Regenerative Medicine Institute, Mexico Advisory Board Member Honored

Tijuana, Mexico (PRWEB) April 12, 2013

The World Stem Cells Regenerative Medicine Congress of 2013 recognized Comella for her multiple career achievements. The Congress included Comella due to her expertise in regenerative medicine, training and education, research, product development, and senior management. With more than 12 years of cell culturing experience, Comellas career has included developing stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis and managing the stem cell laboratory at Tulane Universitys Center for Gene Therapy.

It is Kristins understanding of the function of adult stem cells and her constant improvement of techniques to yield higher quality and quantity of stem cells that make her a natural leader in the field, said Dr. Javier Lopez, President and CEO of RMI.

As part of Bioheart, Inc. leadership in 2010 Comella was instrumental in establishing a working agreement between Bioheart and RMI. She has worked directly with RMI physicians to develop more than 20 clinical trial protocols, is involved with auditing RMI lab results, and is head of one of the three organizations responsible for evaluating trial data.

Our board certified physicians have been able to utilize the work of stem cells leaders like Kristin in order to treat chronic degenerative diseases, Lopez said. The use of microcatheters is one the reason RMIs protocols have delivered promising results in this new and exciting field.

Due to the relationship established between RMI and Bioheart, RMI has been accepted as a clinical site for Biohearts ANGEL Trial. This Phase 1 study is designed to determine the safety and effects of adipose derived stem cells in patients with chronic heart ischemia. RMI has treated more than 100 patients. Conditions treated include chronic heart failure, COPD, lower limb ischemia, osteoarthritis, and other chronic diseases.

For more information, visit regenerativemedicine.mx.

Dr. Javier Lopez Regenerative Medicine Institute, Mexico (855) 764-7836 Email Information

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Comella Named One of the 50 Most Influential People in Stem Cells

Apr. 11, 2013 Stem cells are different from all other cells in our body because they retain the remarkable genetic plasticity to self-renew indefinitely as well as develop into cell types with more specialized functions. However, this remarkable self-renewal capacity comes with a price, as stem cells can become seeds of cancer. Identifying genetic programs that maintain self-renewing capabilities therefore is a vital step in understanding the errors that derail a normal stem cell, sending it on a path to become a cancer stem cell.

Isolating cells from various other cell types is very much like fishing -- you need a good "hook" that can recognize a specific protein marker on the surface of a cell, in order to pull that cell out. Until now, isolating pure mammary gland stem cells (MaSCs), which are important in mammary gland development as well as breast cancer formation, has posed a challenge. MaSCs are scarce and share common cell-surface markers with other cells. In a paper published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists in the laboratory of Professor Gregory Hannon at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) used a mouse model to identify a novel cell surface marker on MaSCs. Using that marker, the team was able to assemble a sample of MaSCs of unprecedented purity.

"We are describing a marker called Cd1d," says CSHL research investigator Camila Dos Santos, Ph.D., the paper's first author. The marker, also present at the surface of specialized immune cells, is expressed on the surface of a defined population of mammary cells in both mice and humans.

The team took advantage of the fact that MaSCs divide much slower than other cells. They utilized a mouse strain, which expresses a green fluorescent protein, or GFP, in a subtype of epithelial cells, including MaSCs. The trick is that this gene can be turned off by feeding mice a chemical called doxycycline. "The beauty of [this model] is that by stopping GFP expression, you can directly measure the number of cell divisions that have happened since GFP was turned off," Dos Santos explains. "The cells that divide the least will carry GFP the longest and are the ones we characterized."

Using this approach, Dos Santos and her colleagues were able to select stem cells in the mammary glands to examine their gene expression signature. They confirmed that a purification method that used Cd1d, in combination with other known markers, greatly enhanced purity compared to other methods, including those previously published.

"With this advancement, we are now able to profile normal and cancer stem cells at a very high degree of purity , and perhaps point out which genes should be investigated as the next breast cancer drug targets," says Professor Hannon, who is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

This research was supported by NIH Grand Opportunity Award #1 RC2 CA148507 and P01 Award 2P01CA013106.

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Novel surface marker helps scientists 'fish out' mammary gland stem cells

By Brenda Goodman HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Medical researchers are trying a new treatment for low back pain. Their hope is that harvesting and then re-injecting the body's own bone marrow -- which is rich in stem cells -- may repair worn-out discs in the spine.

In a small new study, the approach appeared to be safe -- and none of the patients reported that their pain got worse after the procedure.

But both the doctors who are testing the technique and outside experts say much more research is needed before they can say whether the treatment offers real relief.

