TIME Science fertility Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs Getty Images The feat could help patients with fertility problems

British scientists from Cambridge have succeeded in using skin cells to create primitive forms of artificial sperm and eggs.

The feat could transform fertility treatment and our understanding of age-related diseases, the Guardian reports.

Scientists created the early sex cells by culturing human embryonic stem cells for five days in controlled conditions.

They then showed that by following the same procedure they could convert adult skin tissue into early-stage sperm and eggs, raising the likelihood of using sex cells that genetically match a patient undergoing IVF treatment.

The scientists believe these cells have the potential could grow into mature sperm and eggs, something that has never been done in a lab before.

[The Guardian]

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Some hope that sperm cells could one day be derived from the skin cells of a man who is otherwise sterile and that a similar process cold produce viable egg cells from a sterile woman's body.

Israeli and UK researchers have created human sperm and egg precursor cells in a dish, starting from a person's skin cells. The achievement is a small step towards a treatment for infertility, although one that could face significant controversy and regulatory hurdles.

The experiment, reported online in Cell on 24 December1, recreates in humans parts of a procedure first developed in mice, in which cells called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells reprogrammed cells that can differentiate into almost any cell type are used to create sperm or eggs that are subsequently manipulated to produce live births by in vitro fertilization.

In 2012, stem-cell biologist Mitinori Saitou of Kyoto University in Japan and his collaborators created the first artificial primordial germ cells (PGCs)2. These are specialized cells that emerge during embryonic development and later give rise to sperm or eggs. Saitou made them in a dish, starting with skin cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state through iPS-cell technology (see 'Stem cells: Egg engineers'). They also were able to achieve the same result starting with embryonic stem cells.

Although his cells could not develop beyond this precursor stage in the dish, Saito found that if he placed them in mouse testes, they would mature into sperm, and if he placed them in ovaries, they would mature into functional eggs. Both sperm and eggs could be used for in vitro fertilization.

Efforts to engineer similarly functional gametes in humans have produced PGC-like cells, but with such a low efficiency success rate of turning stem cells into gametes that it was difficult for others to expand on the work.. Previous efforts also required the introduction of genes that would render the cells unusable in the clinic.

Ewen Callaway reports on the ethical challenges of using lab-made sperm and egg cells in fertility treatments.

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Now a team led by Azim Surani of the University of Cambridge, UK, and Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, has replicated the in vitro portion the first half, says Hanna of Saitous efforts in humans.

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C-Will- Cell Therapy
Saginaw hiphop,Austin TX, 1990Sumthin, C-Will GreenTeam,R B.

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FAT STEM CELL COMBINED/ Stem Cell Therapy
Adipose-Derived Stem Cells derived from the patients own fat provides a rich source of adult mesenchymal stem cells as demonstrated by Dr. Hong in this sessi...

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Asad Ra #39;Qib - Cell Therapy (freestyle)

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Innovative Treatment in Melanoma. Adoptive T Cell Therapy
The Ella Institute is a center of knowledge and excellence, implementing some of the world #39;s most advanced and unique treatment methodologies for melanoma an...

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Torn Knee Meniscus
http://www.kneestemcells.com Dennis Lox, M.D. is definitely an expert in Leg Stem Cell Treatments by providing Joint Stem Cell Therapy for those who seek an alternative for that in the past #39;s...

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A new combination of two different approaches -- virotherapy and immunotherapy -- is showing 'great promise' as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to new research.

The study, funded by the UK charity Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, investigated whether the effectiveness of the Vaccinia oncolytic virus -- a virus modified to selectively infect and kill cancer cells -- as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, would be improved by arming it with a gene which modulates the body's immune system.

Despite laboratory studies which show that they can both kill cancer cells and provide immunity against cancer regrowth, oncolytic viruses have not performed well in clinical trials, as the immune system naturally attacks the virus before it can be effective.

The QMUL team, at Barts Cancer Institute, armed the Vaccinia virus with a copy of the interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene, which would express proteins in the cancer cell once infected by the Vaccinia. These proteins are important in cell signalling -- but are also known to dampen the immune response -- and the researchers hoped that this would allow the virus to take hold and persist for longer.

