StemCell Therapy

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Orgenesis Inc., (OTCBB: ORGS) (the Company) announced today that pursuant to a licensing agreement dated February 2, 2012 with Tel Hashomer - Medical Research, Infrastructure and Services Ltd. ("Tel Hashomer" or "THM), the Company has an exclusive license to develop and commercialize THM's rights in functional autologous insulin producing cells (AIPC) regeneration technology.

This licensed portfolio is based on the groundbreaking work and two decades of research by the world renowned researcher, Prof. Sarah Ferber conducted at Tel Hashomer.

For the last thirteen years, Prof. Sarah Ferber, Ph.D in Medical Science, the head of the Molecular Endocrinology research unit at theCenter forRegenerative Medicine, Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Tel Hashomer, has been developing this unique technology, which seeks to substitute malfunctioning organs with new functional tissues created from the patient's own existing organs. This technology employs a molecular and cellular approach directed at converting liver cells into functional insulin producing cells as a treatment for diabetes.

Prof. Ferber's work has been published in the most highly regarded scientific journals such as Nature Medicine, JBC, PNAS, Hepatology, Journal of Autoimmunity and more. It is the Companys current intention to bring this technology to the clinical stage.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) following impaired insulin production by the pancreatic islets' beta cells, which sometimes leads to severe secondary complications such as myocardial infarcts, limb amputations, neuropathies and nephropathies and, in certain circumstances, even death. Currently, the major available treatment modality for an insulin depended diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patient is insulin infusion (injection, pumps or patches). However, the Company believes that these treatments may not prevent, or delay long enough, disease related complications.

A promising therapeutic approach known as pancreatic islet transplantation has been developed as an alternative to insulin injections. Worldwide, there are currently over twenty clinical centers performing pancreatic islet transplantations that are facing formidable obstacles, including a dire shortage of donor insulin producing cells to treat the expanding number of patients with the disease. Furthermore, such transplants require immunosuppressive drugs that may harm the patients and the transplanted cells.

Prof. Ferber states: It is commonly acceptable that the ideal therapy for an IDDM patient is beta cell replacement. I believe that there are three essential steps towards developing a curative treatment:

1) a source of beta cells must be identified;

2) the immune system must be convinced not to attack those cells; and

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Orgenesis Inc. Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Autologous Insulin Producing Cells (AIPC) Regeneration ...

09-03-2012 18:23 A company is locked in a battle with the FDA over the use one's own stem cells. The company argues that one has the right to over one's own body? If that's true, why is the FDA blocking this treatment? Find out. Plus, doctors are refusing to treat children that do not get vaccinated. Is this ethical? See more at http://www.pjtv.com

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FDA Blocks Stem Cell Therapy: Is the Government Playing a Cell Game? - Video

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TEDMED, http://www.TEDMED.com, the annual gathering where science, medical and technology leaders focus on "imagination, innovation and inspiration" to advance the art of health and medicine, today announced two new programs that will vastly increase the size and scope of its audience.

TEDMED is the world's only TED-licensed event focused solely on innovation and breakthrough thinking across all of health and medicine. It will be held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., April 10 - 13.

Speakers, attendee-Delegates and participants will range from biologists (Dr. E.O. Wilson) and writers (Ben Goldacre), to physicists (Albert-Laszlo Barabasi) and public health leaders like the director of the National Institutes of Health (Dr. Francis Collins). Topics to be explored by TEDMED speakers will include neuroscience, microbiology, surgery, oncology, stem cell therapy, bad science, Alzheimer's, robotics, game science, wearable tech, disease evolution, patient choice, virtual anatomy models, the nature of imagination, and dozens more.

For the first time this year, TEDMED will offer a free simulcast, TEDMEDLive, to teaching hospitals, medical schools, research institutions, university life science departments, state and federal government agencies, health-oriented corporations and non-profits across the nation. Participants, forecasted at more than 50,000, will be able to view a high-definition live stream of each presentation and performance. Using the TEDMED Connect mobile app, remote participants can also ask questions of the speakers in real time, which may be answered directly from the TEDMED stage.

Over 2,000 TEDMEDLive simulcast locations will participate, including institutions such as: Case Western Reserve University, Harvard University, University of California (Davis and Irvine), University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington, University of Virginia, Tulane University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University.

