Category Archives: Washington Stem Cells

Originally published December 23, 2014 at 6:55 PM | Page modified December 23, 2014 at 10:40 PM

Paige Mackenzie, the former University of Washington star, does not need to return to the LPGA Tour next year.

She certainly doesnt need the job, not with a blossoming career as a television personality on The Golf Channel.

And the 31-year-old says she has nothing to prove to others, or even to herself, after playing on the top tour for seven seasons.

Despite that, Mackenzie is returning to competition in 2015 after back surgery earlier this year. And the reason can be stated in one word.

Fun.

I enjoy the game, I love playing on the Tour, the people and the travel, she said. Its going to be about having fun, but I will work hard. I dont want to feel as if I cant win. But its going to be more about having fun and less about a job.

In February, Mackenzie underwent a procedure in which doctors harvested her bone marrow, pulled out stem cells and re-injected them into her ailing back discs. They were the same troublesome discs that forced her to redshirt her sophomore season at Washington and not swing a club for 10 months.

It does give me confidence having gone through this before, Mackenzie said. I learned at 19 how to be patient and that sometimes rest is the best thing you can do, which is hard for any athlete to do.

Mackenzie said she has been pain-free since October and is now feeling better than she has in years. She has full-time LPGA Tour status this year after getting a major medical extension. She plans to play in the Tours season opener the final week in January, and the time away has given her time to think about her game.

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Former UW golfer Paige Mackenzie plans LPGA comeback

7 hours ago by Stuart Wolpert

A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are strong evidence that a specific chemical modification, or "tag," on RNA plays a key role in determining the ability of embryonic stem cells to adopt different cellular identities.

The team also included scientists from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford University.

Published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the research reveals that depleting or knocking out a key component of the machinery that places this chemical tagknown both as m6A and N6-methyladenosineon RNA significantly blocks embryonic stem cells from differentiating into more specialized types of cells.

A key property of embryonic stem cells is their ability to differentiate into many specialized types of cells. However, instead of marching toward a specific fate when prompted by signals to differentiate, embryonic stem cells that have reduced ability to place m6A become stuck in a sort of suspended animation, even though they appear healthy.

Yi Xing, a UCLA associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, led the informatics analyses and was a co-corresponding author of the paper. Other corresponding authors were Dr. Cosmas Giallourakis, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Howard Chang, a professor of Stanford University's School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

The study of naturally occurring chemical modifications on RNAs is part of an emerging field known as epitranscriptomics. The m6A tag is the most commonly occurring modification known to scientists; it is found on RNAs of thousands of protein-coding genes and hundreds of non-coding genes in a typical cell type. The tags may help regulate RNA metabolism by marking them for destruction.

Little was known about the dynamics, conservation and function of m6A in human or mouse embryonic stem cells when the authors began the project. The authors analyzed which RNAs were tagged with m6A and the location of the m6A modifications along RNAs in mouse and human embryonic stem cells.

"Our analysis revealed a high level of conservation of m6A patterns between mice and humans, suggesting that m6A has conserved functions in human and mouse embryonic stem cells," Xing said. "Moreover, RNAs with m6A tags were degraded more rapidly and lived a shorter life in the cell than those without."

The investigators then found a strikingly conserved requirement for the presence of normal levels of m6A for differentiating embryonic stem cells into multiple cell types. Depletion of METTL3, a gene encoding the enzyme that places the m6A tag on RNAs, severely blocked human embryonic stem cells from differentiating into the gut or neural precursors. Deletion of the mouse METTL3 gene also led to a severe block in the ability of embryonic stem cells to differentiate into neural and cardiac lineages.

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Loss of a chemical tag on RNA keeps embryonic stem cells in suspended animation

Featured in the News Across the Nation: Dr. Dennis Lox, an Expert in Sports & Regenerative Medicine, Discusses Stem Cell Therapy:

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.

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.

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

Stem cell therapy for joint injuries and osteoarthritis is suited for many individuals, fromprofessional athletes to active seniors. Adult mesenchymal stem cells, not embryonic stem cells, are used in this procedure, which is performed right in the comfort of Dr. Loxs state-of-the-art clinic. The cells are simply extracted from the patients own body (typically from bone marrow or adipose/ fat tissue), processed in our office, and injected directly into the site of injury. Conditions that can be addressed with stem cell treatment include osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, knee joint issues (such as meniscus tears), shoulder damage (such as rotator cuff injuries), hip problems (such as labral tears), and tendonitis, among others. For many patients, a stem cell procedure in the knee, hip, shoulder, or another area of the body relieves pain, increases mobility, and may be able to delay or eliminate the need for more aggressive treatments like joint replacement surgery.

