Category Archives: Washington Stem Cells

NCI Cancer Center News

New research proves that the threat posed by cancer stem cells is more prevalent than previously thought. Until now, stem cells had been identified only in aggressive, fast-growing tumors. But a mouse study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that slow-growing tumors also have treatment-resistant stem cells.

Click here to read the full press release.

###

Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 68 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancers origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.

More here:
Washington University researchers find that mouse stem cells lurking in tumors can resist treatment

Washington, March 13 (IANS): Researchers have identified a gene variant that may be used to predict people most likely to respond to an investigational therapy under development for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The genetic risk factors investigated are the variants of SORL1 gene.

The protective compound called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), is a potential therapy for a number of neurological diseases due to its role in promoting neuronal survival.

"Our results suggest that certain gene variants allow us to reduce the amount of beta amyloid produced by neurons," said Lawrence Goldstein from the University of California and senior author.

Earlier studies showed that certain variants of SORL1 gene offer protection from Alzheimer's while other variants are linked with about a 30 percent higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Variants of SORL1 gene may also be associated with how neurons respond to a natural compound in the brain that normally acts to protect nerve cell health.

For the study, researchers took skin cells from 13 people, seven of whom had AD and six of whom were healthy control subjects, and reprogrammed the skin cells into stem cells.

These stem cells were coaxed to differentiate into neurons, and the neurons were cultured and then treated with BDNF.

Neurons that carried disease-protective SORL1 variants responded to the therapy by reducing their baseline rate of beta amyloid peptide production by an average 20 percent.

But the neurons carrying the risk variants of the gene showed no change in baseline beta amyloid production.

The rest is here:
Natural protection against Alzheimer's found

Dr. Moshe Pritsker ran up against one of the most aggravating problems in science as he embarked on his doctoral research in molecular biology at Princeton University. He was trying to reproduce an experiment on embryonic stem cells that he had read about in a journal. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not replicate the original experiments findings.

After several colleagues also came up short, he hopped on a flight and spent two weeks working alongside the scientist who completed the original work. There in the lab, Pritsker was able to witness the researcher's methods firsthand and eventually learned enough to replicate the findings, but he was left feeling frustrated by what the ordeal meant for his field.

The whole premise of science is that it's reproducible, he says. Science is not a science if it's not reproducible.

Its an unglamorous truth of scientific inquiry -- researchers consistently fail to reproduce each others experiments. While any scientist should, in theory, be able to replicate the findings of another based on the scientific method, the reality is that most results are not nearly so reliable.Their frequent failures slow the pace of innovation and ultimately cost researchers at universities, government agencies and companies time and money.

Pharmaceutical companies in particular are worried that this challenge will continue to push their costs, and therefore prices, to ever-higher levels. Drug research has grown increasingly less efficient in recent decades andDr. Ulo Palm, chairman of the research committee for food and drugs at the American Society for Quality, suggests that a lack of reproducibility is at least partly to blame. The number of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs the pharmaceutical industry pumps out for every billion dollars it spends on research and development has dropped by 50 percent every nine years since the 1950s in a trend known as Erooms Law. Today, it costs $2.6 billion to usher the average drug to market, which is more than double the cost from a decade ago, according to a recent analysis from the Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University.

Meanwhile, the amount of medical literature generated by researchers in the field is doubling every five years.

We know so much about modern biology but somehow, we don't seem to be able to turn it into real treatments because our resources are wasted on trying to reproduce work that is faulty in the first place, Palm says.

Starting in 2002, scientists at Amgen tried to replicate 53 landmark scientific studies. A decade later, they published a paper noting they could only confirm the findings of six. Researchers at Bayer run up against this problem in roughly two-thirds of the studies that they try to validate when seeking new treatments for cancer and cardiovascular disease.

If you look at whats happened to human health over the last couple of decades, researchers have made enormous improvements -- that's not in dispute, C. Glenn Begley, a former Amgen scientist who published a record of the companys attempts to replicate landmark research, says. What's concerning to me is that we could have made so much more progress. Its that opportunity cost that is frankly impossible to quantify.

