AmnioBoost has potential for use in the treatment of ARDS, which is the principal cause of death in COVID-19 infection.1 Mortality in COVID-19 infected patients with the inflammatory lung condition (ARDS) is reported to approach 50%, and is associated with older age, co-morbidities such as diabetes, higher disease severity, and elevated markers of inflammation.1 Current therapeutic interventions do not appear to improve in-hospital survival.1

AmnioBoost is believed to have immunomodulatory properties to counteract the inflammatory processes that are implicated in several diseases by down-regulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, increasing production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and enabling recruitment of naturally occurring anti-inflammatory cells to involved tissues.

Major anti-inflammatory cytokines found in AmnioBoost include: interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-1ra, TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, IL-16, CCL2, CXCL7, MIF, and GRO a/b/g. Specific cytokine receptors for IL-1, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, function as proinflammatory cytokine inhibitors.

This is supported by recently published results from an investigator-initiated clinical study conducted in China which reported that allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cured or significantly improved functional outcomes in all seven treated patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.2

AmnioBoost

AmnioBoost was originally developed for chronic adult inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis, but has found multiple uses in the treatment of bone and cartilage repair, as well as soft tissue repair. It is an investigational therapy comprising concentrated allogeneic MSCs and cytokines derived from amniotic fluid.

The amniotic fluid is donated from non-related, healthy mothers and recovered by caesarian section; the baby is not harmed in any way. Additionally, AmnioBoost has been injected in over 1,000 patients with no adverse events, and appears to be well tolerated.

References

1. Liu Y et al. Clinical features and progression of acute respiratory distress syndrome in coronavirus disease 2019. Medrxiv 2020; https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.17.20024166 2. Leng Z, et al. Transplantation of ACE2- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improves the Outcome of Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia[J]. Aging and Disease, 10.14336/AD.2020.0228

About Lattice Biologics Ltd.:

Lattice Biologics is traded on the TSX-V under the symbol: LBL. The Company is an emerging leader in the field of cellular therapies and tissue engineering, with a focus on dental indications.

Lattice Biologics develops and manufactures biologic products to domestic and international markets. The Companys products are used in a variety of surgical applications.

Lattice Biologics maintains its headquarters, laboratory and manufacturing facilities in Belgrade, Montana as well as offices in Phoenix, Arizona. The facility includes ISO Class 1000 clean rooms, and specialized equipment capable of crafting traditional allografts and precision specialty allografts for various clinical applications. The Lattice Biologics team includes highly trained tissue bank specialists, surgical technicians, certified sterile processing and distribution technicians, and CNC operators who maintain the highest standards of aseptic technique throughout each step of the manufacturing process. From donor acceptance to the final packaging and distribution of finished allografts, Lattice is committed to maintaining the highest standards of allograft quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Lattice Biologics maintains all necessary licensures to process and sell its tissue engineered products within the U.S. and internationally. This includes Certificates to Foreign Governments from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and registrations for multiple countries, which allow the export of bone, tendon, meniscus, ligament, soft tissue, and cartilage products outside of the U.S.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of Canadian securities laws. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as planned, potential, future, expected, could, possible, goal, intends, will or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation: information pertaining to the Companys strategy, plans, or future financial performance, such as statements with respect to the Transaction, and other statements that express managements expectations or estimates of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Lattice to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management as of the date such statements are made, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The factors and assumptions that could prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: that market prices will be consistent with expectations, the continued availability of capital and financing, and that general economic, market and business conditions will be consistent with expectations. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

United States Advisory: The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered, sold, or resold in the United States or to, or for the account of or benefit of, a U.S. Person (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act is available. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in the state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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Lattice Biologics to Evaluate Anti-Inflammatory Stem Cell Therapy Treatment of COVID-19 Lung Disease - BioSpace

New York, March 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market: Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Size, and Forecasts up to 2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05874276/?utm_source=GNW 6% over the forecast period from 2019-2025. The study on induced pluripotent stem cells market covers the analysis of the leading geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW for the period of 2017 to 2025.

The report on induced pluripotent stem cells market is a comprehensive study and presentation of drivers, restraints, opportunities, demand factors, market size, forecasts, and trends in the global induced pluripotent stem cells market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Moreover, the report is a collective presentation of primary and secondary research findings.

