Progenitor Cells News and Research

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Zika virus could be alternative for treatment of aggressive brain cancer

Zika virus, feared for causing microcephaly in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy by attacking the cells that will give rise to the fetus's cerebral cortex, could be an alternative for treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive kind of malignant brain tumor in adults.

21 Feb 2018

Lab-grown cerebellar cells may help explain how ASD develops at molecular level

Increasing evidence has linked autism spectrum disorder with dysfunction of the brain's cerebellum, but the details have been unclear. In a new study, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital used stem cell technology to create cerebellar cells known as Purkinje cells from patients with tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic syndrome that often includes ASD-like features.

19 Feb 2018

Researchers develop most sophisticated mini-livers to date

Scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have developed the most sophisticated mini-livers to date.

13 Feb 2018

Higher susceptibility of some babies to Zika virus has a genetic origin, study shows

Microcephaly, brain calcification, skeletal alterations, auditory and visual deficits - these are examples of the damage that can be caused by Zika virus in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy.

2 Feb 2018

Scientists identify role of Mesp1 gene in earliest step of cardiovascular lineage segregation

Researchers at the Université libre de Bruxelles and University of Cambridge identified the role of key gene Mesp1 in the earliest step of cardiovascular lineage segregation. This discovery may help to better understand congenital heart defects.

27 Jan 2018

Repurposed drug effectively protects against Zika virus in mouse models

In both cell cultures and mouse models, a drug used to treat Hepatitis C effectively protected and rescued neural cells infected by the Zika virus -- and blocked transmission of the virus to mouse fetuses.

25 Jan 2018

Discovery may advance stem cell therapies, gene-targeting treatments for neurological diseases

New research from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is among the first to describe how an mRNA modification impacts the life of neural stem cells.

24 Jan 2018

CD34 protein found to be much more than a stem cell marker

A protein used to identify blood-forming cells is much more than a mere surface marker. A KAUST study shows that this protein, known as CD34, also plays a key role in binding adhesion molecules in the bone marrow.

24 Jan 2018

Researchers block common siren call of glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer

Aggressive cancers like glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer have in common a siren call that beckons the bone marrow to send along whatever the tumors need to survive and thrive.

23 Jan 2018

Scientists describe groundbreaking training effect on the innate immune system

"Training" of precursors of white blood cells leads to a sustained positive response of the hematopoietic system. This effect could help accelerate the formation of new white blood cells, which are vitally needed during chemotherapy, a process that can slow down hematopoiesis.

15 Jan 2018

Unhealthy diet makes the body's defenses more aggressive in the long term

The immune system reacts similarly to a high fat and high-calorie diet as to a bacterial infection. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn.

11 Jan 2018

Oncologists discover cell type that gives rise to soft tissue cancer in children

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital oncologists have discovered the cell type that gives rise to rhabdomyosarcoma, the most prevalent soft tissue cancer in children.

8 Jan 2018

Genetic labeling helps researchers track behavior of blood cells

By tagging bone marrow cells of mice with a genetic label, or barcode, researchers were able to track and describe the family tree of individual blood cells as they form in their natural environment.

4 Jan 2018

Gene therapy with CAR T-cells could create long-term immunity from HIV

Through gene therapy, researchers engineered blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, or HSPCs) to carry chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) genes to make cells that can detect and destroy HIV-infected cells.

29 Dec 2017

Researchers find progenitor cells for all the heart's components, except right ventricle

Progenitor cells - undifferentiated cells that later become specified - for all the heart's components, except for the right ventricle, have been found by Hiroshima University researchers and detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications.

26 Dec 2017

Silky webs of spiders may hold secrets to repairing our skeletons

Some secrets to repairing our skeletons might be found in the silky webs of spiders, according to recent experiments guided by supercomputers. Scientists involved say their results will help understand the details of osteoregeneration, or how bones repair themselves.

20 Dec 2017

Japanese researchers use pluripotent stem cells to reproduce higher-order kidney structures

In the embryonic kidney, three types of precursor cells, nephron progenitor cells, ureteric buds, and interstitial progenitor cells, interact to form three-dimensional structures of the kidney.

20 Dec 2017

New mass-production platform overcomes barriers to bioengineering human liver tissues

Researchers report creating a biologically accurate mass-production platform that overcomes major barriers to bioengineering human liver tissues suitable for therapeutic transplant into people.

5 Dec 2017

Drug used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus

A new collaborative study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and UC San Diego School of Medicine has found that a medication used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus.

17 Nov 2017

Clinical trial results could lead to treatment of heart disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients

After boys and young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy received cardiac progenitor cell infusions, medical tests indicated that the patients' hearts appeared improved, results from a new study show. Patients in the study also scored higher on arm strength tests after receiving the cell infusions.

15 Nov 2017