Palm has also confronted the issue himself. In the mid-1980s, he failed to replicate an experiment having to do with kidney physiology during his doctoral research and later, while working for Novartis, he assumed responsibility for controlling the quality of the in-house experiments and improving the rate of reproducibility -- a position created to make research spending more efficient.

See original here:
Why Are Drugs So Expensive? One Reason: Scientists Can't Reproduce Each Other's Work

The newly identified gene is found in modern-day humans, Neandertals and Denisovans, but not in chimps

New research suggests that a single gene may be responsible for the large number of neurons found uniquely in the human brain. When this gene was inserted in the brain of a mouse embryo (shown here), it induced the formation of many more neurons (stained red). The extra neurons led to the formation of characteristic convolutions that the human brain uses to pack so much brain tissue into a small space (convolutions shown on the right). Credit: Marta Florio and Wieland B. Huttner, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

A single gene may have paved the way for the rise of human intelligence by dramatically increasing the number of brain cells found in a key brain region.

This gene seems to be uniquely human: It is found in modern-day humans, Neanderthals and another branch of extinct humans called Denisovans, but not in chimpanzees.

By allowing the brain region called the neocortex to contain many more neurons, the tiny snippet of DNA may have laid the foundation for the human brain's massive expansion.

"It is so cool that one tiny gene alone may suffice to affect the phenotype of the stem cells, which contributed the most to the expansion of the neocortex," said study lead author Marta Florio, a doctoral candidate in molecular and cellular biology and genetics at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany. Still, it's likely this gene is just one of many genetic changes that make human cognition special, Florio said.

An expanding brain

The evolution from primitive apes to humans with complex language and culture has taken millions of years. Some 3.8 million ago, Australopithecus afarensis, the species typified by the iconic early human ancestor fossil Lucy, had a brain that was less than 30 cubic inches (500 cubic centimeters) in volume, or about a third the size of the modern human brain. By about 1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus was equipped with a brain that was roughly twice as big as that of Australopithecus. H. erectus also showed evidence of tool and fire use and more complex social groups.

Once anatomically modern humans, and their lost cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans, arrived on the scene, the brain had expanded to roughly 85 cubic inches (1.4 liters) in volume. Most of this growth occurred in a brain region called the neocortex.

"The neocortex is so interesting because that's the seat of cognitive abilities, which, in a way, make us human like language and logical thinking," Florio told Live Science.

Continued here:
"Big Brain" Gene Allowed for Evolutionary Expansion of Our Neocortex

By Tia Ghose

New research suggests that a single gene may be responsible for the large number of neurons found uniquely in the human brain. When this gene was inserted in the brain of a mouse embryo (shown here), it induced the formation of many more neuron(Marta Florio and Wieland B. Huttner, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics)

A single gene may have paved the way for the rise of human intelligence by dramatically increasing the number of brain cells found in a key brain region.

This gene seems to be uniquely human: It is found in modern-day humans, Neanderthals and another branch of extinct humans called Denisovans, but not in chimpanzees.

By allowing the brain region called the neocortex to contain many more neurons, the tiny snippet of DNA may have laid the foundation for the human brain's massive expansion.

"It is so cool that one tiny gene alone may suffice to affect the phenotype of the stem cells, which contributed the most to the expansion of the neocortex," said study lead author Marta Florio, a doctoral candidate in molecular and cellular biology and genetics at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany. Still, it's likely this gene is just one of many genetic changes that make human cognition special, Florio said. [The Top 10 Things That Make Humans Special]

An expanding brain

The evolution from primitive apes to humans with complex language and culture has taken millions of years. Some 3.8 million ago, Australopithecus afarensis, the species typified by the iconic early human ancestor fossil Lucy, had a brain that was less than 30 cubic inches (500 cubic centimeters) in volume, or about a third the size of the modern human brain. By about 1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus was equipped with a brain that was roughly twice as big as that of Australopithecus. H. erectus also showed evidence of tool and fire use and more complex social groups.

Once anatomically modern humans, and their lost cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans, arrived on the scene, the brain had expanded to roughly 85 cubic inches (1.4 liters) in volume. Most of this growth occurred in a brain region called the neocortex.

