Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

WASHINGTON: A Vatican-backed US company that researches an alternative to embryonic stem cells on Friday received a US$1.2 million government grant, despite independent studies that question whether their product even exists. NeoStem, a New Jersey-headquartered company, is investigating very small embryonic-like (VSEL) cells found in adult bone marrow that they say may be able to regrow into different kinds of tissue. The research has stirred controversy due to NeoStem's marketing partnership with the Vatican and three independent studies that have been unable to confirm the cells are even there. The latest peer-reviewed grant, totalling US$1,221,854, was provided by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on an experimental drug that could regenerate bone tissue damaged by periodontitis, a serious gum disease. The company, along with other partner institutions, has already received US$4.5 million in government research grants, including from the Department of Defense and the NIH. "We are very excited about our progress towards the IND (investigational new drug) submission for what we expect to be the first human clinical study for our VSEL Technology and for the support of the NIH," said a statement by NeoStem chief executive Robin Smith. The phase two trial could begin later … Continue reading →

BY SANDRA GUY Technology/Higher Education Reporter September 12, 2013 11:36AM Updated: September 12, 2013 6:05PM A South Side natives $6.5 million donation to the University of Illinois at Chicago bioengineering department will fund new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases by applying engineering to the field of medicine. Bioengineering principles can bring about groundbreaking ways of doing stem-cell research and designing skin grafts, new organs and new DNA structures to fight cancer, said Rick Hill, 61, retired CEO of computer-chip manufacturing equipment company Novellus Inc., whose donation is the largest ever given to the bioengineering department. Hill is a 1974 UIC bioengineering alumnus who grew up on Chicagos South Side and in south suburban Blue Island. He worked his way through college at summer jobs in steel mills, at a canning company and at Superior Match Company and the Ford stamping plant in Chicago Heights. These are huge economic opportunities, Hill said of the research his donation will enable. UIC is a great jewel of the University of Illinois system. It is ideally located to allow collaboration between industry and the university to make these kinds of significant advances. Hill and his wife, Loan, donated the $6.5 million on … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 12 Sep 2013 - 8:00 PDT Current ratings for: Stem cells generated in live mice 3 (4 votes) 1 (1 votes) A team of scientists in Spain has reprogrammed adult cells in live mice to revert to stem cells that appear as potent as embryonic stem cells. The team reports its findings online this week in the journal Nature. The study is the first to achieve in living tissue what so far has only been possible in a petri dish. Embryonic stem cells represent the "gold standard" in stem cell research and regenerative medicine, since they are the only stem cells capable of differentiating into any of the hundreds of cell types in the body. The hope is that harnessing this ability to differentiate into any cell type will lead to treatments that can cure diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. However, there are ethical problems about sourcing embryonic stem cells, as well as practical difficulties, since they have a very short lifespan during the early development of the embryo. Thus, there is a need to find alternative ways to make stem cells … Continue reading →

Scientists have succeeded in generating new stem cells in living mice. They say their success opens up possibilities for the regeneration of damaged tissue in people with conditions ranging from heart failure to spinal cord injury. The researchers used the same "recipe" of growth-boosting ingredients normally used for making stem cells in a Petri dish, but introduced them instead into living laboratory mice and found they were able to create so-called reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). "This opens up new possibilities in regenerative medicine," said Manuel Serrano, who led the study at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid. Stem cell experts who were not directly involved in the study said its success was exciting, but noted that the technique as it stands could not be used in humans since the reprogrammed cells also lead to tumours forming in the mice. "Clearly nobody wishes to do this for therapeutic purposes because this leads to the formation of tumours called teratomas," said Ilaria Bellantuono, a reader in Stem Cell and Skeletal Ageing at Britain's University of Sheffield. But she added that Serrano's work was a "a proof of concept" that opened up the opportunity to investigate ways to … Continue reading →

(Refiles to remove incorrrect picture) By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have succeeded in generating new stem cells in living mice and say their success opens up possibilities for the regeneration of damaged tissue in people with conditions ranging from heart failure to spinal cord injury. The researchers used the same "recipe" of growth-boosting ingredients normally used for making stem cells in a petri dish, but introduced them instead into living laboratory mice and found they were able to create so-called reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). "This opens up new possibilities in regenerative medicine," said Manuel Serrano, who led the study at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid. Stem cell experts who were not directly involved in the study said its success was exciting, but noted that the technique as it stands could not be used in humans since the reprogrammed cells also lead to tumours forming in the mice. "Clearly nobody wishes to do this for therapeutic purposes because this leads to the formation of tumours called teratomas," said Ilaria Bellantuono, a reader in Stem Cell and Skeletal Ageing at Britain's University of Sheffield. But she added that Serrano's work was a "a proof … Continue reading →

