T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Shlomo Melmed appointed to Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee

Shlomo Melmed, M.D., senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee, the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

7 Aug 2010

Osiris Therapeutics reports second-quarter net income of $1.7M against loss last year

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., the leading stem cell company focused on developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions in the inflammatory, autoimmune, cardiovascular and orthopedic areas, announced today its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.

7 Aug 2010

FDA seeks ban on Regenerative Sciences for violating cGMP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seeking an injunction in federal court against Regenerative Sciences LLC, of Broomfield, Colo., citing violations of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) that cause its cultured cell product to be adulterated. The product is also misbranded due to the lack of adequate directions for use and the failure to bear the "Rx only" symbol.

7 Aug 2010

Cyclacel second-quarter net loss decreases to $6.5 million

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious disorders, today reported its financial results and business highlights for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

UCSF researchers discover new technology purifying special types of stem cells

UCSF researchers are reporting the first success in very rapidly purifying one type of embryonic stem cell from a mix of many different types of embryonic stem cells in the culture dish. The technique, which avoids the need to genetically alter the cells to distinguish them, is a key advance, the researchers say, for obtaining the appropriate cells for repairing specific damaged tissues.

7 Aug 2010

Drugs that reduce activity of ABDH6 enzyme can prevent brain damage: Study

A newly discovered molecular mechanism helps control the amount and effectiveness of a substance that mimics an active ingredient in marijuana, but that is produced by the body's own nerve cells.

7 Aug 2010

FDA declines to grant Levulan PDT Orphan Designation: DUSA Pharmaceuticals

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported today that on the afternoon of August 5, 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified DUSA that it has not granted Orphan Drug Designation for the use of Levulan (aminolevulinic acid HCl) Photodynamic Therapy for the prevention of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas in patients who have a proven history of multiple localized cutaneous SCCs over a 12 month period.

7 Aug 2010

OncoGenex reports net income in second-quarter 2010 against loss last year

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported unaudited financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 and reviewed the Company's highlights for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Scientists identify role of PNPASE in regulating RNA import into mitochondria

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine have uncovered a role for an essential cell protein in shuttling RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing "power plant" of the cell. The import of nucleus-encoded small RNAs into mitochondria is essential for the replication, transcription and translation of the mitochondrial genome, but the mechanisms that deliver RNA into mitochondria remain poorly understood.

7 Aug 2010

UC Riverside scientists secure grants for tobacco control research

Tobacco-related disease kills more people worldwide than any other single factor. To help address this problem, the University of California, Riverside has received six grants from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP), the most TRDRP grants the campus has received in any year.

6 Aug 2010

Salamander research findings bring scientists closer to future regenerative therapies

Tissue regeneration in salamanders and newts seems like it should be the stuff of science fiction. But it happens routinely. Why can't we mammals just re-grow a limb or churn out a few new heart muscle cells as needed? New research suggests there might be a very good reason: Restricting our cells' ability to pop in and out of the cell cycle at will - a prerequisite for the cell division necessary to make new tissue - reduces the chances that they'll run amok and form potentially deadly cancers.

6 Aug 2010

Researchers reprogram human embryonic stem cells to iPS cells for use in regenerative medicine

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state-so-called induced pluripotent stem or iPS cells-exhibit very few differences in their gene expression signatures and are nearly indistinguishable in their chromatin state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers.The pluripotency of ES cells fueled excitement over their use in regenerative medicine. While ethical hurdles associated with the clinical application of human ES cells appeared to have been overcome with the development of methods to create iPS cells, some recent research has suggested that ES and iPS cells have substantial differences in which sets of genes they express.

6 Aug 2010

Study identifies options for restoring knee cartilage lubrication to prevent OA

An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament is fairly common, especially among young athletes. While it can often be corrected through surgery, the injury can lead to increased risk of developing degenerative joint diseases, including osteoarthritis. The problem is that fluid in the knee joint, which lubricates the cartilage, is impacted by the trauma of the injury and begins to deteriorate.

6 Aug 2010

New research on use of medicine, diet to prevent UV-induced skin cancer

In most cases, non-melanoma skin cancers are caused by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation - the invisible rays from the sun that can burn the skin. To reduce the risk of skin cancer, dermatologists encourage the public to Be Sun Smart, including limiting sun exposure and using broad-spectrum sunscreens.

6 Aug 2010

Scientists identify genetic variant that increases risk of schizophrenia

A group of scientists has identified a genetic variant that substantially increases the risk for developing schizophrenia in Ashkenazi Jewish and other populations. The study, published by Cell Press on August 5th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, associates a deletion on chromosome 3 with increased incidence of schizophrenia.

6 Aug 2010

Vesicular stomatitis virus kills tumour, stimulates immune response against cancer: Research

Cancer Research UK scientists have used the immune system coupled with a virus found in horses and cattle, to hunt and purge cancer cells through the lymphatic system, a study reveals in Nature Medicine.Studying mice, the researchers found that the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), carried by a type of white blood cell called T cells acted as a 'cancer hunter', tracking down tumour cells in the lymph nodes, liver and spleen, and killed them, leaving normal healthy cells unharmed. At the same time, VSV also helped to trigger an immune response against the tumour, significantly improving the anti-cancer effect.

6 Aug 2010

Scientists find new way to make beating heart cells from body's own cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease have found a new way to make beating heart cells from the body's own cells that could help regenerate damaged hearts. Over 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure because the heart has virtually no ability to repair itself after a heart attack.

6 Aug 2010

Scientists find molecular cocktail to transform non-muscle cells into cardiac muscle

In heart disease, cardiac muscle gradually dies off and, with little or no way to regenerate those cells, that can ultimately lead the heart to fail. But scientists reporting in the August 6th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, might have found a way to fix those losses. They've devised a three-ingredient molecular cocktail that transforms fibroblasts - structural cells that the heart is chock full of - directly into beating heart cells.

6 Aug 2010

WaferGen launches SmartChip System for discovery, validation of biomarkers

WaferGen Biosystems, Inc., a leading developer of state-of-the-art genomic analysis systems, today announced it has launched the breakthrough WaferGen SmartChip Real-Time PCR System, the next-generation Real-Time PCR system for discovery and validation of biomarkers, or gene expression patterns, on a single platform. The SmartChip System is designed to provide accurate, highly sensitive and high-throughput gene expression profiling capabilities to researchers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies.

6 Aug 2010

SeraCare optimizes ACCURUN 341 Nucleic Acid Positive controls

SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Company has developed a new series of controls in its ACCURUN portfolio to monitor and validate molecular diagnostic test performance for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (CT/NG). Through collaboration with instrument and reagent manufacturers, SeraCare has optimized the ACCURUN 341 Nucleic Acid Positive controls specifically for use with the three most popular assays currently on the market; the Gen-Probe APTIMA Combo 2 Assay, the Roche COBAS AMPLICOR CT/NG Test, and the Becton, Dickinson BD ProbeTec ET System.

6 Aug 2010