Porters five forces model in the report provides insights into the competitive rivalry, supplier and buyer positions in the market and opportunities for the new entrants in the global induced pluripotent stem cells market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Further, IGR- Growth Matrix gave in the report brings an insight into the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.

Report Findings1) Drivers Increased government fundings and rising industry focus on the development of novel therapies Rising interest in stem cell therapy2) Restraints High the cost associated with storage3) Opportunities Growing applications of iPS cells in several biopharmaceutical applications provides extensive potential to the key players in the market

Research Methodology

A) Primary ResearchOur primary research involves extensive interviews and analysis of the opinions provided by the primary respondents. The primary research starts with identifying and approaching the primary respondents, the primary respondents are approached include1. Key Opinion Leaders associated with Infinium Global Research2. Internal and External subject matter experts3. Professionals and participants from the industry

Our primary research respondents typically include1. Executives working with leading companies in the market under review2. Product/brand/marketing managers3. CXO level executives4. Regional/zonal/ country managers5. Vice President level executives.

B) Secondary ResearchSecondary research involves extensive exploring through the secondary sources of information available in both the public domain and paid sources. At Infinium Global Research, each research study is based on over 500 hours of secondary research accompanied by primary research. The information obtained through the secondary sources is validated through the crosscheck on various data sources.

The secondary sources of the data typically include1. Company reports and publications2. Government/institutional publications3. Trade and associations journals4. Databases such as WTO, OECD, World Bank, and among others.5. Websites and publications by research agencies

Segment CoveredThe global induced pluripotent stem cells market is segmented on the basis of derived cell type, application, and end user.

The Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market by Derived Cell Type Fibroblasts Amniotic Cells Hepatocytes Keratinocytes Others

The Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market by Application Drug Development Regenerative Medicine Toxicity Testing Academic Research

The Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market by End User Research Organizations Hospitals Biopharma Industries

Company Profiles Astellas Pharma Inc. Fate Therapeutics Inc. FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation Evotec SE Japan Tissue Engineering Co., Ltd ViaCyte, Inc. Vericel Corporation Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. Acelity Holdings, Inc.

What does this report deliver?1. Comprehensive analysis of the global as well as regional markets of the induced pluripotent stem cells market.2. Complete coverage of all the segments in the induced pluripotent stem cells market to analyze the trends, developments in the global market and forecast of market size up to 2025.3. Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in the global induced pluripotent stem cells market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and latest developments of the company.4. IGR- Growth Matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05874276/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Global induced pluripotent stem cells market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period from 2019-2025 - GlobeNewswire

BOSTON A year ago, a man living with HIV walked into the exam room of Maile Young Karris, MD, from the UC San Diego Medical Center. He had seen on the news that there was a cure for HIV, and asked Karris: "How can I get it?"

Karris, who specializes in HIV primary care, explained that although one man then known as the London patient had been off medication for 18 months and remained in remission, that cure, if it were really a cure, was not available to him or, really, to any other patient with HIV.

"I'm often very hopeful. I believe we will get there," she told Medscape Medical News. "We're sort of just one scientific advance away."

But back then, she had to explain that the London patient, like the Berlin patient before him, had to get to the point of almost dying from cancer before the stem cell transplant that changed his immune system was even a possibility, and that both men had undergone a painful and invasive immunologic makeover.

So when it was reported at the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2020 that the London patient, now identified as Adam Castillejo, is still in remission a year later, even the researcher who performed the transplant was willing to say it's probably a cure.

But that likely won't change the way Karris or other HIV providers care for patients.

When Ravindra Gupta, MD, from University College London, presented the case of the London patient at CROI 2019, he was very careful to say "remission", not "cure".

But when he presented the case at CROI this year, he called it a cure, and he and his colleagues, in their report of the evidence published in the LancetHIV, state that "these findings probably represent the second recorded HIV-1 cure."

In May 2016, Castillejo received a stem cell transplant to treat stage4 Hodgkin's lymphoma, a non-AIDS-defining cancer. That transplant, like the one that Timothy Ray Brown, the so-called Berlin patient, received contained stem cells with two genetic mutations that remove the CCR5 receptor from the surface of the T-cell. Without that receptor, most HIV strains can't invade cells and, therefore, can't proliferate.

When Gupta presented preliminary findings last year, Castillejo had only been off HIV treatment for 18 months and was nearly 2 years out from his transplant. Back then, the team only took blood samples, but they showed that HIV wasn't present.