Another new TEDMED initiative is the Front-Line Scholarship Program, which offers up to $2 million in half- and full-fee scholarships to those leaders and innovators who are on the front lines of health and medicine. It assists those who would both contribute to the TEDMED conference as attendees, and would greatly benefit from joining the conference in Washington, D.C. in person as a Delegate. The Front-Line Scholarship Program is underwritten by the TEDMED Patron Fund, whose major contributors include Humana and The California Endowment.

"TEDMED is for everyone who is passionate about the future of health and medicine," said Jay Walker, curator of TEDMED."Accordingly, TEDMED is committed to bringing even more expertise and perspective to the table for a national discussion of health and medicine, regardless of ability to pay through our Front-Line Scholarship program. Front-Line Scholarships will permit the broadest possible group of healthcare providers, first responders and other contributors to attend so they can share even more ideas that will save lives."

More than 1,200 TEDMED onsite attendees including researchers, physicians, technologists and policy experts will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning at the Kennedy Center this April. Institutions of excellence represented by speakers and attendees will include The American Cancer Society, The American Red Cross, Biodigital Systems, The Boulis Laboratory, Brandeis University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, The California Institute of Technology, Center for Complex Network Research, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Duke University, Emory University, Harvard University, mc10, Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Education, The National Institutes of Health, New York University, Penn State University, Quest Diagnostics, The Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Reuters Health, Children's Hospital Boston, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network.

TEDMED Speaker List (as of 3/12/2012)

Additional speakers will be announced prior to the conference start date.

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TEDMED 2012 Conference Offers $2 Million in Scholarships to Health and Medicine Leaders and Innovators; Free National ...

LOS ANGELES Researchers at the UCLA stem cell center and the departments of chemistry and biochemistry and pathology and laboratory medicine have identified, for the first time, a generic way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs, a finding with implications for treating a host of mitochondrial diseases.

Mutations in the human mitochondrial genome are implicated in neuromuscular diseases, metabolic defects and aging. There currently are no methods to successfully repair or compensate for these mutations, said study co-senior author Dr. Michael Teitell, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Between 1,000 and 4,000 children per year in the United States are born with a mitochondrial disease and up to one in 4,000 children in the U.S. will develop a mitochondrial disease by the age of 10, according to Mito Action, a nonprofit organization supporting research into mitochondrial diseases. In adults, many diseases of aging have been associated with defects of mitochondrial function, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

"I think this is a finding that could change the field," Teitell said. "We've been looking to do this for a long time and we had a very reasoned approach, but some key steps were missing. Now we have developed this method and the next step is to show that what we can do in human cell lines with mutant mitochondria can translate into animal models and, ultimately, into humans."

The study appears today in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The current study builds on previous work published in 2010 in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, in which Teitell, Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a Broad stem cell research center scientist, and their team uncovered a role for an essential protein that acts to shuttle RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing "power plant" of a cell.

Mitochondria are described as cellular power plants because they generate most of the energy supply within a cell. In addition to supplying energy, mitochondria also are involved in a broad range of other cellular processes including signaling, differentiation, death, control of the cell cycle and growth.

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 have remained poorly understood.

The study in Cell outlined a new role for a protein called polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPASE) in regulating the import of RNA into mitochondria. Reducing the expression or output of PNPASE decreased RNA import, which impaired the processing of mitochondrial genome-encoded RNAs. Reduced RNA processing inhibited the translation of proteins required to maintain the mitochondrial electron transport chain that consumes oxygen during cell respiration to produce energy. With reduced PNPASE, unprocessed mitochondrial-encoded RNAs accumulated, protein translation was inhibited and energy production was compromised, leading to stalled cell growth.

The findings from the current study provide a form of gene therapy for mitochondria by compensating for mutations that cause a wide range of diseases, said study co-senior author Koehler.

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Repairing mutations in human mitochondria

Public release date: 12-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

Researchers at the UCLA stem cell center and the departments of chemistry and biochemistry and pathology and laboratory medicine have identified, for the first time, a generic way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs, a finding with implications for treating a host of mitochondrial diseases.

