are a critical component of gas exchange during breathing.

Still, the organoids may serve as a discovery tool for researchers as they churn basic science ideas into clinical innovations. A practical solution lies in using the 3-D structures as a next step from, or complement to, animal research.

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Scientists coax stem cells to form 3-D mini lungs