Fibroblast News and Research

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Fibroblasts are connective tissue cells which secrete an extracellular matrix rich in collagen and other macromolecules.

De-bookmarking could be key to better reprogramming of fibroblasts into iPS cells

In reading, a bookmark tells where you stopped. Cells use bookmarks too, specific proteins that help the cell remember what collection of genes needs to be turned on again after the brief halt of gene expression during cell division.

20 Sep 2016

Cold plasma therapy may help treat non-healing wounds

Russian scientists at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Gamaleya Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology found that treating cells with cold plasma leads to their regeneration and rejuvenation.

13 Sep 2016

New stem-cell model of heart tissue unravels mechanisms linked to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Using advanced stem cell technology, scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have created a model of a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) — an excessive thickening of the heart that is associated with a number of rare and common illnesses, some of which have a strong genetic component.

31 Aug 2016

Researchers reprogram skin cells from diabetic foot ulcers to generate iPSCs

The potential to use a patient's own cells to treat non-healing chronic wounds - a serious complication of diabetes - took an important step forward as researchers successfully reprogrammed skin cells taken from diabetic foot ulcers to form induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

10 Aug 2016

New study shows how the body’s biological clock suppresses inflammation during night-time sleep

New research published online in The FASEB Journal, describes a protein created by the body's "biological clock" that actively represses inflammatory pathways within the affected limbs during the night.

8 Aug 2016

Research shows alcohol abuse drug inhibits ocular conjunctival scarring in mouse model

New research from University College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital and Duke University School of Medicine has identified a gene that drives scarring, together with a rapidly translatable therapy, for the UK's most common cause of blinding conjunctivitis.

4 Aug 2016

New wonder compound offers strong protection against harmful effects of UVA rays

A new wonder compound developed by University of Bath scientists in collaboration with King's College London offers unprecedented protection against the harmful effects of UVA radiation in sunlight, which include photo-ageing, cell damage and cancer.

20 Jul 2016

Protein present on stem cell surface can boost growth of damaged muscle tissue

Johns Hopkins University biologists have found that a protein that plays a key role in the lives of stem cells can bolster the growth of damaged muscle tissue, a step that could potentially contribute to treatments for muscle degeneration caused by old age and diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

19 Jul 2016

Mutations in STN1 gene cause Coats plus syndrome

A team of Israeli researchers has discovered that mutations in STN1, a gene that helps maintain the ends of chromosomes, cause the rare, inherited disorder Coats plus syndrome.

18 Jul 2016

Understanding cancer resistance in mole-rats may help advance human treatment in future

Naked mole-rats (NMR) are the longest-living rodent species and exhibit 'extraordinary' resistance to cancer. Mole-rats live up to 30 years, 10 times longer than mice, and captured colonies almost never show any type of cancer.

17 Jun 2016

Findings may help explain why rheumatoid arthritis drugs vary in effect

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Pennsylvania and China, report that not only are there distinct differences in key cellular processes and molecular signatures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) but, more surprisingly, there are joint-specific differences in RA.

12 Jun 2016

Researchers establish new method to culture kidney progenitor cells for regenerative medicine

Research into kidney regeneration, an organ that has been extremely difficult to regenerate, has taken a great stride forward with research coming out of a collaboration between Kumamoto University, Japan and the National Cancer Institute of the US.

7 Jun 2016

WPI receives patent for novel method of reprogramming human skin cells

Cell therapies for a range of serious conditions, including heart attacks, diabetes, and traumatic injuries, will be accelerated by research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute that yielded a newly patented method of converting human skin cells into engines of wound healing and tissue regeneration.

25 May 2016

New experimental model may predict eventual cardiac phenotype in pediatric patients

An experimental model uses genetics-guided biomechanics and patient-derived stem cells to predict what type of inherited heart defect a child will develop, according to authors of a new study in the journal Cell.

21 May 2016

FDA approves additional indication for Eisai's anticancer agent Lenvima in combo with Everolimus for advanced renal cell carcinoma

Eisai Co., Ltd. has announced that its U.S. subsidiary Eisai Inc. has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an additional indication for Eisai's in-house developed novel anticancer agent Lenvima (lenvatinib mesylate) in combination with everolimus for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma following one prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

16 May 2016

Scientists discover reliable marker to spot CAFs in oral cancer tissues

For the first time, researchers have identified a reliable marker (PDGFRβ) to detect carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (cells within the tumor that encourage growth and metastasis) (CAFs) in oral cancer tissues. With this discovery, anti-PDGFRβ treatment could soon be combined with existing tumor treatments to provide a more effective cancer therapy.

11 May 2016

Bioengineers develop synthetic bed to nurture colonies of human embryonic stem cells

The most productive way scientists have devised to nurture colonies of human embryonic stem cells is to do so atop a bed of mouse cells. That may be fine for lab research, but it poses an unacceptable contamination risk for stem cells intended for transplant into human patients. In a new study, Brown University bioengineers have developed a synthetic bed that works about as well as the mouse cells, called fibroblasts, without any possibility of contamination.

3 May 2016

3-D imaging of fibroblastic foci may help researchers study disease progression in IPF patients

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease in which progressive scarring of the lungs leads to respiratory failure. Lung scarring in IPF takes the form of aggregates of proliferating fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, known as "fibroblastic foci", which deposit collagen and other fibrotic components. These foci are thought to form in response to lung injury.

22 Apr 2016

Qlucore’s Omics Explorer enables researchers to study genetic influences behind Li-Fraumeni Syndrome

While childhood cancer is rare (adult malignancies after 20 years are 20-30 times more common in general) it remains a major cause of death by disease in children. 15,700 children are diagnosed with cancer each year in the USA.

31 Mar 2016

Molecular basis for tongue cancer progression: an interview with Dr Simona Principe

Head and neck cancers (HNC) are the sixth most common cancers worldwide, with approximately 600,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

From Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - Centrifugation 17 Mar 2016