Mutations in the human mitochondrial genome are implicated in neuromuscular diseases, metabolic defects and aging. There currently are no methods to successfully repair or compensate for these mutations, said study co-senior author Dr. Michael Teitell, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Between 1,000 and 4,000 children per year in the United States are born with a mitochondrial disease and up to one in 4,000 children in the U.S. will develop a mitochondrial disease by the age of 10, according to Mito Action, a nonprofit organization supporting research into mitochondrial diseases. In adults, many diseases of aging have been associated with defects of mitochondrial function, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

"I think this is a finding that could change the field," Teitell said. "We've been looking to do this for a long time and we had a very reasoned approach, but some key steps were missing. Now we have developed this method and the next step is to show that what we can do in human cell lines with mutant mitochondria can translate into animal models and, ultimately, into humans."

The study appears March 12, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The current study builds on previous work published in 2010 in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, in which Teitell, Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a Broad Stem Cell Research Center scientist, and their team uncovered a role for an essential protein that acts to shuttle RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing "power plant" of a cell.

Mitochondria are described as cellular power plants because they generate most of the energy supply within a cell. In addition to supplying energy, mitochondria also are involved in a broad range of other cellular processes including signaling, differentiation, death, control of the cell cycle and growth.

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 have remained poorly understood.

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Correcting human mitochondrial mutations

12-03-2012 17:41 Dr.Mark Newkirk is once again on the cutting edge of medicine. Newkirk Family Veterinarians now offer STEM CELL THERAPY for pets. Dr. Mark Newkirk combines traditional medicine and surgery with Holistic Alternatives to access the best of both worlds. As a Veterinarian, Dr. Newkirk has been serving Southern New Jersey for over 25 years. He is extensively trained in medicine and surgery and also is skilled in the care of exotic pets such as reptiles and birds. Dr. Newkirk is also one of only 5 doctors in the country currently undergoing training by the nationally renowned Dr. Martin Goldstein, the author of "The Nature of Animal Healing", and founder of immuno-augmentative therapy for animals, a true alternative cancer therapy. Dr. Newkirk is a member of American Holistic Veterinary Medical Society, the American Veterinary Medical Association, New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association. For more information check out Stem Cell Therapy on The Animal Planet's dogs 101 http://www.youtube.com

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Stem Cell Therapy at Newkirk Family Veterinarians - Hunter's Story - Video

12-03-2012 20:48 by:www.medicaltourism.hk

Original post:
Chia medical tourism--stroke--stem cell therapy 1.flv - Video

12-03-2012 21:11 by:www.medicaltourism.hk

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Chia medical tourism--stroke--stem cell therapy 3.flv - Video

Public release date: 12-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

Researchers at the UCLA stem cell center and the departments of chemistry and biochemistry and pathology and laboratory medicine have identified, for the first time, a generic way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs, a finding with implications for treating a host of mitochondrial diseases.

Mutations in the human mitochondrial genome are implicated in neuromuscular diseases, metabolic defects and aging. There currently are no methods to successfully repair or compensate for these mutations, said study co-senior author Dr. Michael Teitell, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Between 1,000 and 4,000 children per year in the United States are born with a mitochondrial disease and up to one in 4,000 children in the U.S. will develop a mitochondrial disease by the age of 10, according to Mito Action, a nonprofit organization supporting research into mitochondrial diseases. In adults, many diseases of aging have been associated with defects of mitochondrial function, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

"I think this is a finding that could change the field," Teitell said. "We've been looking to do this for a long time and we had a very reasoned approach, but some key steps were missing. Now we have developed this method and the next step is to show that what we can do in human cell lines with mutant mitochondria can translate into animal models and, ultimately, into humans."

The study appears March 12, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The current study builds on previous work published in 2010 in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, in which Teitell, Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a Broad Stem Cell Research Center scientist, and their team uncovered a role for an essential protein that acts to shuttle RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing "power plant" of a cell.

Mitochondria are described as cellular power plants because they generate most of the energy supply within a cell. In addition to supplying energy, mitochondria also are involved in a broad range of other cellular processes including signaling, differentiation, death, control of the cell cycle and growth.

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 have remained poorly understood.