"Many viruses use IL-10 to hide from the host's immune system, so we thought we'd use this natural strategy to investigate whether it would improve Vaccinia's effectiveness," said Dr Yaohe Wang, who led the research.

The research team first confirmed in the cell lines that arming Vaccinia with IL-10 would not compromise Vaccinia's anti-cancer effects. They then conducted tests comparing the effectiveness of Vaccinia and Vaccinia armed with IL-10 on mice with pancreatic cancer and a group of transgenic mice specially bred to develop a more human form of the disease.

After six weeks, 87.5 per cent of all the mice treated with the combination approach were completely clear of tumours compared with 42.8 per cent of those treated with Vaccinia alone.

In the transgenic mice group, the average survival rate almost doubled from 69.7 days for 138.5 days.

Four weeks after being completely clear of primary tumours, pancreatic cancer cells were reintroduced into the mice. No further doses of armed or unarmed virus were given. Whilst the cancer cells grew again in both groups, after 32 days all animals bar one were once again completely clear of cancer.

Interestingly, the regrowth was much slower in the mice originally treated with IL-10 armed Vaccinia and the mice in this group were free of cancer in only 18 days.

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Bangladesh in Genetic Engineering
ALJAGIRA-TV_News for Bangladesh Bangladesh in Genetic Engineering.

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Human Genetics II

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Surgical Technique for AADC Gene Therapy. Prof John Heiss
Prof. John Heiss, National Institute of Health NINDS - USA Surgical Technique for AADC Gene Therapy Summary: The history of delivering gene therapy to the ...

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Using Technology to Enable Personalized Medicine
For the latest information, please visit: http://www.wolfram.com Speaker: Paolo Narvaez Learn how Intel works with ecosystem partners and industry experts to develop tools and technologies...

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Dominique Friend doesn't look like she's sick. But the Lansdowne resident often deals with bouts of pain so severe she ends up in the hospital for weeks.

Friend, 44, was born with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that affects an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information.

Her autobiography "Sickle" was released by Tate Publishing on Dec. 9 in a second edition, after she self-published the book in 2009.

In the book, she tells of her struggle with the debilitating disease. Friend said she shared her personal account to raise awareness about the disease, which predominantly affects African-Americans. It is also found in those of Hispanic and Mediterranean descent, according to CDC information.

Friend said for as long as she can recall, she has dealt with painful episodes that are characteristic of sickle cell disease.

Pain develops when sickle-shaped red blood cells, that should be round like a doughnut, block the blood flow to the chest, joints and other parts of the body, Friend explained. It can last for a few hours to a few weeks and such episodes are called "crises," she said.

"I would take the pain of childbirth over a sickle cell crisis any day," said Friend, who has three children, two stepdaughters and two granddaughters.

She has been married to Michael Friend for 18 years.

The painful disease can disrupt learning for children and make it difficult for adults to work, said Dr. Sophie Lanzkron, an assistant professor of medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

A bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant is the only cure, according to the CDC website.

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Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy / Stem Cell Prolotherapy
Stem Cell Prolotherapy is a procedure in which adult mesenchymal stem cells are transplanted directly into the damaged tissue or injury and promotes healing. Stem cells are the repairmen...

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Restoring hair loss is a task undertaken not only by beauty practitioners. Previous studies have identified signals from the skin that help prompt new phases of hair growth. However, how different types of cells that reside in the skin communicate to activate hair growth has continued to puzzle biologists. An exciting study publishing on December 23 in the open access journal PLOS Biology reveals a new way to spur hair growth.

A group from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has discovered an unexpected connection?a link between the body?s defense system and skin regeneration. It turns out that macrophages are involved. These are cells from the immune system that are in charge of devouring invading pathogens, a process called phagocytosis. The authors report that macrophages induce hair growth by surrounding and activating cells in the skin that have regenerative capacity, called stem cells. The discovery that macrophages activate skin stem cells could influence technologies with potential applications in tissue regeneration, aging, and cancer.