PRP Therapy, Stem Cell Treatments & Other Joint Replacement Alternatives for Patients in Tampa, Clearwater, New Port Richey & throughout the U.S.A. and the world.

If you are searching for effective, nonsurgical joint replacement alternatives, regenerative therapies like stem cell treatments and PRP therapy may be the ideal solution. At Florida Spine and Sports Medicine, we focus on helping patients return to mobile, independent lives without the need for the risks and downtime associated with highly invasive surgery.

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Dr Lox - Tampa Stem Cell Therapy | PRP | Knee | Joint ...

By Estel Grace Masangkay

A team of researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported that they have discovered a way to directly convert human skin cells into a type of brain cell that has been damaged by Huntingtons disease.

The team chose to produce a certain type of brain cell known as medium spiny neurons, which play a key part in controlling movement. Medium spiny neurons are the cells most affected by Huntingtons disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by involuntary muscle movements and cognitive decline. The disease symptoms typically begin showing in mid-adulthood, and they steadily worsen over time.

For their experiment, the scientists used adult human skin cells instead of the typical mouse cells or embryonic human cells. The team placed the skin cells in an environment similar to the environment of brain cells and then exposed them to two small molecules of RNA named miR-9 and miR-124. In their past research, the scientists have discovered that these microRNAs turn skin cells into a mix of various neuron types. Dr. Yoo and his colleagues fine-tuned the chemical signals by further exposing the cells to transcription factors they knew are found in the part of the brain where medium spiny neurons thrive. Results show that the converted cells survived for at least six months after they were injected into mices brains. The cells also behaved in a similar fashion to native brain cells.

Not only did these transplanted cells survive in the mouse brain, they showed functional properties similar to those of native cells. These cells are known to extend projections into certain brain regions. And we found the human transplanted cells also connected to these distant targets in the mouse brain. That's a landmark point about this paper, said Dr. Andrew S. Yoo, assistant professor of developmental biology in Washington University School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

The new process differs from other techniques in that it does not need to undergo a stem cell phase, thereby avoiding production of multiple cell types. The scientists added that using adult human cells offers the opportunity to use the patients own cells in future procedures, which would radically minimize the risk of rejection by the patients immune system. Dr. Yoos team is now preparing to test skin cells taken from patients with Huntingtons disease using the approach. They also intend to inject healthy reprogrammed human cells into mice models of Huntingtons disease to check whether these have any effect on the diseases symptoms.

The researchers work was published in the previous months issue of the journal Neuron.

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Researchers Convert Skin Cells To Replace HD-Damaged Brain Cells

Within weeks of publishing surprising new insights about how zebrafish get their stripes, the same team from University of Washington is now able to explain how to "erase" these.

The findings give new understanding about genes and cell behaviours that underlie pigment patterns in zebrafish that, in turn, could help unravel the workings of pigment cells in humans and other animals, skin disorders such as melanoma and cell regeneration.

"Using zebrafish as a model, we have basic understanding of what is going on so we can start to look at some of these other species that have really different patterns and start to understand them," explained David Parichy, professor of biology and corresponding author.

Zebrafish, a tropical freshwater fish about 1.5 inches long, belongs to the minnow family and is a popular addition to home aquariums.

Adults have long horizontal blue stripes on their sides, hence the reference to "zebra".

These patterns have roles in schooling, mate selection and avoiding predators.

Researchers have reported that cells called xanthophores that produce the colour orange do not come from stem cells as had long been assumed.

Instead, they come from pre-existing cells in the embryo.

According to researchers, cells in the embryo first mature into xanthophores and then, when it is time to make stripes, these same cells lose their colour, increase in number and then turn back into xanthophores with colour.

"This is remarkable because cells do not normally lose their mature properties, let alone regain them later. Knowing how xanthophores achieve this feat could provide clues to regeneration of tissues and organs without the need for stem cells," Parichy suggested.

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Scientists strip zebrafish of stripes

Few diseases are as terrifying as Huntington's, an inherited genetic disorder that gradually saps away at sufferers' muscle control and cognitive capacity until they die (usually some 20 or so years after initial symptoms). But scientists at Washington University School of Medicine may have provided a new glimmer of hope by converting human skin cells (which are much more readily available than stem cells) directly into a specific type of brain cell that is affected by Huntington's.

This new method differs from another technique devised at the University of Rochester last year in that it bypasses any intermediary steps rather than first reverting the cells to pluripotent stem cells, it does the conversion in a single phase.

To reprogram the adult human skin cells, the researchers created an environment that closely mimics that of brain cells. Exposure to two types of microRNA, miR-9 and miR-124, changes the cells into a mix of different types of neurons. "We think that the microRNAs are really doing the heavy lifting," said co-first author Matheus Victor, although the team admits that the precise machinations remain a mystery.