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Correcting human mitochondrial mutations

Public release date: 12-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Jackson press_releases@the-jci.org 919-684-0620 Journal of Clinical Investigation

EDITOR'S PICK Restoring what's lost: uncovering how liver tissue regenerates

The liver is unique among mammalian organs in its ability to regenerate after significant tissue damage or even partial surgical removal. Laurie DeLeve and her colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wanted to better understand which cells are specifically responsible for driving liver regeneration. A specialized cell type, known as liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, has generally been thought to promote regeneration of liver tissue. However, the DeLeve team suspected that stem cells and progenitor cells, which have the capacity to differentiate into mature cell types, might be responsible for stimulating liver regeneration by generating hepatocyte growth factor. Using a rat model system, they first identified the presence of stem and progenitor cells that give rise to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in both the liver and the bone marrow. They next sought to determine which population of stem and progenitor cells are required for regeneration. DeLeve and colleagues found that the bone marrow-derived cells were not required for liver cell proliferation in the absence of damage. In contrast, following surgical removal of a portion of the rat liver, an infusion of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells was required for liver regeneration. These results improve our understanding of how liver tissue can regenerate following damage and may shed light on liver complications in patients with suppressed bone marrow tissue.

TITLE: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell progenitor cells promote liver regeneration in rats

AUTHOR CONTACT: Laurie D. DeLeve University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA Phone: 323-442-3248; Fax: 323-442-3238; E-mail: deleve@usc.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58789?key=21e2857b21106f232595

ONCOLOGY New Determinant of Human Breast Cancer Metastasis Discovered

Researchers at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center in Lexington, KY have provided new insight as to why the most severe subtype of breast cancer in humans frequently metastasizes. Tumor cells can exploit a cellular program that promotes cell migration and reduces adhesion between cells to spread to distant sites in the body (metastasis). This cellular program, known as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, is normally restricted to wound healing, tissue remodeling and embryonic development. Increasing cell motility requires a decrease in E-cadherin, which functions to promote cell-cell adhesion. Led by Binhua Zhou, the research team identified G9a as a major repressor of E-cadherin expression. They found that G9a interacts with Snail, which can repress gene expression, to modify the E-cadherin promoter and block expression of the E-cadherin gene. Their findings establish that G9a is an important determinant of metastasis in the most severe sub-type of breast cancer, and suggest the development of new therapeutics targeting this pathway could potentially disrupt the metastatic disease.

TITLE: G9a interacts with Snail and is critical for Snail-mediated E-cadherin repression in human breast cancer

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JCI early table of contents for March 12, 2012

Public release date: 12-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Jackson sarah.jackson@the-jci.org 919-684-0620 Journal of Clinical Investigation

The liver is unique among mammalian organs in its ability to regenerate after significant tissue damage or even partial surgical removal. Laurie DeLeve and her colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wanted to better understand which cells are specifically responsible for driving liver regeneration. A specialized cell type, known as liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, has generally been thought to promote regeneration of liver tissue. However, the DeLeve team suspected that stem cells and progenitor cells, which have the capacity to differentiate into mature cell types, might be responsible for stimulating liver regeneration by generating hepatocyte growth factor. Using a rat model system, they first identified the presence of stem and progenitor cells that give rise to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in both the liver and the bone marrow. They next sought to determine which population of stem and progenitor cells are required for regeneration. DeLeve and colleagues found that the bone marrow-derived cells were not required for liver cell proliferation in the absence of damage. In contrast, following surgical removal of a portion of the rat liver, an infusion of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells was required for liver regeneration. These results improve our understanding of how liver tissue can regenerate following damage and may shed light on liver complications in patients with suppressed bone marrow tissue.

###

TITLE: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell progenitor cells promote liver regeneration in rats

AUTHOR CONTACT: Laurie D. DeLeve University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA Phone: 323-442-3248; Fax: 323-442-3238; E-mail: deleve@usc.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58789?key=21e2857b21106f232595

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Restoring what's lost: Uncovering how liver tissue regenerates

Published: March 12, 2012

(NEW YORK, NY, March 11, 2012) A study by Columbia researchers suggests that cells in the patients intestine could be coaxed into making insulin, circumventing the need for a stem cell transplant. Until now, stem cell transplants have been seen by many researchers as the ideal way to replace cells lost in type I diabetes and to free patients from insulin injections.