The authors of the study are Mirna Perez-Moreno and Donatello Castellana, from the Epithelial Cell Biology Group of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme, along with Ralf Paus, a hair immunobiology expert from the University of Manchester and Mnster. ?We have discovered that macrophages, cells whose main function is traditionally attributed to fight infections and wound repair, are also involved in the activation of hair follicle stem cells in non-inflamed skin,? says Perez-Moreno.

These findings emerged from an observation by Perez-Moreno while she was working on another research project. Intriguingly, the mice she was working with at that time started to regrow hair when they were given anti-inflammatory drugs. Curious as to whether close communication between stem cells and immune cells could explain this observation, the Perez-Moreno lab began to test different types of cells involved in the bodys defense system for a role in hair growth. They observed that when skin cells are dormant, a fraction of macrophages die naturally due to a normal process called apoptosis. Surprisingly, the dying and surviving cells activated nearby stem cells and hair began to grow again.

Macrophages secrete a number of factors including a class of signaling molecules called Wnts. Importantly, when the researchers treated macrophages with a Wnt inhibitor drug, the activation of hair growth was delayed?demonstrating a role for Wnt from macrophages in promoting hair growth. Although this study was carried out in mice, the researchers believe their discovery ?may facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies? for hair growth in humans.

The researchers used tiny droplets, or liposomes, to carry the drug used in the study. The future use of liposomes as a way to deliver a drug to specific cells is promising and may have additional implications for the study of several pathologies, says Donatello Castellana.

From a more fundamental perspective, this research is an effort to understand how modifying the environment that surrounds adult skin stem cells can regulate their regenerative capabilities. ?One of the current challenges in the stem cell field is to regulate the activation of endogenous stem cell pools in adult tissues?to promote regeneration without the need of transplantation,? says Perez-Moreno.

Because of this study, it is now known that macrophages play a key role in the environment surrounding stem cells. ?Our study underlines the importance of macrophages as modulators in skin regenerative processes, going beyond their primary function as phagocytic immune cells,? say the authors in PLOS Biology.

###

Please mention PLOS Biology as the source for this article and include the links below in your coverage to take readers to the online, open access articles

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IMAGE:This is a skin whole mount section showing hair follicles (blue) surrounded by clusters of skin resident macrophages (red). The molecular communication between macrophages and hair follicle stem cells regulates... view more

Credit: Donatello Castellana, CNIO

How to restore hair loss is a task not undertaken exclusively by beauty practitioners. The discovery, now published by a group from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), reveals a novel angle to spur hair follicle growth. This also adds new knowledge to a broader problem: how to regenerate tissues in an adult organism, especially the skin.

The group has discovered an unexpected connection--a link between the body's defense system and skin regeneration. According to the authors of the study published today in PLOS Biology, cells from the immune system called macrophages-- those in charge of devouring invading pathogens, for example--are also responsible for activating skin stem cells and induce hair growth.

The regenerative ability of stem cells allows skin replenishment during a lifetime. But different factors can reduce their regenerative properties or promote their uncontrolled growth. When things go wrong, this can lead to aging and disease, including skin carcinomas. The discovery that macrophages activate skin stem cells may also have further implications beyond the possibility to develop therapeutic approaches for hair loss, but may also be relevant for cancer research.

The authors of the study are Mirna Perez-Moreno and Donatello Castellana, from the Epithelial Cell Biology Group of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme, along with Ralf Paus, a hair immunobiology expert from the University of Manchester and Mnster.

"We have discovered that macrophages, cells whose main function is traditionally attributed to fight infections and wound repair, are also involved in the activation of hair follicle stem cells in non inflamed skin," says Perez-Moreno.

FIRST PROOF

The researchers did not investigate the relationship between macrophages and hair for fun. This work emerged more than four years ago from an observation made by Perez-Moreno while working on another research project. The mice she had been working with at that time received anti-inflammatory drugs, a treatment that also reactivated hair growth. Convinced that the explanation could reside in the existence of close communication between stem cells and immune cells --the Perez-Moreno's lab began to experiment with the different types of cells involved in the bodys defense system.

After years of investigation, they discovered that when stem cells are dormant, a fraction of macrophages die, due to a process known as apoptosis. This stimulated the secretion of factors from dying and living macrophages, which in turn activated stem cells, and that is when hairs began to grow again.