Huntington's disease especially affects medium spiny neurons, which are involved in initiating and controlling movement and can be found in a part of the basal ganglia called the corpus striatum. This part of the brain also contains proteins called transcription factors, which control the rate at which genetic information is copied from DNA to messenger RNA.

By exposing human skin cells (top) to a combination of microRNAs and transcription factors, the researchers were able to create medium spiny neurons (bottom) (Image: Yoo Lab/Washington University at St Louis)

The researchers fine-tuned the chemical signals fed into the skin cells as they were exposed to the microRNAs, with the transcription factors guiding the cells to become medium spiny neurons. Different transcription factors would produce different types of neurons, they believe, but not without the microRNAs which appear to be the crucial component, as cells exposed to transcription factors alone failed to become neurons.

When transplanted into the brains of mice, the converted cells survived at least six months while showing functional and morphological properties similar to native neurons. They have not yet been tested in mice with a model of Huntington's disease to see if this has any effect on the symptoms.

The research will nonetheless contribute to scientific understanding of the cellular properties associated with Huntington's, regardless of whether this new method leads directly to a treatment or cure.

A paper describing the research is available in the journal Neuron.

Source: Washington University in St Louis

Link:
Converting skin cells directly into brain cells advances fight against Huntington's disease

Harvard scientists have announced a breakthrough that could eventually allow millions of diabetics to shed the yoke of daily insulin injections.

It took over 15 years of trial and error, but researcher Douglas Melton and his team have discovered a method to transform human embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing cells which can then be injected into the pancreas. The discovery has generated a new wave of momentum in the field, with research labs across the country already working to replicate and build upon Meltons results.

I think weve shown the problem can be solved, Melton told National Geographic Thursday.

The researchers developed a 30-day, six-step process that transforms embryonic stem cells into pancreatic beta cells, the same sugar-regulating cells that are destroyed by the immune system of people with type 1 diabetes. The new cells can read the levels of sugars that enter the body after, say, a meal, and secrete the perfect dose of insulin to balance sugar levels.

Other researchers have had some success harvesting beta cells from cadavers and transplanting them into people with diabetes, but this method cant round up enough of those cells to have a lasting effect.

Meltons method produces millions of the insulin-secreting cells, which were then fed through a catheter to the kidney capsules of 37 diabetic mice.

We can cure their diabetes right away in less than 10 days, Melton told NPR.

When the mice were later given glucose injections, 73 percent showed increased levels of human insulin in their bloodstream, indicating that the beta cells were doing their job.

As with many medical breakthroughs, Melton said they are still a few years away from putting this method to work in humans. One of the primary obstacles to overcome is to find a way to mask transplanted cells from an immune system thats out to destroy them.

Excerpt from:
Stem Cell Breakthrough Puts Type 1 Diabetes Cure In Reach

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Newswise Although type 1 diabetes can be controlled with insulin injections and lifestyle modifications, major advances in treating the disease have not been made in more than two decades and there remain fundamental gaps in what is understood about its causes and how to halt its progression.

With a 5-year, $4-million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and bioengineers at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, with colleagues at UC Irvine and Washington University in St. Louis hope to change this.

The teams goal is to bioengineer a miniature pancreas in a dish, not the whole pancreas but the organs irregularly shaped patches called Islets of Langerhans that regulate the bodys blood sugar levels.

The bottleneck to new cures for type 1 diabetes is that we dont have a way to study human beta cells outside of the human body, said Maike Sander, MD, professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the Pediatric Diabetes Research Center at UC San Diego and Rady Childrens Hospital-San Diego. If we are successful, we will for the first time be able to study the events that trigger beta cell destruction.

Beta cells in islets secrete the hormone insulin. In patients with type 1 diabetes, the beta cells are destroyed and the body loses its ability to regulate blood sugar levels. Researchers, however, are unsure of the mechanism by which beta cells are lost. Some researchers believe that the disease may be triggered by beta cell apoptosis (self-destruction); others believe that the bodys immune system initiates attacks on these cells.

To actually bioengineer the pancreas endocrine system, researchers plan to induce human stem cells to develop into beta cells and alpha cells, as well as other cells in the islet that produce hormones important for controlling blood sugar levels. These cells will then be co-mingled with cells that make blood vessels and the cellular mass will be placed within a collagen matrix mimicking the pancreas. The matrix was developed by Karen Christman, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

Our previous work with heart disease has shown that organ-specific matrices help to create more mature heart cells in a dish, Christman said. I am really excited to apply the technology to diabetes research.