The researchconducted in micewas published 11 March 2012 in the journal Nature Genetics.

Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The pancreas cannot replace these cells, so once they are lost, people with type I diabetes must inject themselves with insulin to control their blood glucose. Blood glucose that is too high or too low can be life threatening, and patients must monitor their glucose several times a day.

Gut insulin cells express glucokinase, a key enzyme for glucose processing. Immunostaining detected insulin in red and glucokinase in green. Yellow marked merged colors.

A longstanding goal of type I diabetes research is to replace lost cells with new cells that release insulin into the bloodstream as needed. Though researchers can make insulin-producing cells in the laboratory from embryonic stem cells, such cells are not yet appropriate for transplant because they do not release insulin appropriately in response to glucose levels. If these cells were introduced into a patient, insulin would be secreted when not needed, potentially causing fatal hypoglycemia.

The study, conducted by Chutima Talchai, PhD, and Domenico Accili, MD, professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, shows that certain progenitor cells in the intestine of mice have the surprising ability to make insulin-producing cells. Dr. Talchai, who works in Dr. Accilis lab, is a New York Stem Cell Foundation-Druckenmiller Fellow.

The gastrointestinal progenitor cells are normally responsible for producing a wide range of cells, including cells that produce serotonin, gastric inhibitory peptide, and other hormones secreted into the GI tract and bloodstream.

Inactivation of Foxo1, a gene important for metabolism generated insulin producing cells in small intestines of newborn mice, as detected by immunofluorescence in red.Drs. Talchai and Accili found that when they turned off a gene known to play a role in cell fate decisionsFoxo1the progenitor cells also generated insulin-producing cells. More cells were generated when Foxo1 was turned off early in development, but insulin-producing cells were also generated when the gene was turned off after the mice had reached adulthood.

Our results show that it could be possible to regrow insulin-producing cells in the GI tracts of our pediatric and adult patients, Dr. Accili says.

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Columbia Researchers Find Potential Role for Gut Cells in Treating Type I Diabetes

Robert Shaw, left, commercial director of EMD Millipores Stem Cell Initiative, and Michael May, CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto.

EMD Millipore, the Billerica-based life science division of Merck KGaA, said today that it is collaborating with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto to develop optimized conditions to cultivate stem cells in a bioreactor.

The two parties will focus on developing a proprietary monitoring and control methodology for robust growth of adherent human pluripotent stem cells in EMD Millipores Mobius CellReady stirred tank bioreactor. The aim is to produce a commercial kit with reagents and associated methodologies for bioreactor culture of stem cells on microcarriers. No value was given for the collaboration.

As the demand for stem cells used in drug discovery and clinical applications grows, effectively translating the promise of stem cells into therapeutic reality will require large-scale, industrialized production under tightly controlled conditions, Robert Shaw, commercial director of EMD Millipores Stem Cell Initiative, said in a statement. He added that current production uses stacks of 2D tissue culture vessels, an expensive and labor-intensive process. The joint project is tackling those challenges, with the goal of large-scale cultivation of stem cells. Shaw said that may accelerate the progress of therapies into the clinic.

EMD Millipore is the first project partner of the regenerative medicine center, said Michael May, CEO of the center, which is using Millipores bioreactor in its product development facility at the University of Torontos Banting Institute. The work began on Feb. 27, 2012.

EMD Millipore has about 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2010 revenues of $2.2 billion. The company is known as Merck Millipore outside of the United States and Canada.

The regenerative medicine center is a Canadian non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canadas Networks of Centres of Excellence program and six institutional partners. It supports the development of technologies that accelerate the commercialization of stem cell- and biomaterials-based products. The center launched in Torontos Discovery District on June 14, 2011.

Just two weeks ago Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) of Wilmington signed an exclusive license for EMD Millipores TrueSpike technology under which the two will collaborate to integrate TrueSpike into Charles Rivers viral clearance services that aim to improve drug product safety.

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Millipore and Toronto non-profit cultivate stem cells in bioreactor

Public release date: 11-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans.

Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly.

The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their "stemness," said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA.

"We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells," Banerjee said. "Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients with type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders."

The study appears March 11, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Cell Biology.