Then, just last month, samples from Castillejo including blood, plasma, semen, and tissue from his rectum, cecum, sigmoid colon and terminal ileum, and auxiliary lymph nodes were subjected to DNA, RNA, and other testing to see if the virus really was gone.

Although Castillejo's T-cell count is starting to approach where it had been before the transplant, there is no evidence that HIV is replicating in the blood, semen, or tissue samples tested, Gupta reported.

There were remnants of HIV genetic sequences in T-cells and in lymph node samples, though.

"Those can be regarded as so-called fossils," artifacts of past infection, not proof that HIV was still alive in his system, the researchers explain in the published report.

The findings are exciting, said Sharon Lewin, MBBS, PhD, from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who was not involved in the study.

"It makes me think about a new definition of cure," she told Medscape Medical News. It's "the idea that clearing intact virus is what we're doing. And people may well have defective remnants of the virus, but that defective remnant can't replicate."

Of course, this is all still conjecture, she acknowledged. No one knows how long someone has to follow a person like Brown or Castillejo to know for sure that it will never come back. But she seems reassured that Castillejo had made it past the 27-month mark, which is when the viral load of the Mississippi baby rebounded.

When Gupta presented data on the London patient last year, "it was electric," said Rajesh Gandhi, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "I think most of us remember where we were."

So it's probably not a surprise that people living with HIV were also electrified. It was a topic that popped up in many exam rooms, which some clinicians blamed on newspapers headlines such as "HIV Is Reported Cured in a Second Patient."

And even for patients who weren't asking directly for a stem cell transplant, the question of cure was urgent for many of them.

"I think most of my patients weren't thinking that it is so easy that they want to go through the rigors of chemotherapy," Gandhi told Medscape Medical News. But "people have definitely come in to my clinic asking: 'What type of cure research are you doing?'"

Gandhi said he directs patients back to what does work: a single pill a day to control HIV.

Right now, Gandhi has a patient who has had both cancer and HIV. The cancer is now gone, but the HIV remains. The patient shared his cancer diagnosis with family but still hasn't disclosed his HIV status.

"He could get all the support from his family around cancer, but he never could share his HIV diagnosis," Gandhi said. "I think this is what motivates people to ask about the London patient and the Berlin patient."

People are still afraid of HIV.

Karris has noticed the same thing. Not long ago, a woman came to the clinic and reported that her partner had pulled a knife on her.

"He'd found her HIV meds in her purse and looked it up," Karris explained. "He took a knife to her because she didn't disclose. He said he was going to cut off her fingertips."

The woman has a suppressed viral load, meaning she can't transmit the virus to her partner. California changed its criminal code in 2017 to make HIV nondisclosure a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

"People are still afraid of HIV," Karris said. "Some people hate the idea that they have HIV. This is one reason people stop taking medicine. They tell me: 'I hate coming here. I don't feel sick. And when I come to the clinic, I'm reminded I'm sick. When I take my meds, I'm reminded I'm sick'."

For patients who feel that way, she has three things to offer. One is the concept of undetectable equals untransmittable, meaning that they aren't putting the people they care about in the position to acquire HIV. That's been transformational for many patients, she said.

The second is that new HIV medications are coming soon that will be taken every month or every other month. "That seems helpful for them," she said. "They like the idea of coming in once a month. Then they don't have to think about it every day."

And finally, she said, she's excited to share a new tidbit, also presented at this year's CROI, that people who have CD4 a T-cell count of at least 500cells/mm3 when they start taking medication now have an average lifespan just 3 years less than those in the general public.

"The gap is closing between people living with HIV and those without," she said. "I try to communicate that. It can be mind-blowing for them, to see that they could live as long as anyone else."

Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2020: Abstract346. Presented March10, 2020.

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Rethinking the Definition of Cure as Patients With HIV Wait - Medscape

OTTAWA, March 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Effective immediately, Canadian Blood Services is suspending all buccal swabbing events across the country and encouraging the public to register online to get their swab kit delivered in the mail.

This suspension aligns with guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada to minimize the amount of time individuals spend in large crowds or in crowded spaces in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. It also is consistent with the public health measures being implemented by many of the provinces

The safety of registrants and their families is of utmost importance to us. We will be re-assessing this decision in 30 days.

