Washington, April 5 (ANI): American researchers have for the first time isolated adult stem cells from human intestinal tissue.

The accomplishment provides a much-needed resource for scientists eager to uncover the true mechanisms of human stem cell biology. It also enables them to explore new tactics to treat inflammatory bowel disease or to ameliorate the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, which often damage the gut.

The UNC study represents a leap forward for a field that for many years has had to resort to conducting experiments in cells from mice. While significant progress has been made using mouse models, differences in stem cell biology between mice and humans have kept researchers from investigating new therapeutics for human afflictions.

"While the information we get from mice is good foundational mechanistic data to explain how this tissue works, there are some opportunities that we might not be able to pursue until we do similar experiments with human tissue," lead study co-author Adam D. Gracz, a graduate student in Magness' lab. Megan K. Fuller, MD, was also co-lead author of the study.

The Magness lab was the first in the United States to isolate and grow single intestinal stem cells from mice, so they had a leg up when it came to pursuing similar techniques in human tissue. Plus the researchers were able to get sections of human small intestine for their experiments that otherwise would have been discarded after gastric bypass surgery at UNC.

To develop their technique, the researchers investigated whether the approach they had taken in mice would work in human tissue. They first looked to see if the same molecules they had found stuck on the surface of mouse stem cells were also present on human stem cells. The researchers established that these specific molecules - called CD24 and CD44 -- were indeed the same between the two species. They then attached fluorescent tags to these molecules and used a special machine called a fluorescence activated cell sorter to identify and isolate the stem cells from the small intestine samples.

They found that not only could they isolate the human stem cells from human intestinal tissue, but that they also could separate different types of intestinal stem cells from each other.

These two types of stem cells - active and reserve - are a hot topic for stem cell researchers who are still trying to figure out how reserve stem cells cycle in to replenish active stem cells damaged by injury, chemotherapy or radiation.

The study was recently published in the journal Stem Cells. (ANI)

Excerpt from:
Adult stem cells isolated from human intestinal tissue

4 April 2013 Last updated at 20:01 ET By Ken Macdonald BBC Scotland Science Correspondent

Are your stem cells not doing what you want them to? Give them a kicking.

That is the new technique developed by a Scottish research team, a technique which could help patients with spinal injuries grow new bone.

They call it "nanokicking". It plays on the potential our bodies' stem cells possess to turn into any other kind of tissue - blood, muscle or, in this case, bone.

Persuading stem cells to become bone has been done in the laboratory before. But existing techniques typically involve complex and expensive engineering or cocktails of chemicals.

The Scottish team, drawn from the universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and the West of Scotland, is instead mimicking a natural process - when broken bones need to knit, they vibrate.

In his laboratory at Glasgow University, Dr Matt Dalby opens an incubator to show me how they do it.

"In here we have the cells being nanokicked," he says.

"Here in the Petri dishes, the stems cells are growing.

"The piezo ceramics that are attached underneath are kicking the cells a thousand times a second, by around about 20 nanometres."

Read more:
Stem cells 'kicked' to grow new bone

Public release date: 5-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sam Wong sam.wong@imperial.ac.uk 44-207-594-2198 Imperial College London

Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by growing and analysing stem cells from patients' blood to discover the cause of the disease in individual patients.

The technique may enable doctors to prescribe more effective treatments according to the defects identified in patients' cells.

In future, this approach could go much further: these same cells could be grown, manipulated, and applied as treatments for diseases of the heart, blood and circulation, including heart attacks and haemophilia.

The study focused on von Willebrand disease (vWD), which is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people and can cause excessive, sometimes life-threatening bleeding. vWD is caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a blood component involved in making blood clot. vWF is produced by endothelial cells, which line the inside of every blood vessel in our body. Unfortunately, they are difficult to study because taking biopsies from patients is invasive and unpleasant.

A group led by Dr Anna Randi at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London used a new approach to investigate the disease. Dr Richard Starke, a British Heart Foundation Intermediate Fellow and lead author of the study, took routine blood samples from eight patients with vWD, extracted stem cells called endothelial progenitor cells, and grew them in the lab to yield large numbers of endothelial cells.

By testing these cells, they were able to analyse each patient's disease in unprecedented detail. In some patients, the scientists found new types of defect, which may enable them to recommend improved treatments. Professor Mike Laffan, a collaborator in the study and in charge of patients with VWD at Hammersmith Hospital in West London, is looking to apply these findings to reduce severe bleeding in these patients.

Dr Randi believes that endothelial progenitor cells could become an invaluable resource for testing new drugs for vWD and other diseases. "We will be able to test the effects of a range of compounds in the patients' own cells, before giving the drugs to the patients themselves," she said.

This approach could have impact far beyond vWD. Endothelial cells derived from blood could also be isolated and reinjected into someone recovering from a heart attack, to help them grow new blood vessels and repair the injured heart tissue. Dr Starke says this approach avoids the main problem with transplant therapies, in which the immune system tries to destroy the foreign material. "The patients would receive their own cells, so they wouldn't face the problems of rejection," he said.

Read more:
Stem cells enable personalized treatment for bleeding disorder

A recent Harper's Bazaar article discusses a new skin care treatment that utilizes one's own stem cells to eliminate the visual signs of aging. Dr. Simon Ourian of Epione Beverly Hills says there needs to be more research done before hed offer the treatment to his patients.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) April 06, 2013

I appreciate the work of other physicians pushing the boundaries of skin care and science, says Dr. Ourian, Medical Director of Epione Beverly Hills. In this instance, I would need to see additional positive data before Id offer the treatment to my patients.

Those choosing this new skin therapy undergo a type of liposuction with an approved plastic surgeon. A few ounces of fat tissue are removed from the body, placed in a cooler, and sent to a lab. There the stem cells are separated from the rest of the fatty tissue obtained during the liposuction procedure. The cells are then cultured in a growth solution, with the final product being a client specific skin care product.

Over the last several years, aesthetic practitioners have been using autologous fat transfers in which fatty tissue taken from one area of a client's body is transplanted into another part of the body. This procedure can make faces and lips look healthier and fuller. The treatment in the report is the first to use one's own stem cells to cultivate a personalized skin care product to stimulate the skin's healing abilities.

According to the article, users of this new line say that the product effectively reduces wrinkles and fine lines. Further, researchers found that out of 19 clients, 95 percent reported improved skin texture within just 4 weeks of using the product, reduction in fine lines that was visible was reported by 81 percent, and 87 percent of clients reported a more youthful appearance.

Critics point out that a major drawback of this procedure is its costly nature, with procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers in the same price range. I have to say that, for now, Im in agreement with the critics, says Dr. Ourian. Why pay for something you hope will work when for the same money you can receive a treatment we know will be effective?

Dr. Ourian has been a pioneer in laser technology and non-invasive aesthetic procedures including Restylane, Juvderm, Radiesse and Sculptra. These treatments are used for the correction or reversal of a variety of conditions such as acne, acne scars, skin discoloration, wrinkles, stretch marks, varicose veins, cellulite, and others. More information about stem cell skin care treatments can be found on Epiones website.

Grace Russell Epione Medical Corporation (888) 951-3377 Email Information

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Stem Cells Skin Care – Does it Work?