In the flies, the insulin signaling came from the brain, which is an organ similar to the human pancreas, which produces insulin. That insulin was taken up by the blood stem cells, as were amino acids found in the fly flood, said Ji Won Shim, a postdoctoral fellow in Banerjee's lab and first author of the study.

Shim studied the flies while in the larval stage of development. To see what would happen to the blood stem cells, Shim placed the larvae into a jar with no food - they usually eat yeast or cornmeal and left them for 24 hours. Afterward, she checked for the presence of blood stem cells using specific chemical markers that made them visible under a confocal microscope.

"Once the flies were starved and not receiving the insulin and nutritional signaling, all the blood stem cells were gone," Shim said. "All that were left were differentiated mature blood cells. This type of mechanism has not been identified in mammals or humans, and it will be intriguing to see if there are similar mechanisms at work there."

Link:
UCLA scientists find insulin, nutrition prevent blood stem cell differentiation in fruit flies

Newswise UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans.

Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly.

The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their stemness, said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA.

We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells, Banerjee said. Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients with type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

The study appears March 11, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Cell Biology.

In the flies, the insulin signaling came from the brain, which is an organ similar to the human pancreas, which produces insulin. That insulin was taken up by the blood stem cells, as were amino acids found in the fly flood, said Ji Won Shim, a postdoctoral fellow in Banerjees lab and first author of the study.

Shim studied the flies while in the larval stage of development. To see what would happen to the blood stem cells, Shim placed the larvae into a jar with no food - they usually eat yeast or cornmeal and left them for 24 hours. Afterward, she checked for the presence of blood stem cells using specific chemical markers that made them visible under a confocal microscope.

Once the flies were starved and not receiving the insulin and nutritional signaling, all the blood stem cells were gone, Shim said. All that were left were differentiated mature blood cells. This type of mechanism has not been identified in mammals or humans, and it will be intriguing to see if there are similar mechanisms at work there.

In the fruit fly, the only mature blood cells present are myeloid cells, Shim said. Diabetic patients have many activated myeloid cells that could be causing disease symptoms. It may be that abnormal activation of myeloid cells and abnormal metabolism play a major role in diabetes.

Metabolic regulation and immune response are highly integrated in order to function properly dependent on each other. Type II diabetes and obesity, both metabolic diseases, are closely associated with chronic inflammation, which is induced by abnormal activation of blood cells, Shim said. However, no systemic study on a connection between blood stem cells and metabolic alterations had been done. Our study highlights the potential linkage between myeloid-lineage blood stem cells and metabolic disruptions.

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Insulin, Nutrition Prevent Blood Stem Cell Differentiation in Fruit Flies

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -03/12/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation (OTCQB: BOSM.PK - News) (Pinksheets: BOSM.PK - News) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, announced today the addition of cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors (SAMBA).

Biostem CEO, Dwight Brunoehler stated, "The Company is now positioned for growth and international expansion. Adding a world class team of clinical, laboratory, and regulatory experts for our Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors to guide our pursuits is essential. Dr. Prendergast brings a wealth of experience not only in the scientific aspects of stem cell use in regenerative medicine, but also in forging research and international economic development opportunities."

Dr. Prendergast is a busy clinical cardiothoracic surgeon, who performs 200-250 open-heart operations and 5 to 15 heart transplants each year. He is deeply involved in numerous clinical and research activities associated with stem cells and heart repair. He is presently Director of Cardiac Transplantation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he holds an Associate Professorship of Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In addition to being an active participant in stem cell research program development and teaching medical students and residents, his other interests include medical research funding and humanitarian development of programs for Disabled American Veterans.

Dr. Prendergast received his undergraduate degrees in biophysics and Psychology, as well as his medical degree, at Pennsylvania State University. His general surgery residency was for five years at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His cardiothoracic surgery training was at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, including the Los Angeles County Medical Center. Subsequent fellowship training included pediatric cardiac surgery at Children's Hospital of LA, along with thoracic transplant fellowships at University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. He spent three years at the University of Kansas establishing thoracic transplant programs until returning to Temple University Hospital as one of their staff heart and lung transplant surgeons. Subsequent to his time at Temple, he joined up with Newark Beth Israel/St. Barnabas Hospitals, where he assumed directorship as the Chief of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Assistance.

