Progenitor Cells News and Research

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Thymosin beta-4 protein prompts damaged heart cells to repair themselves after a heart attack

A protein that the heart produces during its early development reactivates the embryonic coronary developmental program and initiates migration of heart cells and blood vessel growth after a heart attack, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

12 Apr 2009

Researchers develop mouse models of leukemia that predict response to chemotherapy

Being able to accurately predict how a given cancer will respond to chemotherapy would spare patients with non-responsive tumors the burden of undergoing toxic and ultimately unhelpful treatment.

1 Apr 2009

Amniotic fluid may be a new source of stem cells

For the first time, scientists have shown that amniotic fluid (the protective liquid surrounding an embryo) may be a potential new source of stem cells for therapeutic applications. The study was prepublished online on February 12, 2009, in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.

31 Mar 2009

Eye cells believed to be retinal stem cells are misidentified

Cells isolated from the eye that many scientists believed were retinal stem cells are, in fact, normal adult cells, investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found.

30 Mar 2009

How your brain grows might come down to how your cells divide

In the April 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), Lake and Sokol report that mouse protein Vangl2 controls the asymmetrical cell division and developmental fate of progenitor neurons.

30 Mar 2009

Post heart attack, bone marrow stem cells increase blood flow within heart

Patients treated with their own bone marrow stem cells after a heart attack experienced increased circulation within the heart, a study by Emory University School of Medicine physicians has found.

30 Mar 2009

ArunA Biomedical to commercialize human embryonic stem cell derived mesenchymal cells

ArunA Biomedical, Inc., has announced that it will make its CELL-EZ brand hMC human mesenchymal progenitor cells commercially available to the research community in mid 2009.

29 Mar 2009

Data suggesting that omacetaxine can eradicate leukemic stem cells may offer a breakthrough for CML

Data showing the ability of omacetaxine to kill leukemic stem cells in mouse models with drug-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) are the subject of an advance online publication in the journal Leukemia, ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:CXS and NASDAQ:CXSP) announced today.

29 Mar 2009

Human adult testes cells can become embryonic-like

Using what they say is a relatively simple method, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have extracted stem/progenitor cells from testes and have converted them back into pluripotent embryonic-like stem cells.

23 Mar 2009

Schizophrenia gene found to control the birth of new neurons

A gene that is arguably the most studied "schizophrenia gene" plays an unanticipated role in the brain: It controls the birth of new neurons in addition to their integration into existing brain circuitry, according to a report in the March 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

20 Mar 2009

Stem cell infusion and hyperbaric oxygen treatment improve islet function in diabetes

A study to determine if patients with type 2 diabetes can benefit from a combination of autologous (patient self-donated) stem cell infusions (ASC) and hyperbaric (above the normal air pressure of ) oxygen treatment (HBO) before and after ASC has found "significant benefits" in terms of "improvements in glycemic control" along with "reduced insulin requirements."

12 Mar 2009

Advances in stem cell research

Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of stem cell research, developing novel therapies designed to generate heart cells, repair traumatic lung injuries, grow new bone and stanch the spread of cancer cells.

8 Mar 2009

Bottom up assembly of cells into 3-D microtissues

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory can now control how cells connect with one another in vitro and assemble themselves into three-dimensional, multicellular microtissues.

5 Mar 2009

Statins can stimulate cardiac muscle cell regeneration, improve heart function

Statins, used widely to treat elevated cholesterol, have been shown to prevent progression of coronary narrowing and to have other beneficial effects on the heart, such as reducing inflammation, that are independent of cholesterol.

23 Feb 2009

Researchers discover "master gene" behind blood vessel development

In a first of its kind discovery, University of Minnesota researchers have identified the "master gene" behind blood vessel development.

5 Feb 2009

Cultured cells from the bone marrow can heal nerves in diabetes model

Transplanting cells that replenish blood vessels can also restore nerve function in an animal model of diabetic neuropathy, Emory researchers have found.

5 Feb 2009

Engineered virus targets and kills apparent cancer stem cells in neuroblastoma

After identifying an apparent population of cancer stem cells for neuroblastoma, researchers successfully used a reprogrammed herpes virus to block tumor formation in mice by targeting and killing the cells.

21 Jan 2009

Researchers trick bone marrow into releasing mesenchymal stem cells

Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

9 Jan 2009

A novel glioblastoma mouse model developed

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma-the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans-that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally.

5 Jan 2009

Study links MiR-29 molecule to muscle maturation, muscle cancer

Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered that a molecule implicated in leukemia and lung cancer is also important in muscle repair and in a muscle cancer that strikes mainly children.

1 Jan 2009