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CNIO researchers activate hair growth by modifying immune cells

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Henderson, NV (PRWEB) December 23, 2014

After a successful educational outreach trip to Florida the weekend before Thanksgiving, Hylunia's Head of Research and Development Dr. Link will visit Arizona from Dec. 11-13 giving talks to students and industry professionals.

Dr. Link will be at the Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics in Tempe, Arizona this Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, skin care industry professionals are invited to sit in on his third lecture.

This series of lectures follows his successful talk to 60 students at the Florida College of Natural Health in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The best way to give back to our partners is to host seminars and get them familiar with our ingredients," said Dr. Link. "Its a great way to tell them the reasons behind why were updating formulas and using the ingredients weve chosen so that our partners can tell their customers about why the ingredients are important to their skin care needs.

The lectures explore the benefits, ingredients, philosophy and technology behind Hylunia products. For example, the Dr. Link discusses the science behind cutting-edge ingredients like tomato and grape stem cells, which are major components of Hylunia's Ultimate Antioxidant Cream.

Plant stem cells currently feature in six Hylunia products, including the Ultimate Antioxidant Cream. Tomato and grape stem cells are the newest addition to its lineup, with others on the way.

Grape stem cells protect the skin from free radicals caused by the sun and other environmental stressors like pollution and food. They're also shown to prevent skin aging. Tomato stem cells contain compounds like Lypocene, which protect against the heavy metals found in pollution and other environmental stressors. Dr. Link's lectures aim to explain these benefits to the company's partners who then communicate them to the public.

Hylunia launched its own spa earlier this year, and Dr. Link decided it was the right time to go back on the road and continue his educational outreach to students and industry professionals across the country.

"These speeches give us a chance to spread our philosophy to those who arent familiar with Hylunia," said said Dr. Link.

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24 Dec 2014, 19:20 HRS IST

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Sensex tumbles 297.85 points to end at 27,208.61; Nifty falls 92.90 pts at 8,174.10Government will deal with NDFB(S) firmly: Assam Chief Minister Tarun GogoiAssam violence is an act of terror and we will deal with it accordingly: Home Minister Rajnath SinghThe onus of government formation lies primarly on BJP and PDP. We are quitely waiting to watch what happens, Omar says after submitting resignation to GovernIt also announces to world and investors that India can no longer wait for reforms, stalemate and obstructionism cannot be allowed to continue in perpetuity: JaitleyArun Jaitley and Arun Singh appointed observers for Jammu and Kashmir, J P Nadda and Vinay Sahstrabuddhe for JharkhandBJP Parliamentary Board appoints two observers each for Jharkhand and J-K to elect legislature party leader: General secretary J P NaddaJammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah submits his resignation to Governor N N VohraOrdinance on insurance demonstrates govt's firm commitment and determination on reforms: JaitleyCountry's highest honour to these illustrious stalwarts is a fitting recognition of their service to the Nation: PMCountry's highest honour to these illustrious stalwarts is a fitting recognition of their service to the Nation: PM.It is a matter of great delight: PM on Bharat Ratna being conferred on A B Vajpayee and Madan Mohan MalviyaCabinet approves ordinances on raising FDI in insurance sector and coal block auction: SourcesGovernment announces Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan MalviyaCabinet pays homage to victims of "cowardly" attacks on Adivasis in Assam. Observes silencePak troops violate ceasefireToll rises to 40 in NDFB(S) attacks in AssamMaharashtra govt to allow online RTI queries from New YearSensex down 36 points in cautious early tradeRupee down 20 paise against dollar in early trade

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Source: ISNA

Iran inaugurated the cell therapy and regenerative medicine center affiliated to the country's Red Crescent Society in a ceremony attended by Iranian Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs Sorena Sattari.

"Stem cells are of great importance for the future. If we want to describe the modern medicine, we should say that one of its important bases is stem cell," he said.

He also said scientific projects take 10-15 years to turn into trade products.

In 2013, Iran hosted an international congress on stem cell and biomedicine attended by representatives of major medical research groups mostly from China, India, Italy and US and Iran have taken part in the two-day event and was organized by Iran's Royan institute.