"The neocortex is so interesting because that's the seat of cognitive abilities, which, in a way, make us human like language and logical thinking," Florio told Live Science.

Originally posted here:
'Big brain' gene found in humans, not chimps

Human evolution questioned: 'Big brain gene found humans, not chimps'

A single gene may have paved the way for the rise of human intelligence by dramatically increasing the number of brain cells found in a key brain region.

This gene seems to be uniquely human: It is found in modern-day humans, Neanderthals and another branch of extinct humans called Denisovans, but not in chimpanzees.

By allowing the brain region called the neocortex to contain many more neurons, the tiny snippet of DNA may have laid the foundation for the human brain's massive expansion.

"It is so cool that one tiny gene alone may suffice to affect the phenotype of the stem cells, which contributed the most to the expansion of the neocortex," said study lead author Marta Florio, a doctoral candidate in molecular and cellular biology and genetics at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany.

Still, it's likely this gene is just one of many genetic changes that make human cognition special, Florio said.

An expanding brain

The evolution from primitive apes to humans with complex language and culture has taken millions of years.

Some 3.8 million ago, Australopithecus afarensis, the species typified by the iconic early human ancestor fossil Lucy, had a brain that was less than 30 cubic inches (500 cubic centimeters) in volume, or about a third the size of the modern human brain.

By about 1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus was equipped with a brain that was roughly twice as big as that of Australopithecus.

Read more:
Human evolution questioned: 'Big brain gene found humans, not chimps'

Thursday February 19, 2015 03:37 PM

The Associated Press

(c) 2015, The Washington Post.

By inserting bits of human DNA into mice, scientists were able to make their brains develop more rapidly and ultimately grow bigger in the womb. The study, published Thursday in Current Biology, suggests that the evolution of this gene may be one of the things that sets us apart from our close relatives in the primate world.

Human brains are unique, even when compared with our close genetic relatives, such as chimpanzees. Our brains are about three times heavier than those of our cousins, and are more complex and interconnected as well. It's generally accepted that these neurological differences are what allowed us to evolve the higher brain function that other primates lack. But just what genetic changes allowed humans to surpass chimps in the brain arena is one that's still being answered.

There are a lot of physical differences to examine more closely, but size is such a dramatic one that the authors of the new study chose to start there.

Using databases created by other labs, the Duke University scientists cross-checked areas of human DNA that had developed differences from chimp DNA with areas of DNA they expected to be important for gene regulation. Regulator genes help determine how other genes will express themselves, and the researchers suspected that some of these regulators might be making brain development more active in human embryos than in chimps.

They ended up focusing on a region called HARE5 (short for human-accelerated regulatory enhancer), which testing indicated had something to do with brain development. They suspected that the enhancer, which is found close to a molecular pathway important in brain development, might have changed in a way that influenced brain size in humans.

"We discovered that the human DNA sequence, which only had 16 changes in it compared to the chimp sequence, was being expressed differently in mice," said study author Debra Silver, an assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology in the Duke University Medical School.

In fact, HARE5 was regulating how many neural stem cells the precursors of brain cells a mouse embryo could produce.

Read more from the original source:
Scientists pinpoint a gene regulator that makes human brains bigger

PRESS RELEASE

TiGenix participates in key conferences in the first half of 2015

Leuven (BELGIUM) - 30 January, 2015 - TiGenix NV (Euronext Brussels: TIG), an advanced biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising novel therapeutics from its proprietary platform of allogeneic, expanded adipose-derived stem cells, or eASC's, in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announced today the conferences in which it is participating during the first half of 2015.

