Category Archives: Cell Medicine

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Diabetes Week -- He is one of eight UC San Diego researchers to receive a combined total of $8.165 million in funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in a new round of Basic Biology awards announced Jan. 29. Metallo's share is $1.124 million over three years. The awards were made by CIRM's Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (see also Stem Cells). Heart cells are unique in that they must expend a tremendous amount of energy in order for the heart to function properly, generating the mechanical forces necessary to pump blood through the body, Metallo said. Therefore, it is important that heart cells generated from stem cells in the lab eat the right foods. His research is focused on understanding cell metabolism - how cells convert carbohydrates, fat, and protein into fuel - and how disruptions in these processes contribute to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Metallo joined the Jacobs School of Engineering in 2011 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship on the metabolism of cancer cells at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research there changed our understanding of how cells convert carbohydrates and protein (amino acids) to fat, a … Continue reading →

Manchester UK (PRWEB UK) 10 February 2014 RegenX Content The content posted on RegenX is generated through Dr. Stephen Richardson and a number of other stem cell experts in a collaborative effort between Brickhouse Publications and the University of Manchester. Dr. Richardson's 10 years of experience working with adult stem cells, coupled with the expertise of top-notch scientists, provides website visitors with the most current research information. The website is designed for people of all ages to read and comprehend, making it truly accessible to all. In order to break down the complex concepts about stem cells and regenerative medicine, the website was designed with many visuals to aid in understanding. For those who learn best through reading text, there are many articles and informational bits. In addition, there are also many short animations, including a spoof news video, to help the general public understand the science behind research. As far as the different topics are concerned, RegenX presents visitors with a wide range of information, building up from the simple to the complex. Some information simply shares the basics around stem cell and regenerative medicine research, while other pieces delve into more technical details. There are even informational pieces … Continue reading →

Immune cells undergo spontaneous changes on a daily basis that could lead to cancers if not for the diligent surveillance of our immune system, Melbourne scientists have found. The research team from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute found that the immune system was responsible for eliminating potentially cancerous immune B cells in their early stages, before they developed into B-cell lymphomas (also known as non-Hodgkins lymphomas). The results of the study were published today in the journal Nature Medicine. This immune surveillance accounts for what researchers at the institute call the surprising rarity of B-cell lymphomas in the population, given how often these spontaneous changes occur. The discovery could lead to the development of an early-warning test that identifies patients at high risk of developing B-cell lymphomas, enabling proactive treatment to prevent tumours from growing. Dr Axel Kallies, Associate Professor David Tarlinton, Dr Stephen Nutt and colleagues made the discovery while investigating the development of B-cell lymphomas. Dr Kallies said the discovery provided an answer to why B-cell lymphomas occur in the population less frequently than expected. Each and every one of us has spontaneous mutations in our immune B cells that occur as a result of their normal … Continue reading →

Prof. Alexander Smikodub MD Ph.D Alexander Smikodub jr. MD Ph.D Our clinic offers the advanced and patented methods of fetal stem cell treatment for various conditions and diseases. This method of treatment can be found in wikipedia: Stem cell therapy. Fetal stem cells are non-specialized cells that differentiate (turn) into any other cell type of the body that form organs and tissues. Fetal stem cells that we use for treatment have huge potential for growth, differentiation and are not rejected by the patients body, which allows to achieve unique long-term clinical effects. We have more than 15 years of experience in stem cell therapy and are the leaders of the industry. Most of the methodic used in the clinic are unique and patent protected in many countries including USA. Since 1994 prof. Alexander Smikodub Sr. was the main researcher, doctor and administrator of the clinic. Now his son, Alexander Smikodub Jr. M.D. continues his fathers venture. During these years more than 6500 patients from all over the world received fetal stem cell treatment, resulting in significant improvement of their conditions, and in case of timely contact with us in complete cure of the diseases still considered lethal by most medical … Continue reading →

Editors note: What follows is a guest post. Michael Zhang is an MD-PhD student studying at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He is one of my go-to experts on matters of cell biology and stem cells. (His bio is below.) As you may have heard, this week brought striking news in the field of stem cell biology. Researchers from Boston and Japan published two papers in the prestigious journal Nature in which they describe new and easy ways to transform mouse cells back into stem cells. (NPR coverage here.) Make no mistake, this is not mundane science news. This is big. I follow cell biology because I believe it is the branch of science that will bring the next major advance in modern medicine. Rather than implant a pacemaker, future doctors may inject a solution of sinus node stem cells, and voila, the heart beats normally. Rather than watch a patient with a scarred heart die of heart failure or suffer from medication side effects, future doctors may inject stem cells that replace the non-contracting scar. And the same could happen for kidneys, pancreas, spinal nerves, etc. When I heard the news, I emailed Michael the link with … Continue reading →