The congress aimed to bring together the researchers and practitioners from all over the world in stem cells and reproductive biomedicine to stimulate and promote research in this area.

Stem cell research is one of the most promising research areas in modern biomedicine. However, due to moral and ethical debates, it remains a controversial issue in many regions of the world.

Stem cells have been shown to have significant capability to develop into a plethora of different cell types and work as a repair system to replenish cells with specialized functions.

Due to the efforts of Iranian scientists, doctors, engineers and researchers, Iran has advanced tremendously in the fields of stem cell research, medicine, nanotechnology, biotechnology and aerospace engineering.

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Iran opens cell therapy center

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Abu Dhabi: A comprehensive new health care strategy for the emirate of Abu Dhabi will focus on reducing critical gaps across medical specialities and improving access to health care, senior health officials announced in the capital on Wednesday.

One of the hallmarks of this plan, launched by the emirates health sector regulator, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad), is to reduce the prevalence of genetic diseases among residents. In addition, personalised medicine programmes will also be introduced to tailor management of diseases based on each individuals predisposition to health risks, Dr Maha Barakat, director-general at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News.

Such personalised management of health is the future of medicine, and we are currently in the exploratory phase of implementing it. For example, a simple blood test can be used to extract the genetic profile of an individual, and based on inherent risks towards certain diseases, the individuals future treatment plans can be determined and precautionary measures taken, Dr Maha said.

She was speaking at a press conference held to launch the Haads health care plan for the next five years. The scheme highlights 58 initiatives distributed across seven priority areas, and was recently approved by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

While existing initiatives to improve patient satisfaction and to increase the reach of screening programmes have been revamped, new elements have also been introduced to address emerging health care concerns.

For example, the new plan aims to reduce the prevalence of genetic diseases, which were responsible for 2 per cent of all fatalities in 2013.

We understand that many of these congenital malformations and abnormalities occur due to consanguineous marriages. A standing premarital screening programme does address this concern, but we hope to create greater awareness among residents about these risks as well. In addition, we also hope to increase pre-gestational diagnoses and treatment of diseases to limit the number of children born with severe malformations, Dr Maha said.

There is still a shortfall in the provision of certain medical specialities in the emirate, including intensive medicine, neonatology, paediatrics, oncology, psychiatry, orthopaedics and rehabilitation. The Haad strategy aims to attract and retain specialists to fill these, especially Emirati professionals, said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, the authoritys chairman.

Statistics released on Wednesday (December 24) show that about 4,800 more doctors and 13,000 nurses are required in Abu Dhabi by 2020, which translates into 1,700 additional doctors and 2,900 nurses annually.

In addition, officials are hoping to encourage further private sector investment into health care facilities.

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Gage Green Genetics Day 58 Flower With Macro Shots Repost 2010
seed site here http://bigdansgreenthumb.wix.com/bigdansgenetix#!shop/c1k7w here are some old videos from the original youtube before it got deleted at 10k th...

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Frosty Junior Genetics
Biology Unit 1 Project.

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Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 23, 2014

Earlier this year in a June 24 international conference presentation, Dr. James L. Sherley, director of the Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) focused attention on an often overlooked and under appreciated unique property of adult tissue stem cells. His title Asymmetric Self-Renewal by Distributed Stem Cells: Misunderstood in the Past, Important for the Future, embodied the essence of his message to congress participants. He gave the address at the 4th World Congress on Cell Science and Stem Cell Research in Valencia, Spain.

The international congress was organized by the Omics Group as a part of its mission to foster the dissemination of leading discoveries and advances in life sciences research. Their posting this month of the slides from Dr. Sherley's June 24 keynote address now provides worldwide open access to life sciences investigators - stem cell biologists in particular - of the concepts that he emphasized.

In a 2008 publication [Breast Disease 29, 37-46, 2008], Sherley coined the new term distributed stem cells (DSCs) as a biology-based name for all natural tissue stem cells that are not embryonic in origin. Adult stem cells are included under the DSC heading. DSCs do not make every cell in the body. Their nature is to produce only a limited tissue-specific or organ-specific distribution of the total possible mature cell types. So, for example, liver DSCs make mature liver cells, but not mature cells found in other organs like the lungs.