For patients and families who might be concerned, bothCanadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registryand Canadian Blood Services Cord Blood Bankaremembersof the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) an international network of registries and cord blood banks that share a global database where all potential donors and cord blood units are listed. As cases of COVID-19 continue to emerge across the world, WMDA has launched a specialCOVID-19 webpagethat is publicly available and updated regularly when new information is shared by member organizations, professional societies and courier companies.

Canadian Blood Services will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and provide updates as they are received.Our stem cell registry will continue to coordinate searches in Canada, as well as other international registries to help patients get the stem cells they need. Any critical information is being communicated to the corresponding transplant centre and/or registry toensure thatlife-saving products are safely transported to patients in need.Our donors will continue to be screened for active infections and travel history.

In addition to the cancellation of the swabbing events, Canadian Blood Services is also suspending our popular Whats Your Type events across the country. These are events that are frequently held in public spaces like shopping malls inviting people to find out their blood types. We will revisit this cancellation as well in the coming weeks.

If you requireassistance regarding activations currently in progress for any of the international registries in countries where COVID-19 cases have been recorded, please reach out to the transplant services coordinator team atcbs.onematch@blood.ca

For the latest information, visit our COVID-19 update.

Visit link:
Suspension of group swabbing events in response to COVID-19 pandemic - GlobeNewswire

NEW YORK, March 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited(Nasdaq: MESO; ASX:MSB) today announced that it plans to evaluate its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product candidate remestemcel-L in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States, Australia, China and Europe. The Company is in active discussions with various government and regulatory authorities, medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies to implement these activities.

Mortality in COVID-19 infected patients with the inflammatory lung condition acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is reported to approach 50%, and is associated with older age, co-morbidities such as diabetes, higher disease severity, and elevated markers of inflammation.1 Current therapeutic interventions do not appear to be improving in-hospital survival.1

Remestemcel-L has potential for use in the treatment of ARDS, which is the principal cause of death in COVID-19 infection.1 This is supported by recently published results from an investigator-initiated clinical study conducted in China which reported that allogeneic MSCs cured or significantly improved functional outcomes in all seven treated patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.2

Additionally, in post-hoc analyses of a 60-patient randomized controlled study in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), remestemcel-L infusions were well tolerated, significantly reduced inflammatory biomarkers, and significantly improved pulmonary function in those patients with elevated inflammatory biomarkers. Since the same inflammatory biomarkers are also elevated in COVID-19, these data suggest that remestemcel-L could be useful in the treatment of patients with ARDS due to COVID-19.The COPD study results have been submitted for presentation at an international conference, with full results to be submitted for publication shortly.

Remestemcel-L is being studied in numerous clinical trials across several inflammatory conditions, including in elderly patients with lung disease and adults and children with steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD).3-5 This product candidate is currently being reviewed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential approval in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory aGVHD.

Remestemcel-L Remestemcel-L is being developed for rare pediatric and adult inflammatory conditions. It is an investigational therapy comprising culture-expanded MSCs derived from the bone marrow of an unrelated donor and is administered in a series of intravenous infusions. Remestemcel-L is believed to have immunomodulatory properties to counteract the inflammatory processes that are implicated in several diseases by down-regulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, increasing production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and enabling recruitment of naturally occurring anti-inflammatory cells to involved tissues.

Intellectual PropertyMesoblasts intellectual property (IP) portfolio encompasses over 1,000 patents or patent applications in all major markets and includes the use of MSCs obtained from any source for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS),and for inflammatory lung disease due to coronavirus (COVID-19), influenza and other viruses. Additionally, these patents cover Mesoblasts manufacturing processes that yield industrial-scale cellular medicines.This IP position is expected to provide Mesoblast with substantial commercial advantages as it develops its product candidates for these conditions.

References1. Liu Y et al. Clinical features and progression of acute respiratory distress syndrome in coronavirus disease 2019. Medrxiv 2020; https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.17.200241662. Leng Z, et al. Transplantation of ACE2- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improves the Outcome of Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia[J]. Aging and Disease, 10.14336/AD.2020.02283. Kurtzberg J et al. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Transplantation Cell Therapy, 2020.4. Chaudhury S et al. A Phase 3 Single-Arm, Prospective Study of Remestemcel-L, Ex-Vivo Cultured Adult Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells, for the Treatment of Steroid Refractory Acute GVHD in Pediatric Patients. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2018; 24:S119S290.5. Kurtzberg J et al. Allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cell therapy (remestemcel-L, Prochymal) as a rescue agent for severe refractory acute graft-versus-host disease in pediatric patients. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2014 Feb;20(2):229-35.

