News archive март 2007

A new study by Rockefeller University scientists shows that immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease, and that these cells could be an important target for cancer vaccines.

For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue.

Electrical noise, like the crackle heard on AM radio when lightning strikes nearby, is a nuisance that wreaks havoc on electronic devices. But within cells, a similar kind of biochemical "noise" is beneficial, helping cells transform from one state to another,

Healtheuniverse Inc., a biotechnology development firm engaged in research, development and commercialization of regenerative medicine therapies utilizing non-embryonic adult stem cells, announced today that research protocols are being prepared to treat women who have undergone mastectomies and patients that been disfigured by other surgeries or injuries requiring bone and facial implants.

For the first time, researchers have used adult bone marrow stem cells to regenerate healthy human liver tissue, according to a study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.

Doctors have rejuvenated post-heart attack patients by injecting them with stem cells, said two studies released Sunday.

A new study involving a type of stem cells from the lungs of transplant patients demonstrates for the first time that these progenitor cells reside in adult organs and are not derived from bone marrow, which leads to the possibility that the cells may be able to help with the rejection of donated organs and with various kinds of lung disease.

Low levels of toxic substances cause critical stem cells in the central nervous system to prematurely shut down. That is the conclusion of a study published today in the on-line journal PLoS Biology.

Medistem Laboratories, Inc. announced today its second pipeline candidate, Tolerostem(TM), a cellular therapy platform aimed at controlling harmful immunological responses through the use of adult stem cells undergoing a proprietary modification.

An artificial lymph node has been transplanted into mice, where it successfully produced immune cells. The new form of bioengineered tissue marks a significant step towards transplanting an entire immune system into patients dying of AIDS, cancer or other diseases, say the researchers who carried out the transplant.

NeoStem, Inc. (OTCBB:NEOI - News), the first company to specialize in the collection, processing and storage of adult stem cells for personal use in times of critical medical need, has announced that the Company has entered into an agreement to open an Adult Stem Cell Collection Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In order to differentiate and specialize, stem cells require very specific environmental cues in a very specific order, and scientists have so far been unable to prod them to go through each of the necessary steps. But now, for the first time, a study in mice by Rockefeller University scientists shows that embryonic stem cells implanted in the brain appear to develop into fully differentiated granule neurons, the most plentiful neuron in the cerebellum.

A cannibalistic process called autophagy spurs dying embryonic stem cells to send “eat me” and “come get me” signals to have their corpses purged, a last gasp that paves the way for normal mammalian development, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

After injury, even adult muscles can heal very well because they have a reserve supply of muscle stem cells, called satellite cells, which they can utilize for repair. Until now, it was unclear how this supply of satellite and muscle progenitor cells, out of which both muscle cells as well as satellite cells develop, keeps itself “fresh”.

People suffering from a rare genetic eye disorder which results in loss of vision are being given stem cell therapy by specialists in West Sussex.

The results in fact prove to be the first successful use of human embryonic stem cells in treating a degenerative disease, significantly preserving function and extending life.

Athersys, Inc. has announced that it has successfully produced a clinical grade master cell bank and initial product doses intended to support its clinical trial activity in 2007 and 2008. The master cell bank and dose production runs were completed under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) by Lonza, a leading contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Carnegie Mellon University's Philip LeDuc predicts the use of artificially created cells could be a potential new therapeutic approach for treating diseases in an ever-changing world.

Mayo Clinic researchers have safely transplanted cardiac preprogrammed embryonic stem cells into diseased hearts of mice successfully regenerating infarcted heart muscle without precipitating the growth of a cancerous tumor -- which, so far, has impeded successful translation into practice of embryonic stem cell research.

From roundworm to human, most cells in an animal's body ultimately come from stem cells. When one of these versatile, unspecialized cells divides, the resulting "daughter" cell receives instructions to differentiate into a specific cell type. In some cases this signal comes from other cells. But now, for the first time, researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology have found a type of stem cell that directly determines the fate of its daughters.

UCL Business plc and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (RNOH) have signed an agreement with Sewon Cellontech (SC) of South Korea to collaborate on new laboratories that will develop clinical cell therapeutic treatments for cartilage repair and bone fracture healing. The techniques use stem cells derived from the patient's own bone marrow and cartilage tissue with the potential to alleviate the need for radical surgery.

A newly designed porous membrane, so thin it's invisible edge-on, may revolutionize the way doctors and scientists manipulate objects as small as a molecule.

New research has examined the usefulness of bone marrow stem cells for treating male infertility, with promising results.

Expanding waistlines, unsightly bulges: people will gladly remove excess body fat to improve their looks. But unwanted fat also contains stem cells with the potential to repair defects and heal injuries in the body.

Researchers are trying to find ways to regrow fingers and someday, even limbs, with tricks that sound like magic spells from a Harry Potter novel.

Medistem Laboratories, Inc. (FRANKFURT: S2U) announced that it is collaborating with the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine to perform pre-clinical research on Medistem's proprietary platform AngioStem™.

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTM), a company developing cell-based therapeutics for regenerative medicine, today announced that 90% of the patients who have completed the 12 months post-treatment follow-up in the Company's U.S. Phase I/II multi-center clinical trial evaluating the use of Tissue Repair Cells (TRCs) in the treatment of severe long bone fractures had multiple bone bridges, evidence of bone regeneration.

Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy for Glioblastoma Multiforme

Heller will discuss his stem cell research during a panel discussion Feb. 17 in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The session is titled "Hearing health: The looming crisis and what can be done about it."