Public release date: 27-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jordi Morato comunicacio@idibell.cat IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has signed a licensing agreement with the Spanish biotech company Histocell to make use of a patent for the treatment of acute pulmonary diseases with mesenchymal stem cells. These cells, administered intravenously, have the ability to go directly to the damaged lungs, acting as a "smart drug". To enhance the effect, researchers have modified this cells by genetic engineering. The studies have been developed by a team led by Josep Maria Aran, researcher at the Human Molecular Genetics group of IDIBELL, in collaboration with researchers of the Pneumology group at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Biomedical Research Network Centre for Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES). The outcomes of the research have supposed an international patent application managed by the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at IDIBELL. The researchers use adult mesenchymal stem cells extracted from adipose tissue obtained from liposuction. These cells are capable of enhancing the regeneration of the damaged lung tissue and secrete inflammatory proteins therein when injected into the blood. Improvements The novelty patented by IDIBELL and VHIR researchers has been the insertion of … Continue reading →

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Putnam Valley, NY. (March. 27, 2013) A team of Korean researchers investigated whether "environmental enrichment" can improve the neurobehavioral function of six week-old mice after transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) to treat hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, and found that brain repair (neurogenesis) was aided in some animals through exercise-induced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a strong pro-angiogenic factor. The post-transplantation environmental enrichment (EE) included use of a running wheel and exposure to "novel objects." The study appears as an early e-publication for the journal Cell Transplantation, and is now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/ct0633seo. "FGF2 was synergistically enhanced in the striata of mice treated with EE after ASC transplantation," said study co-author Dr. Sung-Rae Cho of the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea. "The underlying mechanisms of this synergism included an enhanced repair process, such as higher engraftment of the transplanted ASCs, increased endogenous neurogenesis, and astrocytic activation coupled with the increase in FGF2." Astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells that are also the most abundant brain cell, perform many functions, including supporting the cells that … Continue reading →