Leukocyte News and Research

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Multicolor quantum dots can distinguish Reed-Sternberg cells, article shows

The tunable fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots make ideal tools for distinguishing and identifying rare cancer cells in tissue biopsies, Emory and Georgia Tech scientists have demonstrated.

7 Jul 2010

A20 protein plays protective role in diseases associated with chronic bowel inflammation: Scientists

Scientists associated with VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and Ghent University have discovered that A20 protein plays an important protective role in diseases associated with chronic bowel inflammation. This makes A20 into a promising therapeutic target for the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs.

5 Jul 2010

Lensless cell phone microscope

Cell phones are accumulating a Swiss Army Knife-esqe assortment of capabilities; substituting as cameras, providing internet access, and soon operating as medical labs if Aydogan Ozcan's plans come to fruition. This month's cover article of the journal Lab on a Chip features the latest creation by the Ozcan group, a functioning prototype of a cell phone microscope.

1 Jul 2010

Bortezomib may offer hope for treating inflammatory diseases: New research

Those looking for a new treatment for a range of inflammatory diseases like arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and lupus may need to look no further than a drug already available for treating cancer. In a research report published in the July 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, Japanese scientists use mice to show that bortezomib, currently used to treat cancers that affect white blood cells, induces cell death only in harmful (active and proliferating) T cells, leaving the rest unharmed.

1 Jul 2010

Importance of cell-cell communication in ischaemia

A team from the Bristol Heart Institute have investigated the importance of cell-cell communication in regulating the formation of new blood vessels following the restriction in blood supply to the heart or back leg in mice.

29 Jun 2010

MGH, Iacocca Foundation complete Phase I BCG clinical trial in type 1 diabetes

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Iacocca Foundation announce today the completion of the Phase I BCG clinical trial in type 1 diabetes, as well as the submission of all safety reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the MGH data safety monitoring boards. Plans for the Phase II clinical study, which will continue the investigation of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination as a treatment for people with existing type 1 diabetes, are actively underway.

29 Jun 2010

Raptor initiates enrollment in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of DR Cysteamine for nephropathic cystinosis

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of its proprietary delayed-release oral formulation of cysteamine bitartrate ("DR Cysteamine") in patients with nephropathic cystinosis ("cystinosis").

28 Jun 2010

Scientist at Children Hospital Los Angeles receives NIH grant to research on meningitis

A white blood cell that normally removes bacteria from the bloodstream helps Escherichia coli (E. coli) accumulate in the blood and enter the brain resulting in the deadly infection known as meningitis. Prasadarao V. Nemani, PhD, a scientist at The Saban Research Institute at Children Hospital Los Angeles plans to find out how this happens with a grant of $1.65 million from the National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.

25 Jun 2010

Phase 2 clinical trial of GMI-1070 for treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease initiated

GlycoMimetics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new class of glycobiology-based therapies for a broad range of indications, today announced the commencement of a Phase 2 clinical trial of GMI-1070 for treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease. The company also announced that GMI-1070 has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

25 Jun 2010

CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine axis plays a critical role in pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by frequent diarrheal attacks and anal bleeding. Histologic characteristics of UC are the invasion of the crypt epithelium and lamina propria by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), disruption of the epithelial lining, and consequently mucosal ulceration and crypt abscess formation in the bowel wall.

25 Jun 2010

Blood flow disturbances in artery determine appearance of atherosclerosis: Study

A new animal model of atherosclerosis has allowed researchers to identify a host of genes turned on or off during the initial stages of the process, before a plaque appears in the affected blood vessel.

24 Jun 2010

UNC team provides first example of successful radiomitigation in mammals

While radiation has therapeutic uses, too much radiation is damaging to cells. The most important acute side effect of radiation poisoning is damage to the bone marrow. The bone marrow produces all the normal blood cells, and therefore a high dose of radiation can lead to low blood counts of red cells, platelets and white blood cells.

24 Jun 2010

Cedars-Sinai researchers awarded $1.47M grant to study stem cell immune rejection response

A team of Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute researchers led by Terrence Town, Ph.D. has been awarded a three-year, $1.47 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to fund research into mechanisms for how human immune systems reject or accept transplanted brain stem cells.