Since 2001 and the start of "the stem cell debate," Sherley has insisted that only DSCs can be effective for developing new cellular therapies. In his keynote address, he explained to attendees why the counterparts of DSCs human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and more recently developed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could not.

Though many stem cell scientists recognize and acknowledge the genetic defects, incomplete differentiation, and tumor formation problems of hESCs and iPSCs - which their proponents suggest can be solved - few appreciate their greater problem, which cannot be solved. Unlike DSCs, hESCs and iPSCs lack the property of asymmetric self-renewal.

Sherleys main message is that asymmetric self-renewal, which is the gnomonic for DSCs the very property that defines DSCs is essential for effective cellular therapies. Asymmetric self-renewal means that DSCs can actively multiply with simultaneous reproduction of themselves and production of mature cells. This ability allows DSCs to replenish mature cells, which are continuously lost from tissues and organs, but not lose their genetic blueprint required for tissue and organ renewal and repair.

The asymmetric self-renewal of DSCs is a crucial consideration for all aspects of their study and use. Sherley argues that overlooking it is holding back progress in regenerative medicine. Asymmetric self-renewal is the factor that limits the production of DSCs; but it is so unique to them that it can also be used to identify DSCs, which are notorious for being elusive. The ASCTCs patented technologies for producing and counting DSCs for research and clinical development are grounded in the companys special research and bioengineering expertise for DSC asymmetric self-renewal.

Asymmetric self-renewal may even play a role in the efficient production of iPSCs. At the end of his address, Sherley announced the approval of a new ASCTC patent. The patent covers the invention of a method to make iPSCs from DSCs that were produced by regulating their asymmetric self-renewal (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office No. 8,759,098).

The ASCTC anticipates that despite the new technologys origin in DSC research, it will advance human disease research based on iPSCs. Although iPSCs are not suitable for cell therapy applications, they are uniquely able to provide disease research models for hard to obtain cell types found in patients (e.g., brain cells from autism patients, cardiac cells from heart disease patients).

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Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLCs Director Sherley's Address on Whats Holding Back Regenerative Medicine ...

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(New York City) A new test may reveal which patients will respond to treatment for graft versus host disease (GVHD), an often life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants (SCT) used to treat leukemia and other blood disorders, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online today in the journal Lancet Haematology and in print in the January issue.

Patients with fatal blood cancers like leukemia often require allogenic stem cell SCT to survive. Donor stem cells are transplanted to a recipient, but not without the risk of developing GVHD, a life-threatening complication and major cause of death after SCT. The disease, which can be mild to severe, occurs when the transplanted donor cells (known as the graft) attack the patient (referred to as the host). Symptom severity, however, does not accurately define how patients will respond to treatment and patients are often treated alike with high-dose steroids. Although SCT cures cancer in 50 percent of the patients, 25 percent die from relapsed cancer and there remaining go into remission but later succumb to effects of GVHD.

"High dose steroids is the only proven treatment for GVHD," said James L. M. Ferrara, MD, DSc, Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Medicine Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of Hematologic Malignancies Translational Research Center at Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. "Those with low-risk GVHD are often over-treated and face significant side-effects from treatment. Patients with high risk GVHD are undertreated and the GVHD progresses, often with fatal consequences. Our goal is to provide the right treatment for each patient. We hope to identify those patients at higher risk and design an aggressive intervention while tailoring a less-aggressive approach for those with low-risk."

Dr. Ferrara, along with a multi-center team of researchers, developed and tested this new scoring system using almost 500 patient blood samples with newly diagnosed GVHD in varying grades from two different centers. They used three validated biomarkers TNFR1, ST2 and Reg3 to create an algorithm that calculated the probability of non-relapse mortality (usually caused by GVHD) that provided three distinct risk scores to predict the patient's response to GVHD treatment.

The acid test was to evaluate the algorithm in a validation set of 300 additional patients from twenty different SCT centers throughout the US. The algorithm worked perfectly, and the cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality significantly increased as the GVHD score increased, and so the response rate to primary GVHD treatment decreased.