Regarding his appointment to the Biostem U.S. Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors, Dr. Prendergast said, "I am looking forward with excitement to working again with Dwight at Biostem. The expansion plan is sound, well paced, and will afford improved quality of life opportunities to many people around the world."

About Biostem U.S., Corporation

Biostem U.S., Corporation (OTCQB: BOSM.PK - News) (Pinksheets: BOSM.PK - News) is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered around providing hair re-growth using human stem cells. The company also intends to train and license selected physicians to provide Regenerative Cellular Therapy treatments to assist the body's natural approach to healing tendons, ligaments, joints and muscle injuries by using the patient's own stem cells. Biostem U.S. is seeking to expand its operations worldwide through licensing of its proprietary technology and acquisition of existing stem cell related facilities. The company's goal is to operate in the international biotech market, focusing on the rapidly growing regenerative medicine field, using ethically sourced adult stem cells to improve the quality and longevity of life for all mankind.

More information on Biostem U.S., Corporation can be obtained through http://www.biostemus.com, or by calling Kerry D'Amato, Marketing Director at 727-446-5000.

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Biostem U.S., Corporation Appoints Heart Surgeon, Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to Its Scientific and Medical Board of ...

Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly.

The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their "stemness," said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA.

"We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells," Banerjee said. "Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients with type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders."

The study appears March 11, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Cell Biology.

In the flies, the insulin signaling came from the brain, which is an organ similar to the human pancreas, which produces insulin. That insulin was taken up by the blood stem cells, as were amino acids found in the fly flood, said Ji Won Shim, a postdoctoral fellow in Banerjee's lab and first author of the study.

Shim studied the flies while in the larval stage of development. To see what would happen to the blood stem cells, Shim placed the larvae into a jar with no food - they usually eat yeast or cornmeal and left them for 24 hours. Afterward, she checked for the presence of blood stem cells using specific chemical markers that made them visible under a confocal microscope.

"Once the flies were starved and not receiving the insulin and nutritional signaling, all the blood stem cells were gone," Shim said. "All that were left were differentiated mature blood cells. This type of mechanism has not been identified in mammals or humans, and it will be intriguing to see if there are similar mechanisms at work there."

In the fruit fly, the only mature blood cells present are myeloid cells, Shim said. Diabetic patients have many activated myeloid cells that could be causing disease symptoms. It may be that abnormal activation of myeloid cells and abnormal metabolism play a major role in diabetes.

"Metabolic regulation and immune response are highly integrated in order to function properly dependent on each other. Type II diabetes and obesity, both metabolic diseases, are closely associated with chronic inflammation, which is induced by abnormal activation of blood cells," Shim said. "However, no systemic study on a connection between blood stem cells and metabolic alterations had been done. Our study highlights the potential linkage between myeloid-lineage blood stem cells and metabolic disruptions."

Going forward, Banerjee and his team are seeking other system signaling molecules that may be controlling blood stem cells in the fruit fly.

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Insulin, nutrition prevent blood stem cell differentiation in fruit flies

Public release date: 11-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans.

Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly.

The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their "stemness," said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA.

"We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells," Banerjee said. "Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients with type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders."

The study appears March 11, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Cell Biology.

In the flies, the insulin signaling came from the brain, which is an organ similar to the human pancreas, which produces insulin. That insulin was taken up by the blood stem cells, as were amino acids found in the fly flood, said Ji Won Shim, a postdoctoral fellow in Banerjee's lab and first author of the study.

Shim studied the flies while in the larval stage of development. To see what would happen to the blood stem cells, Shim placed the larvae into a jar with no food - they usually eat yeast or cornmeal and left them for 24 hours. Afterward, she checked for the presence of blood stem cells using specific chemical markers that made them visible under a confocal microscope.

"Once the flies were starved and not receiving the insulin and nutritional signaling, all the blood stem cells were gone," Shim said. "All that were left were differentiated mature blood cells. This type of mechanism has not been identified in mammals or humans, and it will be intriguing to see if there are similar mechanisms at work there."

Original post:
UCLA scientists find insulin, nutrition prevent blood stem cell differentiation in fruit flies

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -03/12/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation (OTCQB: BOSM.PK - News) (Pinksheets: BOSM.PK - News) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, announced today the addition of cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors (SAMBA).