About MesoblastMesoblast Limited (Nasdaq: MESO; ASX: MSB) is a world leader in developing allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cellular medicines. The Company has leveraged its proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell therapy technology platform to establish a broad portfolio of commercial products and late-stage product candidates. Mesoblasts proprietary manufacturing processes yield industrial-scale, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf, cellular medicines. These cell therapies, with defined pharmaceutical release criteria, are planned to be readily available to patients worldwide.

Mesoblast has filed a Biologics License Application to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek approval of its product candidate RYONCIL (remestemcel-L) for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (acute GvHD). Remestemcel-L is also being developed for other rare diseases. Mesoblast is completing Phase 3 trials for its product candidates for advanced heart failure and chronic low back pain. If approved, RYONCIL is expected to be launched in the United States in 2020 for pediatric steroid-refractory acute GVHD. Two products have been commercialized in Japan and Europe by Mesoblasts licensees, and the Company has established commercial partnerships in Europe and China for certain Phase 3 assets.

Mesoblast has locations in Australia, the United States and Singapore and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (MSB) and on the Nasdaq (MESO). For more information, please see http://www.mesoblast.com, LinkedIn: Mesoblast Limited and Twitter: @Mesoblast

Forward-Looking StatementsThis announcement includes forward-looking statements that relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and actual results may differ from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material and adverse. Forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about: the initiation, timing, progress and results of Mesoblasts preclinical and clinical studies, and Mesoblasts research and development programs; Mesoblasts ability to advance product candidates into, enroll and successfully complete, clinical studies, including multi-national clinical trials; Mesoblasts ability to advance its manufacturing capabilities; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, manufacturing activities and product marketing activities, if any; the commercialization of Mesoblasts product candidates, if approved; regulatory or public perceptions and market acceptance surrounding the use of stem-cell based therapies; the potential for Mesoblasts product candidates, if any are approved, to be withdrawn from the market due to patient adverse events or deaths; the potential benefits of strategic collaboration agreements and Mesoblasts ability to enter into and maintain established strategic collaborations; Mesoblasts ability to establish and maintain intellectual property on its product candidates and Mesoblasts ability to successfully defend these in cases of alleged infringement; the scope of protection Mesoblast is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its product candidates and technology; estimates of Mesoblasts expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and its needs for additional financing; Mesoblasts financial performance; developments relating to Mesoblasts competitors and industry; and the pricing and reimbursement of Mesoblasts product candidates, if approved. You should read this press release together with our risk factors, in our most recently filed reports with the SEC or on our website. Uncertainties and risks that may cause Mesoblasts actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Release authorized by the Chief Executive.

For further information, please contact:

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Mesoblast To Evaluate Anti-Inflammatory Cell Therapy Remestemcel-L For Treatment Of COVID-19 Lung Disease - BioSpace

Although most of the news from the world of health and medicine has been quite bleak lately, there are still major strides being made in the sector in an effort to combat the worst illnesses that plague humankind. One such stride was just announced, and its certainly worth celebrating: A second person has been cured of HIV.

In a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, which comes via Medical News Daily, researchers in London say theyve been able to cure a patient of HIV; meaning the patient tested negative for HIV for an extended period of time (30 months as of March, 2020) despite the lack of antiretroviral therapy.

The person whos been cured, Adam Castillejo, was formerly known only as the London patient in order to protect his identity. But Castillejo, who lives in London, came forward recently, and said that he aims to be an ambassador of hope.

The first person to be cured of HIV, Timothy Ray Brown, an American known originally as the Berlin patient, revealed his identity in 2010, saying that I wanted to do what I could to make [a cure] possible. My first step was releasing my name and image to the public. Brown lived and was treated in Berlin. Incidentally, he is technically the second Berlin patient because the results from treatment of the first one are debatable.

AIDS Policy Project with Timothy Ray Brown (third from left with sunglasses). Griffin Boyce.

Castillejo, as well as Brown, were cured of HIV not by antiretroviral medications, which are often able to drastically mitigate the effects, and transmission rate of, HIV, but rather by stem cell transplants from donor bone marrow. Both Castillejo and Brown hadand may still have, that is unclearcancer along with HIV, and were treated with the stem cell transplants primarily to tackle the former disease. (It seems in Castillejos case doctors and researchers were hoping to cure both simultaneously.)

