Researchers map chromosomal changes that must take place before stem cells can be used to produce pancreatic and liver cells IMAGE:These are pancreatic cells derived from embryonic stem cells. view more Credit: UC San Diego School of Medicine Stem cells hold great promise for treating a number of diseases, in part because they have the unique ability to differentiate, specializing into any one of the hundreds of cell types that comprise the human body. Harnessing this potential, though, is difficult. In some cases, it takes up to seven carefully orchestrated steps of adding certain growth factors at specific times to coax stem cells into the desired cell type. Even then, cells of the intestine, liver and pancreas are notoriously difficult to produce from stem cells. Writing in Cell Stem Cell April 2, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered why. It turns out that the chromosomes in laboratory stem cells open slowly over time, in the same sequence that occurs during embryonic development. It isn't until certain chromosomal regions have acquired the "open" state that they are able to respond to added growth factors and become liver or pancreatic cells. This new understanding, say researchers, … Continue reading →

San Diego Stem Cell Treatment Center Dr. Peter Hanson and Dr. Tal David discuss how they are using regenerative medicine to research and provide an alternative for treatment for orthopaedic injuries and degenerative disorders... By: San Diego Stem Cell Treatment Center, Inc. … Continue reading →

A UC San Diego student examines a bacteria culture. Photo courtesy UCSD Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine announced Thursdaytheyve discovered why its so hard to use stem cells to make liver and pancreatic cells, and their findings could lead to new treatments for diseases such astype-1 diabetes. It turns out that the chromosomes in laboratory stem cells open slowly over time, in the same sequence that occurs during embryonic development. It isnt until certain chromosomal regions have reached the open state that they are able to respond to added growth factors and become liver or pancreatic cells, the researchers said. Our ability to generate liver and pancreatic cells from stem cells has fallen behind the advances weve made for other cell types, said Dr. Maike Sander, a professor of pediatrics and cellular and molecular medicine, and director of the Pediatric Diabetes Research Center at UCSD. So we havent yet been able to do things like test new drugs on stem cell-derived liver and pancreatic cells, Sander said. What we have learned is that if we want to make specific cells from stem cells, we need ways to predict how those cells and their chromosomes will respond … Continue reading →

This Saturday when the University of Kentucky basketball team faces off with the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament semi-finals, die-hard Kentucky fan Scott Logdon may think twice about rooting against the Wisconsin Badgers. Nearly two years ago, Logdon was given a life-saving donation of stem cells that helped combat his acute myeloid leukemia. The donor of those cells turned out to be 22-year-old Chris Wirz, a student at the University of Wisconsin. Logdon, 44, learned the identity of his donor last April, more than a year after the stem cell treatment and just days after the University of Kentucky squeaked past the University of Wisconsin at the NCAA semi-finals with a score of 74 to 73. Logdon remembers feeling mixed emotions when the Kentucky wildcats won. Later, when he found out about his donor, he joked, That must have been the Badger blood in me. Courtesy Angela Logdon PHOTO: Chris Wirz gave life saving stem cells to Scott Logdon, who was suffering from leukemia. Logdons ordeal started in the fall of 2012, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia after mistaking early symptoms for strep throat. Logdon said his doctors told him chemotherapy could only keep the … Continue reading →