"I tell everybody that this is experimental, with a capital E," said Dr. Joseph Meyer Jr., an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Columbia Interventional Pain Center, in St. Louis. "We don't know if it works. I do believe that it's safe, but it might not do anything for you."

For the study, Meyer and his colleagues reviewed the case histories of 24 patients who were injected with their own bone marrow aspirate cellular concentrate (BMAC). Bone marrow concentrate contains adult stem cells, which have been called the body's own repair kit because they can change into -- and potentially heal -- different kinds of tissues.

Meyer's patients reported suffering from chronic low back pain for anywhere from three months to 12 years. Imaging tests showed that all the patients had some evidence of degeneration, or damage, to the discs that cushion the bones of the spine. Disc degeneration is common with age, and it is thought to be a major cause of low back pain.

Many times, exercise and weight loss can help people with persistent low back pain. But if conservative approaches fail and the pain becomes debilitating, Meyer said, the next option is invasive spinal fusion surgery.

"Fusion is a big, big step with questionable effectiveness," he said. "Often, you're back in the same boat a year later."

Meyer said he offered patients the bone marrow treatment as something to try before resorting to surgery.

More:
Stem Cells to Relieve Low Back Pain?

Apr. 10, 2013 A research team of Inserm, CNRS and MDC lead by Michael Sieweke of the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy (CNRS, INSERM, Aix Marseille Universit) and Max Delbrck Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch, today revealed an unexpected role for hematopoietic stem cells: they do not merely ensure the continuous renewal of our blood cells; in emergencies they are capable of producing white blood cells "on demand" that help the body deal with inflammation or infection. This property could be used to protect against infections in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, while their immune system reconstitutes itself.

The details of the research is published in Nature on April 10th.

Cells in our blood feed, clean and defend our tissues, but their lifespan is limited. The life expectancy of a red blood cell rarely exceeds three months, our platelets die after ten days and the vast majority of our white blood cells survive only a few days.

The body must produce replacement cells in a timely manner. This is the role of hematopoietic stem cells, more commonly called blood stem cells. Nestled in the core of the bone marrow (the soft tissue in the center of long bones such as the chest, spine, pelvis and shoulder), they dump billions of new cells into the bloodstream every day. To accomplish this strategic mission, they must not only multiply but also differentiate, i.e. to produce specialized white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets.

For many years, researchers have been interested in how this process of specialization is triggered in stem cells. Michael Sieweke and his team previously discovered that the latter do not engage randomly in a particular differentiation pathway but "decide" their fate under the influence of internal factors and signals from the environment.

An important issue remains: how do stem cells manage to respond appropriately to emergencies? For example, are they able to meet the demand by producing white blood cells like macrophages to eat microbes during infection?

Until now, the answer was clear: the stem cells could not decode such messages and were content to differentiate randomly. Michael Sieweke's team has demonstrated that, far from being insensitive to these signals, stem cell perceive them and in return manufacture the cells that are most appropriate for the danger that is faced.

"We have discovered that a biological molecule produced in large quantities by the body during infection or inflammation directly shows stem cells the path to take," said Dr. Sandrine Sarrazin, Inserm researcher, co-author of the publication. "As a result of this molecule, called M-CSF (Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor), the switch of the myeloid lineage (the PU.1 gene) is activated and the stem cells quickly produce the cells that are best suited to the situation such as macrophages."

Now that we have identified this signal, it may be possible in the future to accelerate the production of these cells in patients facing the risk of acute infection," said Dr. Michael Sieweke, CNRS Research Director. "This is the case for 50,000 patients worldwide each year who are totally defenseless against infections just after bone marrow transplantation. Thanks to M-CSF, it may be possible to stimulate the production of useful cells while avoiding to produce those that can inadvertently attack the body of these patients. They could therefore protect against infections while their immune system is being reconstituted."

About the discovery

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Surprising ability of blood stem cells to respond to emergencies

Public release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Traci Klein newsbureau@mayo.edu 507-284-5005 Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Translating a Mayo Clinic stem-cell discovery, an international team has demonstrated that therapy with cardiopoietic (cardiogenically-instructed) or "smart" stem cells can improve heart health for people suffering from heart failure. This is the first application in patients of lineage-guided stem cells for targeted regeneration of a failing organ, paving the way to development of next generation regenerative medicine solutions. Results of the clinical trial appear online of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The multi-center, randomized Cardiopoietic stem cell therapy in heart failure (C-CURE) trial involved heart failure patients from Belgium, Switzerland and Serbia. Patients in the control group received standard care for heart failure in accordance with established guidelines. Patients in the cell therapy arm received, in addition to standard care, cardiopoietic stem cells -- a first-in-class biotherapeutic. In this process, bone marrow was harvested from the top of the patient's hip, and isolated stem cells were treated with a protein cocktail to replicate natural cues of heart development. Derived cardiopoietic stem cells were then injected into the patient's heart.