Researchers have reprogrammed cells inside living mice -- and have discovered that the pluripotent stem cells created in the process are even more flexible than those derived from embryos or grown in laboratory dishes. Someday the achievement might help scientists devise ways to treat human disease by directly regenerating tissues within human patients, said Manuel Serrano, an investigator at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid and senior author of a study (abstract here) detailing the research, published online Wednesday by the journal Nature. But that won't happen immediately, he added during a call with reporters Tuesday. The pluripotent stem cells are highly flexible and have the potential to develop into nearly any cell type in the body. Researchers hope to take advantage of them to rebuild tissues that don't regenerate on their own, such as neurons, the insulin-producing islet cells that are destroyed in patients with Type I diabetes, or heart muscle killed during the oxygen deprivation of a heart attack. Interest in stem cells pushed scientists first to figure out ways to isolate them from embryos and then to rewind mature cells into a more flexible state. The Spanish team set out to see if it was … Continue reading →

DGAP-News: Evotec AG / Key word(s): Alliance Evotec and Harvard Stem Cell Institute form CureMN collaboration to advance ALS research 12.09.2013 / 07:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamburg, Germany - 12 September 2013: Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today announced a strategic partnership with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute ('HSCI') to identify compounds that prevent or slow down the loss of motor neurons, which is characteristic of the human disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ('ALS'). The collaboration 'CureMN' (CureMotorNeuron) will leverage human motor neuron assays based on ALS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem ('iPS') cells that were developed by Dr Lee Rubin, HSCI Principal Faculty member and professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard, and Dr Kevin Eggan, Early Career Scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, HSCI Principal Faculty member and professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard as well as Evotec's leading drug discovery infrastructure and expertise to identify compounds that will have therapeutic value against this life-threatening disease. Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: 'Kevin and Lee have made significant contributions to our understanding of the underlying pathology of motor neuron diseases. Their laboratories have … Continue reading →

HAMBURG, Germany, Sept. 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evotec AG (EVT.F) (TecDAX) (ISIN:DE0005664809) today announced a strategic partnership with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute ("HSCI") to identify compounds that prevent or slow down the loss of motor neurons, which is characteristic of the human disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ("ALS"). The collaboration "CureMN" (CureMotorNeuron) will leverage human motor neuron assays based on ALS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem ("iPS") cells that were developed by Dr Lee Rubin, HSCI Principal Faculty member and professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard, and Dr Kevin Eggan, Early Career Scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, HSCI Principal Faculty member and professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard as well as Evotec's leading drug discovery infrastructure and expertise to identify compounds that will have therapeutic value against this life-threatening disease. Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: "Kevin and Lee have made significant contributions to our understanding of the underlying pathology of motor neuron diseases. Their laboratories have developed a large array of ALS patient-derived motor neuron models that allow screening of diseased human cells in culture -- an approach that is sometimes referred … Continue reading →

Experts have warned patients to stay away from unproven and unsafe stem cell treatments which can have horrific consequences. They cited one example where a woman who wanted to banish her wrinkles found her face turning to bone. Around 10 clinics in Europe are thought to be offering stem cell therapies for a range of conditions, including serious brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In China, patients have had huge infusions of stem cells pumped into their blood streams in the belief that this will prevent them ageing. It is not known whether any such clinics operate in the UK, where the practice would be illegal. The cells used in these treatments are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which are widespread around the body. They can develop into fat, cartilage, muscle and bone but there is no proof they can generate other kinds of tissue, such as nerves. However research has shown they stimulate blood vessel growth and can attract other strains of stem cell. Stem cell scientists attending the British Science Festival at the University of Newcastle told how some patients were being lured into undergoing potentially dangerous treatments using MSCs. Professor Bruno Peault, from the University of Edinburgh, … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Peter Tarr tarr@cshl.edu 516-367-8455 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- In plants, the growth of organs such as roots, leaves and flowers depends upon the activity of meristems. These reservoir-like compartments hold stem cells, which have the ability to develop into various different cell types. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Professor David Jackson studies naturally occurring mutations in plants to obtain insights about how plants regulate their growth. This work has powerful implications for efforts to increase the yield of basic food crops like maize (or corn, as it is called in North America). Today, in a paper appearing online in Nature, Jackson and colleagues present first evidence of a functional interaction between an important class of signaling molecule called a G protein, which binds receptors, and an unexpected class of cell-surface receptors. Working backward from an odd-looking maize mutant called COMPACT PLANT2 (CT2) that develops abnormally enlarged ears a phenomenon called fasciation Jackson, Peter Bommert, Ph.D., and others found this gene to encode a G protein called G. Further experiments indicated an unexpected interaction between G and a cell-surface receptor that is a part … Continue reading →