Both Brown and Castillejo underwent a procedure known as a Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (or HSCT), which involves injecting bone marrow stem cells from a donor, whos often times a parent or sibling, into the recipients bloodstream. Castillejos HSCT treatment was different from Browns, as well as many others, because it was performed with cells that expressed the CCR5 gene.

A video from the MD Anderson Cancer Center that gives a brief outline of how bone marrow stem cell transplants work.

In Castillejos case, stem cells with genomes that express the CCR5 gene were selected because of the fact that it allows for the production of the CCR5 protein: a protein that makes people far more resistant to HIV-1, which accounts for the vast majority of global HIV infections.

While Castillejo received stem cells that did express the CCR5 gene, Brown did notat least according to the study in The Lancet. In fact, according to a 2017 article in New Scientist (which says that Brown received cells with a mutated CCR5 gene, rather than an unexpressed CCR5 gene), some experts believe the curing of Browns HIV was actually due to a potential side effect of his procedure, known as graft-versus-host disease. According to New Scientist, these experts believe that the donor cells attacked Browns native, HIV-infected immune cells, subsequently killing off the virus.

In Castillejos case, on the other hand, it seems there was no graft-versus-host issue that could account for his diminishment of HIV infection levels beyond whats expected to be detectable. Instead, the authors of the study say that one of the implications here is that the Long-term remission of HIV-1 can be achieved utilizing these kinds of cells. The authors also say this method does not require total body irradiation, which would usually be required in cases like these to weaken a recipients immune system in order to allow them to accept donor cells.

An HIV-infected T cell. NIAID

Unfortunately, it seems the treatment that cured Castillejo of HIV is a nonstarter when it comes to mass deployment. There are fatal side effects associated with HSCT, with host-versus-graft chief among them, and doctors say that it should only be performed when there are no other options left.

Prof. Ravindra Kumar Gupta from the University of Cambridge in the U.K., the lead author of the study, told Medical News Daily that [Its] important to note that this curative treatment is high risk and only used as a last resort for patients with HIV who also have life threatening hematological [blood] malignancies.

But Gupta and the other authors of the study still appear to be optimistic that this stands as a proof-of-concept for the idea of using CCR5 gene editing to cure HIV on a larger scale. They warn in their study, however, that several barriers, including the need for increased gene editing efficiency and a lack of robust safety data, still stand in the way of something that could be used as a scalable strategy for tackling HIV.

What do you think about this method of treating HIV? Do you think gene editing will play a big role in curing HIV, or do you think there are other, more promising treatments worth pursuing instead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Feature image: C. Goldsmith / Eliot Lash

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A Second Person Has Been Cured of HIV - Nerdist

Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) is a life-saving treatment for numerous conditions such as severe anaemia, injury-related trauma, supportive care in cardiovascular surgery, transplant surgery, pregnancy-related complications, solid malignancies and blood-related cancers.

However, blood banks particularly in developing countries often face a severe shortage of whole blood as well as components of blood like red blood cells.

Researchers across the world are exploring possibilities to generate RBCs outside the body (in vitro) from haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These HSCs have the capability to give rise to the different types of cells found in the blood. Various groups have been able to produce RBCs in the laboratory from HSCs.

However, the process takes a long time - around twenty-one days. The resources required to grow cells in the laboratory over such a long duration can be very expensive for generation of RBCs on a large scale for clinical purposes.

A team of researchers led by Dr. L. S. Limaye, ex-scientist at the Department of Biotechnologys National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) at Pune have found a way to tackle the issue.

They have found that the process can be speeded up by adding a very low concentration of a small protein molecule called `transforming growth factor 1 (TGF-1), along with a hormone called `erythropoietin (EPO), to the growth medium. They could cut down the process time by three days.

Dr. Limaye noted that several tests to assess the quality of the cells formed, and examination of many of their characteristics, including physical appearance, revealed that the RBCs formed using this procedure were normal.

The findings are worthy of further exploration. Additional investigations based on the insights gained from these studies could help assess the relevance of using this approach for blood transfusions in the future. The researchers have published a report on their work in the journal, `Stem Cell Research and Therapy.

(India Science Wire)

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New approach to speed up red blood cells generation in the lab - BusinessLine