24 Jun 2010

Study investigates benefits of filtering blood to create safer approaches to transfusion therapy

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered yet another reason to filter the foreign white cells from donor blood: The resulting blood product is associated with dramatically fewer cardiopulmonary complications for patients who received a transfusion.

23 Jun 2010

Nuon study confirms potential utility of tranilast as uricosuric agent

Nuon Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that results from clinical and preclinical studies demonstrating the ability of tranilast to reduce serum uric acid levels and monosodium urate crystal-induced inflammation - two important risk factors for gout - were presented at The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2010 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Rome, Italy, June 16-19, 2010.

22 Jun 2010

Antibody treatment could significantly improve lives following spinal cord injury: Researchers

The United States Department of Defense Spinal Cord Injury Research Program has announced a grant of more than a million dollars U.S. to support research at the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario (Western). The spinal cord injury research team of Gregory Dekaban, Arthur Brown, Lynne Weaver and Paula Foster, in collaboration with Brian Kwon of the University of British Columbia and Kyle Petersen of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center, is working on a new therapy designed to limit the damage caused by inflammation immediately following spinal cord injury.

22 Jun 2010

NHLBI funds nine research grants to determine safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding nine research grants to determine if the safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions vary depending on how long the cells have been stored. One of the grants supports the first large, multi-center, randomized clinical trial to compare outcomes in heart surgery patients who receive transfusions of red blood cells that have been stored for shorter or longer amounts of time.

22 Jun 2010

Incidence of blood based deficiencies is strong predictor of poor outcome in pSS patients: Study

For healthcare professionals diagnosing primary Sj-gren's Syndrome (pSS, an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack and destroy moisture-producing glands), the incidence of blood based deficiencies is the strongest predictor of a poor outcome in patients according to the results of a study presented today at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.

19 Jun 2010

Children's Hospital Boston receives $2.4M Gates Foundation grant to develop novel neonatal vaccines

Children's Hospital Boston announced today that it has received a $2.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support the development of novel vaccines for newborns – research that is spearheaded by Ofer Levy, MD, Ph.D., a principal investigator in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's.

18 Jun 2010

Researchers evaluate dental pulp cells as optimal source of iPS cells

Defined sets of factors can reprogram human cells to induced pluripotent stem cells. However, many types of human cells are not easily accessible to minimally invasive procedures. In a paper published in the International and American Associations for Dental Research's Journal of Dental Research, lead researcher K. Tezuka and researchers N. Tamaoki, H. Aoki, T. Takeda-Kawaguchi, K. Iida, T. Kunisada and T. Shibata all from the Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan; and K. Takahashi, T. Tanaka and S. Yamanaka, all from Kyoto University, Japan, evaluate dental pulp cells as an optimal source of iPS cells, since they are easily obtained from extracted teeth and can be expanded under simple culture conditions.

18 Jun 2010

Leukocyte News and Research

Multicolor quantum dots can distinguish Reed-Sternberg cells, article shows

A20 protein plays protective role in diseases associated with chronic bowel inflammation: Scientists

Lensless cell phone microscope

Bortezomib may offer hope for treating inflammatory diseases: New research

Importance of cell-cell communication in ischaemia

MGH, Iacocca Foundation complete Phase I BCG clinical trial in type 1 diabetes

Raptor initiates enrollment in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of DR Cysteamine for nephropathic cystinosis

Scientist at Children Hospital Los Angeles receives NIH grant to research on meningitis

Phase 2 clinical trial of GMI-1070 for treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease initiated

CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine axis plays a critical role in pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis

Blood flow disturbances in artery determine appearance of atherosclerosis: Study

UNC team provides first example of successful radiomitigation in mammals

Cedars-Sinai researchers awarded $1.47M grant to study stem cell immune rejection response

Study investigates benefits of filtering blood to create safer approaches to transfusion therapy

Nuon study confirms potential utility of tranilast as uricosuric agent

Antibody treatment could significantly improve lives following spinal cord injury: Researchers

NHLBI funds nine research grants to determine safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions

Incidence of blood based deficiencies is strong predictor of poor outcome in pSS patients: Study

Children's Hospital Boston receives $2.4M Gates Foundation grant to develop novel neonatal vaccines

Researchers evaluate dental pulp cells as optimal source of iPS cells

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