Stem Cells News and Research

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Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

New insights on mechanisms involved in regeneration of insulin-producing cells

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that a blood vessel-building gene boosts the ability of human bone marrow stem cells to sustain pancreatic recovery in a laboratory mouse model of insulin-dependent diabetes.

3 Oct 2012

Study identifies epigenetic changes that occur in adult stem cells to generate different body tissues

The team led by Manel Esteller, director of the Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program in the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona and ICREA researcher, has identified epigenetic changes that occur in adult stem cells to generate different body tissues. The finding is published this week in The American Journal of Pathology.

3 Oct 2012

Study investigates time-dependent efficacy of hUCB MNCs after experimental brain ischemia

A research team from Germany has found that optimal benefit and functional improvement for ischemic stroke results when human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB MNCs) are transplanted into rat stroke models within 72 hours of the stroke.

3 Oct 2012

Experimental stem cell treatment improves vision in blind mice

An experimental treatment for blindness, developed from a patient's skin cells, improved the vision of blind mice in a study conducted by Columbia ophthalmologists and stem cell researchers.

3 Oct 2012

Novel therapy shows promise in treating multiple myeloma following stem cell transplants

A novel therapy in the early stages of development at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center shows promise in providing lasting protection against the progression of multiple myeloma following a stem cell transplant by making the cancer cells easier targets for the immune system.

2 Oct 2012

Medistem initiates collaboration with Superview Biotechnology

Medistem Inc announced today the initiation of a collaboration with Superview Biotechnology Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Yinhuan Holding Co from Yixing, China.

1 Oct 2012

Takeda, Seattle Genetics announce preliminary data from brentuximab vedotin phase I study on sALCL

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Seattle Genetics, Inc., today announced preliminary data from one arm of a three arm phase I, open-label, multicenter study designed to determine the safety and activity of sequential and combination treatment approaches of brentuximab vedotin with CHOP or CH-P chemotherapy in newly diagnosed patients with CD30-positive mature T- and NK- cell lymphomas.

1 Oct 2012

Common RNA pathway links frontotemporal lobar dementia with ALS

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them.

1 Oct 2012

Study finds differences and similarities between iPSCs and cancer cells

UC Davis investigators have found new evidence that a promising type of stem cell now being considered for a variety of disease therapies is very similar to the type of cells that give rise to cancer. The findings suggest that although the cells -- known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) -- show substantial promise as a source of replacement cells and tissues to treat injuries, disease and chronic conditions, scientists and physicians must move cautiously with any clinical use because iPSCs could also cause malignant cancer.

29 Sep 2012

Synta announces results from ganetespib Phase 2b trial on NSCLC

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced results from an interim analysis of the Phase 2b portion of the GALAXY trial, a global, randomized, multi-center Phase 2b/3 study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Company's lead Hsp90 inhibitor, ganetespib, as second-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

29 Sep 2012

Wage disparities could limit success of health-care reform

A national study has found that earnings over the course of the careers of primary-care physicians averaged as much as $2.8 million less than the earnings of their specialist colleagues, potentially making primary care a less attractive choice for medical school graduates and exacerbating the already significant shortage of medical generalists.

29 Sep 2012

BioTime forms new wholly owned subsidiary

BioTime, Inc., an Alameda-based company engaged in research and development of innovative new products in the field of regenerative medicine utilizing stem cells and related technology, announced today that it has formed a new wholly owned subsidiary, BioTime Acquisition Corporation, to pursue opportunities and acquire assets and businesses in the fields of stem cells and regenerative medicine.

29 Sep 2012

Researchers discover way to detect and eliminate troublemaking stem cells

Mayo Clinic researchers have found a way to detect and eliminate potentially troublemaking stem cells to make stem cell therapy safer. Induced Pluripotent Stem cells, also known as iPS cells, are bioengineered from adult tissues to have properties of embryonic stem cells, which have the unlimited capacity to differentiate and grow into any desired types of cells, such as skin, brain, lung and heart cells.

28 Sep 2012

Researchers reduce life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants in mice with leukemia

Studying leukemia in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have reduced a life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants, the only curative treatment when leukemia returns.

28 Sep 2012

Elevated c-Myc expression amplifies gene activity in tumor cells of multiple cancer types

For a cancer patient, over-expression of the MYC oncogene is a bad omen. Scientists have long known that in tumor cells, elevated levels of MYC's protein product, c-Myc, are associated with poor clinical outcomes, including increased rates of metastasis, recurrence, and mortality. Yet decades of research producing thousands of scientific papers on the subject have failed to consistently explain precisely how c-Myc exerts its effects across a broad range of cancer types. Until now, that is.

28 Sep 2012

New understanding about function of MYC proteins

Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.

28 Sep 2012

Researchers solve key part of muscle regeneration mystery

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have solved a key part of a muscle regeneration mystery plaguing scientists for years, adding strong support to the theory that muscle mass can be built without a complete, fully functional supply of muscle stem cells.

28 Sep 2012

MiR-214 plays a critical role in regulating ovarian cancer stem cell properties

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered that the micro ribonucleic acid miR-214 plays a critical role in regulating ovarian cancer stem cell properties. This knowledge, said the researchers, could pave the way for a therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

28 Sep 2012

Study finds new regulator for heart formation

A new regulator for heart formation has been discovered by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This approach to finding genetic regulators, the scientists say, may have the power to provide insight into the development of any tissue in the body - liver, brain, blood and so on.

28 Sep 2012

Life Technologies receives FDA clearance for OpTmizer CTS T-cell expansion media

Life Technologies Corporation today announced it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its OpTmizer CTS T-Cell Expansion Tissue Culture Medium – a reagent that is now cleared as a Class II medical device and offers cost- and time-saving advantages for transitioning studies from the research bench to clinical trials.

28 Sep 2012