Monthly Archives: May 2012

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 23 May 2012 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for: 'New Heart Muscle Cells Grow From Patients' Skin' 5 (1 votes) However, the researchers caution there are still many hurdles to overcome before such a method is available for patients, and estimate it may take five to ten years before clinical trials can begin. The lead researcher of the study is Lior Gepstein, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Physiology at the Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. Advances in stem cell biology and tissue engineering bring ever closer the prospect of repairing damage heart muscle with new cells, but considerable challenges remain, not least how to source a good supply of new, healthy human heart cells without the immune system rejecting them. Gepstein and colleagues took skin cells from elderly heart failure patients and reprogrammed into human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), a type of stem cell that has the potential to become almost any type of cell in the body. They then showed that the hiPSCs could differentiate … Continue reading →

A growth factor isolated from human stem cells shows promising results in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have become a popular potential therapy for numerous autoimmune and neurological disorders. But while these bone marrow-derived stem cells have been studied in great detail in the dish, scientists know little about how they modulate the immune system and promote tissue repair in living organisms. Now, one research team has uncovered a molecular mechanism by which hMSCs promote recovery in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). According to research, published online Sunday (May 20) in Nature Neuroscience, a growth factor produced by hMSCs fights MS in two ways: blocking a destructive autoimmune response and repairing neuronal damage. The finding could help advance ongoing clinical trials testing hMSCs as a therapy for MS. The researchers have identified a unique factor that has surprisingly potent activity mediating neuron repair, said Jacques Galipeau, a cell therapy researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who was not involved in the research. The magnitude of the effect on a mouse model of MS is a big deal. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks myelin sheaths that … Continue reading →

Scientists on Wednesday reported that they have for the first time taken skin cells from heart attacks patients and turned them into healthy heart tissue that could hopefully be used to one day repair damaged heart muscle. The healthy, beating heart tissue was grown successfully in the lab from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), and while scientists said they were not safe enough to put back into human patients, they appeared to work well with other cells when implanted into rats. HiPSCs are a recently discovered source far less controversial than use of embryonic stem cells. And, because the transplanted hiPSCs come from the individual, it could resolve the problems seen with tissue and organ rejection. While the technique has shown promise in rats, the scientists say there are numerous obstacles to overcome and it could take up to ten years or longer before clinical trials could be available for humans. Even so, it is a significant advance in the quest for replacement cell therapy for heart failure patients. More people are surviving following a heart attack than ever before and therefore the number of people living with a damaged heart and heart failure is increasing, Nicholas Mills, a consultant … Continue reading →

24.05.2012 - (idw) Schwedischer Forschungsrat - The Swedish Research Council A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants. By adding two different molecules, the researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple way of starting the stem cells journey to become finished brain cells. The process mimics the brains natural development by releasing signals that are part of the normal development process. Experiments in animal models have shown that the cells quickly adapt in the brain and behave like normal brain cells. This technique allows us to fine-tune our steering of stem cells to different types of brain cells. Previous studies have not always used the signals that are activated during the brains normal development. This has caused the transplanted cells to develop tumours or function poorly in the brain, says Agnete Kirkeby, one of the authors of the study. Since the method effectively imitates the brains own processes, it reduces the risk of tumour formation, one of the most common obstacles in stem cell research. The quick, … Continue reading →