"The cells underwent an innovative treatment to optimize their repair capacity," says Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., study senior author and director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. "This study helps us move beyond the science fiction notion of stem cell research, providing clinical evidence for a new approach in cardiovascular regenerative medicine."

Every patient in the stem cell treatment group improved. Heart pumping function improved in each patient within six months following cardiopoietic stem cell treatment. In addition, patients experienced improved fitness and were able to walk longer distances than before stem cell therapy. "The benefit to patients who received cardiopoietic stem cell therapy was significant," Dr. Terzic says.

In an accompanying editorial, Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle, say, "Six months after treatment, the cell therapy group had a 7 percent absolute improvement in EF (ejection fraction) over baseline, versus a non-significant change in the control group. This improvement in EF is dramatic, particularly given the duration between the ischemic injury and cell therapy. It compares favorably with our most potent therapies in heart failure."

The science supporting this trial is a product of a decade-long journey in decoding principles of stem cell-based heart repair. "Discovery of rare stem cells that could inherently promote heart regeneration provided a critical clue. In following this natural blueprint, we further developed the know-how needed to convert patient-derived stem cells into cells that can reliably repair a failing heart," says Dr. Terzic, underscoring the team effort in this endeavor.

Initial discovery led to the identification of hundreds of proteins involved in cardiogenesis, or the heart development process. The research team then identified which proteins are necessary in helping a stem cell become a reparative cell type, leading to development of a protein cocktail-based procedure that orients stem cells for heart repair. Such upgraded stem cells are called cardiopoietic or heart creative.

###

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Mayo Clinic: Cardiopoietic 'smart' stem cells show promise in heart failure patients

Public release date: 11-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Peter Tarr tarr@cshl.edu 516-367-8455 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Cold Spring Harbor, NY - Stem cells are different from all other cells in our body because they retain the remarkable genetic plasticity to self-renew indefinitely as well as develop into cell types with more specialized functions. However, this remarkable self-renewal capacity comes with a price, as stem cells can become seeds of cancer. Identifying genetic programs that maintain self-renewing capabilities therefore is a vital step in understanding the errors that derail a normal stem cell, sending it on a path to become a cancer stem cell.

Isolating cells from various other cell types is very much like fishing -- you need a good "hook" that can recognize a specific protein marker on the surface of a cell, in order to pull that cell out. Until now, isolating pure mammary gland stem cells (MaSCs), which are important in mammary gland development as well as breast cancer formation, has posed a challenge. MaSCs are scarce and share common cell-surface markers with other cells. In a paper published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists in the laboratory of Professor Gregory Hannon at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) used a mouse model to identify a novel cell surface marker on MaSCs. Using that marker, the team was able to assemble a sample of MaSCs of unprecedented purity.

"We are describing a marker called Cd1d," says CSHL research investigator Camila Dos Santos, Ph.D., the paper's first author. The marker, also present at the surface of specialized immune cells, is expressed on the surface of a defined population of mammary cells in both mice and humans.

The team took advantage of the fact that MaSCs divide much slower than other cells. They utilized a mouse strain, which expresses a green fluorescent protein, or GFP, in a subtype of epithelial cells, including MaSCs. The trick is that this gene can be turned off by feeding mice a chemical called doxycycline. "The beauty of [this model] is that by stopping GFP expression, you can directly measure the number of cell divisions that have happened since GFP was turned off," Dos Santos explains. "The cells that divide the least will carry GFP the longest and are the ones we characterized."

Using this approach, Dos Santos and her colleagues were able to select stem cells in the mammary glands to examine their gene expression signature. They confirmed that a purification method that used Cd1d, in combination with other known markers, greatly enhanced purity compared to other methods, including those previously published.

"With this advancement, we are now able to profile normal and cancer stem cells at a very high degree of purity , and perhaps point out which genes should be investigated as the next breast cancer drug targets," says Professor Hannon, who is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

###

This research was supported by NIH Grand Opportunity Award #1 RC2 CA148507 and P01 Award 2P01CA013106.

The rest is here:
A novel surface marker helps scientists 'fish out' mammary gland stem cells