If the pancreatic islets can be successfully bioengineered, researchers could conduct mechanistic studies of beta cell maturation, replication, reprogramming, failure and survival. They say new drug therapies could be tested in the 3D culture. It would also be possible to compare beta cells from people with and without the disease to better understand the diseases genetic component. Such work might eventually lead to treatments for protecting or replacing beta cells in patients.

Link:
Diabetes in a Dish

Jennifer Deasy has suffered from migraines since she was 11 years old more than half the 18-year-old Upper Dublin girls life. And she has an idea that just may ease the pain a bit for her and other migraine sufferers.

It also could net her a medical school scholarship.

Basically, her idea is to cure migraines with stem cell treatment.

Deasy has been named one of 12 semi-finalists for a National Academy Medical School Scholarship Challenge sponsored by the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists.

Three of the 12 will be selected to present their research proposals at the November Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, D.C., according to an academy press release. One will receive a medical school scholarship up to $185,000, with $10,000 scholarships going to the runners-up.

The winners will be determined by scholars attending the November Congress.

Deasy was one of 3,100 honor high school students who attended the February Congress, where students were challenged to identify an unsolved medical/scientific/world health problem and create an original investigation to solve that problem.

My guidance counselor nominated me to attend the February Congress, said Deasy, a 2014 Upper Dublin High School grad and current freshman at Franklin & Marshall. Attending medical school has been a dream for as long as I can remember.

I always found [medicine] cool and interesting, she said, noting her dad is an oral surgeon, three uncles are doctors and one is a nurse. She hopes to become a neurologist, both seeing patients and doing research on the brain and its workings with different hormones and how they can affect brain function, like seizures and migraines.

Pain medication or caffeine pills are currently used to treat migraine symptoms, she said. It is not known what causes the severe headaches often accompanied by nausea, and there is no cure. Continued...

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Upper Dublin girl names semi-finalist for medical school scholarship

WASHINGTON IS ONE of the states of the United States and is located in the northwestern corner of the continental part of the country. Named after President George Washington (1732-99; president, 1789-97), the state of Washington is bordered by Idaho to the east and Oregon to the south. To the west is the Pacific Ocean and to the north the Canadian state of British Columbia. The coastal location and the presence of excellent harbor facilities have meant that maritime trade with Canada and with Pacific Rim countries has been a major part of the states economy.

The eastern portions of the state have less rain and are mainly given over to agriculture, whereas industrial activities are mainly located in the western area, where most of the large urban centers are to be found; these cities house the bulk of the states population. Cities are mostly placed alongside Puget Sound, which is a deep inroad of the Pacific Ocean into the state.

The state has a territory in excess of 71,000 square miles and a population of nearly six million. The state capital is Olympia, but Seattle is a much larger city and is the modern economic center of the state. Located on Puget Sound, Seattle is the home of high-tech companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.com, as well as a cluster of leading biomedical organizations including ZymoGenetics, HeartStream, and Heart Technologies. The CellCyte Genetics Corporation, one of the leading stem cell research companies in the country, recently received a U.S. patent for its new procedure to deliver stem cells in the appropriate form to designated organs in the body. Seattle is also the home of the Starbucks coffee chain, which is one of the targets of antiglobalization protestors. This modern affluence is a contrast to certain periods in the past, when the poverty of Skid Row followed the earlier gold rush period and the ending of the Oregon Trail.

The confluence of so many leading scientifically based companies, together with a variety of educational institutes, has contributed to making Seattle, and indeed the state of Washington, among the most literate or well-educated parts of the United States, according to various measurements. This is reflected in the politics of the state, where Democrats are generally elected with substantial majorities because of votes they receive from the populous western region, which outnumber the right-wing sentiments of the less well-developed eastern region.

Washington is the first state in the country to have women filling all of its leading political positions at the same time, which are the governor and both senators. However, elections are not a procession, and both major parties are represented in public office. The painfully narrow and contested election of Governor Chris Gregoire is one example of the close races that do exist.

At the University of Washington, the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) is a center for research in stem cell technologies. The Institute was founded in 2006 and now has more than 70 faculty members engaged in relevant research. The ISCRM has a mission to be committed to the ethical pursuit of basic research to unleash the enormous potential of stem cells and thereby develop therapies and cures.

The university is affiliated with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Childrens Hospital and through the integrative work of the ISCRM aims to produce innovative treatments for a range of different health conditions, including heart disease, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. The states approach to stem cell research is quite liberal, but federal regulations nevertheless affect the ability of researchers to pursue their work. Existing and legally harvested lines of cells can become degraded with excessive experimentation, and new techniques are required to produce the types of cells required within the various regulatory frameworks.

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Washington (Stem Cell) - what-when-how