Current ratings for: Immune system kills spontaneous blood cancer cells every day Public / Patient: 4.5 (2 votes) Health Professionals: 0 (0 votes) A new study from Australia suggests B cells, a type of white blood cell, undergo spontaneous changes that could lead to cancer if the immune system does not carry out regular checks and kill them before they form tumors. In the journal Nature Medicine, Dr. Axel Kallies, of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Parkville, Victoria, and colleagues report that the immune system removes errant B cells before they become cancerous. If cancerous B cells go on to form tumors they develop into B cell lymphomas, also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The researchers found T cells of the immune system carry out regular checks to find cancerous and pre-cancerous B cells. They made the discovery while investigating how B cell lymphomas arise, and they believe this regular surveillance by the immune system is probably why there are not as many cases of B cell lymphomas in the population, given how often the spontaneous changes occur. Go here to see the original: Immune system kills spontaneous blood cancer cells every day … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function and blood formation. The finding has potential as a new target for treating leukemia because cancer stem cells rely upon the same protein to regulate and sustain their growth. Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to all other blood cells. Writing in the February 2, 2014 advance online issue of Nature Genetics, principal investigator Tannishtha Reya, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology, and colleagues found that a protein called Lis1 fundamentally regulates asymmetric division of hematopoietic stem cells, assuring that the stem cells correctly differentiate to provide an adequate, sustained supply of new blood cells. Asymmetric division occurs when a stem cell divides into two daughter cells of unequal inheritance: One daughter differentiates into a permanently specialized cell type while the other remains undifferentiated and capable of further divisions. This process is very important for the proper generation of all the cells needed for the development and function of many normal tissues, said Reya. When cells divide, Lis1 controls orientation of the mitotic spindle, an apparatus of subcellular fibers that segregates … Continue reading →

Dartmouth researchers have developed a protocol that permits cells harvested from melanoma tumors in mice to grow readily in cell culture. Their findings were published in an article, Multiple murine BRafV600E melanoma cell lines with sensitivity to PLX4032, in the January 25, 2014 issue of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research. "We anticipate that these cell lines will be extremely useful to many investigators who use mouse melanoma as a model system," said Constance E. Brinckerhoff, PhD, professor of Medicine and of Biochemistry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and a member of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) Mechanism Research Program. There is a lack of mouse cell lines that harbor the BRAF mutation that is so prevalent in human melanomas, and the cell lines that are available grow slowly in culture and are not representative of human melanoma cell lines. Detailed experiments on molecular mechanisms controlling mouse cell line behavior have been difficult because the currently available mouse cell lines do not grow well in culture. The Geisel researchers are the first to have developed a protocol that permits mouse melanoma cells to be harvested from tumors in the mice and to grow readily in cell … Continue reading →

An international research effort has found that mature animal cells can be shocked into an embryonic state simply by soaking them in acid or putting them under physical stress. The fortuitous breakthrough could prove to be massive for many fields of medical research if the method can be replicated using human cells, something researchers are confident will be possible. The collaboration between Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) and the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Japan found that by bathing mature cells harvested from mice in a weak acid, they reverted to a stem cell-like pluripotent state. Pluripotency, as the name suggests, is when a cell has the potential to become one of the many different cells found in an animal; "pluri" refers to many, as in plural, and "potent" the potential to become that many. Pluripotent cells are an important resource for many forms of medical research. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are one type of pluripotent cell, yet the harvesting of ESCs has its opposition, as it involves the destruction of human embryos. Successful attempts at creating stem cells culminated in the 2012 Nobel Prize-winning research in which Shinya Yamanaka produced Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) from mature … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Jan-2014 Contact: Robin Dutcher Robin.Dutcher@hitchcock.org 603-653-9003 The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Dartmouth researchers have developed a protocol that permits cells harvested from melanoma tumors in mice to grow readily in cell culture. Their findings were published in an article, Multiple murine BRafV600E melanoma cell lines with sensitivity to PLX4032, in the January 25, 2014 issue of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research. "We anticipate that these cell lines will be extremely useful to many investigators who use mouse melanoma as a model system," said Constance E. Brinckerhoff, PhD, professor of Medicine and of Biochemistry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a member of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) Mechanism Research Program. There is a lack of mouse cell lines that harbor the BRAF mutation that is so prevalent in human melanomas, and the cell lines that are available grow slowly in culture and are not representative of human melanoma cell lines. Detailed experiments on molecular mechanisms controlling mouse cell line behavior have been difficult because the currently available mouse cell lines do not grow well in culture. The Geisel School of Medicine researchers are the first to have developed a protocol that … Continue reading →