"This new scoring system will help identify patient who may not respond to standard treatments, and may require an experimental and more aggressive approach," said Dr. Ferrara. "And it will also help guide treatment for patients with lower-risk GVHD who may be over-treated. This will allow us to personalize treatment at the onset of the disease. Future algorithms will prove increasingly useful to develop precision medicine for all SCT patients."

In order to capitalize on this discovery, Dr. Ferrara has created the Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) which consists of a group of ten SCT centers in the US and Europe who will collaborate to use this new scoring system to test new treatments for acute GVHD. Dr. Ferrara and colleagues have also written a protocol to treat high-risk GVHD that has been approved by the FDA.

###

Co-collaborators included University of Michigan, University of Regensburg, and the Blood and Marrow Clinical Trials Network.

The study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Doris Duke Charitable Fund, the American Cancer Society, and the Judith Devries Fund.

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Test predicts response to treatment for complication of leukemia stem cell treatment

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Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 23, 2014

Earlier this year in a June 24 international conference presentation, Dr. James L. Sherley, director of the Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) focused attention on an often overlooked and under appreciated unique property of adult tissue stem cells. His title Asymmetric Self-Renewal by Distributed Stem Cells: Misunderstood in the Past, Important for the Future, embodied the essence of his message to congress participants. He gave the address at the 4th World Congress on Cell Science and Stem Cell Research in Valencia, Spain.

The international congress was organized by the Omics Group as a part of its mission to foster the dissemination of leading discoveries and advances in life sciences research. Their posting this month of the slides from Dr. Sherley's June 24 keynote address now provides worldwide open access to life sciences investigators - stem cell biologists in particular - of the concepts that he emphasized.

In a 2008 publication [Breast Disease 29, 37-46, 2008], Sherley coined the new term distributed stem cells (DSCs) as a biology-based name for all natural tissue stem cells that are not embryonic in origin. Adult stem cells are included under the DSC heading. DSCs do not make every cell in the body. Their nature is to produce only a limited tissue-specific or organ-specific distribution of the total possible mature cell types. So, for example, liver DSCs make mature liver cells, but not mature cells found in other organs like the lungs.

Since 2001 and the start of "the stem cell debate," Sherley has insisted that only DSCs can be effective for developing new cellular therapies. In his keynote address, he explained to attendees why the counterparts of DSCs human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and more recently developed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could not.

Though many stem cell scientists recognize and acknowledge the genetic defects, incomplete differentiation, and tumor formation problems of hESCs and iPSCs - which their proponents suggest can be solved - few appreciate their greater problem, which cannot be solved. Unlike DSCs, hESCs and iPSCs lack the property of asymmetric self-renewal.

Sherleys main message is that asymmetric self-renewal, which is the gnomonic for DSCs the very property that defines DSCs is essential for effective cellular therapies. Asymmetric self-renewal means that DSCs can actively multiply with simultaneous reproduction of themselves and production of mature cells. This ability allows DSCs to replenish mature cells, which are continuously lost from tissues and organs, but not lose their genetic blueprint required for tissue and organ renewal and repair.

The asymmetric self-renewal of DSCs is a crucial consideration for all aspects of their study and use. Sherley argues that overlooking it is holding back progress in regenerative medicine. Asymmetric self-renewal is the factor that limits the production of DSCs; but it is so unique to them that it can also be used to identify DSCs, which are notorious for being elusive. The ASCTCs patented technologies for producing and counting DSCs for research and clinical development are grounded in the companys special research and bioengineering expertise for DSC asymmetric self-renewal.

Asymmetric self-renewal may even play a role in the efficient production of iPSCs. At the end of his address, Sherley announced the approval of a new ASCTC patent. The patent covers the invention of a method to make iPSCs from DSCs that were produced by regulating their asymmetric self-renewal (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office No. 8,759,098).

The ASCTC anticipates that despite the new technologys origin in DSC research, it will advance human disease research based on iPSCs. Although iPSCs are not suitable for cell therapy applications, they are uniquely able to provide disease research models for hard to obtain cell types found in patients (e.g., brain cells from autism patients, cardiac cells from heart disease patients).

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Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLCs Director Sherley's Address on Whats Holding Back Regenerative Medicine ...

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