12-14 January Biotech Showcase 2015, San Francisco, USA Presenter: Eduardo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer

26-28 January Phacilitate Cell and Gene Therapy Conference, Washington, USA Presenter: Wilfried Dalemans, Chief Technical Officer

3 February Biotech and Money London 2015, London, UK Presenter: Eduardo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer

9-10 February Bio CEO and Investor Conference, New York, USA Presenter: Eduardo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer

18-21 February ECCO Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Congress, Barcelona, Spain Participants: Marie-Paule Richard, Chief Medical Officer; Maria Pascual, Vice President Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Quality; Mary Carmen Diez, Vice President Medical Affairs and New Product Commercialisation

9-11 March Bio Europe Spring 2015, Paris, France Participant: Claudia Jimenez, Senior Director Business Development

11 March Petercam Belgium Investor Day, Milan, Italy Participant: Claudia D'Augusta, Chief Financial Officer

Read the original:
TiGenix: TiGenix participates in key conferences in the first half of 2015

IMAGE:The osteochondroretricular stem cell, a newly identified type of bone stem cell that appears to be vital to skeletal development and may provide the basis for novel treatments for osteoarthritis,... view more

Credit: Laboratory of Dr. Timothy Wang

NEW YORK, NY (January 15, 2015) - A stem cell capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage has been identified in bone marrow of mice. The discovery by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is reported today in the online issue of the journal Cell.

The cells, called osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells, were discovered by tracking a protein expressed by the cells. Using this marker, the researchers found that OCR cells self-renew and generate key bone and cartilage cells, including osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Researchers also showed that OCR stem cells, when transplanted to a fracture site, contribute to bone repair.

"We are now trying to figure out whether we can persuade these cells to specifically regenerate after injury. If you make a fracture in the mouse, these cells will come alive again, generate both bone and cartilage in the mouse--and repair the fracture. The question is, could this happen in humans," says Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at CUMC and a senior author of the study.

The researchers believe that OCR stem cells will be found in human bone tissue, as mice and humans have similar bone biology. Further study could provide greater understanding of how to prevent and treat osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or bone fractures.

"Our findings raise the possibility that drugs or other therapies can be developed to stimulate the production of OCR stem cells and improve the body's ability to repair bone injury--a process that declines significantly in old age," says Timothy C. Wang, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at CUMC, who initiated this research. Previously, Dr. Wang found an analogous stem cell in the intestinal tract and observed that it was also abundant in the bone.

"These cells are particularly active during development, but they also increase in number in adulthood after bone injury," says Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Marks Professor of Genetics and Development, chair of the Department of Genetics & Development, and a member of the research team.

The study also showed that the adult OCRs are distinct from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone generation during development and adulthood. Researchers presumed that MSCs were the origin of all bone, cartilage, and fat, but recent studies have shown that these cells do not generate young bone and cartilage. The CUMC study suggests that OCR stem cells actually fill this function and that both OCR stems cells and MSCs contribute to bone maintenance and repair in adults.

The researchers also suspect that OCR cells may play a role in soft tissue cancers.

Read the original here:
Bone stem cells shown to regenerate bones and cartilage in adult mice

WASHINGTON (Xinhua) Israeli and British researchers said Wednesday they have successfully used human cells to create primordial germ cells that develop into egg and sperm for the first time.

The study, published in the US. journal Cell, could help yield insight into fertility problems and early stages of embryonic development and potentially, in the future, enable the development of new kinds of reproductive technology.

Researchers have been attempting to create human primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the petri dish for years, said Jacob Hanna of Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, who led the study.

PGCs arise within the early weeks of embryonic growth, as the embryonic stem cells in the fertilized egg begin to differentiate into the very basic cell types. Once these primordial cells become specified, they continue developing toward precursor sperm cells or ova pretty much on autopilot, said Hanna.

The idea of creating these cells took off with the 2006 invention of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells adult cells that are reprogrammed to look and act like embryonic stem cells, which can then differentiate into any cell type.

Several years ago, researchers in Japan successfully got mouse iPS cells to differentiate into PGCs, but efforts to replicate the achievement in human cells have failed.

The researchers found that the mouse embryonic cells are easily kept in their stem cell state in the lab, while human iPS cells have a strong drive to differentiate.

In the new study, Hannas team created a method to tune down the genetic pathway for this differentiation, thus creating a new type of iPS cell that they dubbed naive cells.

These naive cells appeared to rejuvenate iPS cells one step further, closer to the original embryonic state from which they can truly differentiate into any cell type, Hanna said.

Together with the lab group of Professor Azim Surani of Cambridge University, the researchers found using this method they were able to convert up to 40 percent of the iPS cells into PGC cells.

Read the original:
Scientists one step closer to creating human egg, sperm