Biostem CEO, Dwight Brunoehler stated, "The Company is now positioned for growth and international expansion. Adding a world class team of clinical, laboratory, and regulatory experts for our Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors to guide our pursuits is essential. Dr. Prendergast brings a wealth of experience not only in the scientific aspects of stem cell use in regenerative medicine, but also in forging research and international economic development opportunities."

Dr. Prendergast is a busy clinical cardiothoracic surgeon, who performs 200-250 open-heart operations and 5 to 15 heart transplants each year. He is deeply involved in numerous clinical and research activities associated with stem cells and heart repair. He is presently Director of Cardiac Transplantation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he holds an Associate Professorship of Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In addition to being an active participant in stem cell research program development and teaching medical students and residents, his other interests include medical research funding and humanitarian development of programs for Disabled American Veterans.

Dr. Prendergast received his undergraduate degrees in biophysics and Psychology, as well as his medical degree, at Pennsylvania State University. His general surgery residency was for five years at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His cardiothoracic surgery training was at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, including the Los Angeles County Medical Center. Subsequent fellowship training included pediatric cardiac surgery at Children's Hospital of LA, along with thoracic transplant fellowships at University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. He spent three years at the University of Kansas establishing thoracic transplant programs until returning to Temple University Hospital as one of their staff heart and lung transplant surgeons. Subsequent to his time at Temple, he joined up with Newark Beth Israel/St. Barnabas Hospitals, where he assumed directorship as the Chief of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Assistance.

Regarding his appointment to the Biostem U.S. Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors, Dr. Prendergast said, "I am looking forward with excitement to working again with Dwight at Biostem. The expansion plan is sound, well paced, and will afford improved quality of life opportunities to many people around the world."

About Biostem U.S., Corporation

Biostem U.S., Corporation (OTCQB: BOSM.PK - News) (Pinksheets: BOSM.PK - News) is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered around providing hair re-growth using human stem cells. The company also intends to train and license selected physicians to provide Regenerative Cellular Therapy treatments to assist the body's natural approach to healing tendons, ligaments, joints and muscle injuries by using the patient's own stem cells. Biostem U.S. is seeking to expand its operations worldwide through licensing of its proprietary technology and acquisition of existing stem cell related facilities. The company's goal is to operate in the international biotech market, focusing on the rapidly growing regenerative medicine field, using ethically sourced adult stem cells to improve the quality and longevity of life for all mankind.

More information on Biostem U.S., Corporation can be obtained through http://www.biostemus.com, or by calling Kerry D'Amato, Marketing Director at 727-446-5000.

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Biostem U.S., Corporation Appoints Heart Surgeon, Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to Its Scientific and Medical Board of ...

BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS and TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/12/12)- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA, and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) today announced a collaboration to develop optimized conditions for bioreactor-based cultivation of stem cells.

This joint project will focus on the development of a proprietary monitoring and control methodology, enabling robust growth of adherent human pluripotent stem cells in EMD Millipore's Mobius CellReady stirred tank bioreactor. Ultimately, the project will deliver a commercially available kit containing reagents and associated methodologies for bioreactor culture of stem cells on microcarriers.

"As the demand for stem cells used in drug discovery and clinical applications grows, effectively translating the promise of stem cells into therapeutic reality will require large-scale, industrialized production under tightly controlled conditions," states Robert Shaw, Commercial Director of EMD Millipore's Stem Cell Initiative. "At this time, production is typically achieved using stacks of 2D tissue culture vessels, which is an expensive and labor intensive process. This joint project will address those challenges and facilitate optimized, large-scale cultivation of stem cells which can accelerate the progress of therapies into the clinic."

"When CCRM was created, we had industry partnerships like this in mind," says Michael May, CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. "We are delighted to have EMD Millipore as our first project partner. Their production expertise and technologies will help CCRM to develop products that will benefit industry, academia, and the patient community. We appreciate that EMD Millipore has commissioned us to undertake this project and recognizes our strength in bioprocessing engineering."

CCRM will be employing EMD Millipore's Mobius CellReady stirred tank bioreactor in its product development facility at the University of Toronto's Banting Institute. The work began on February 27, 2012.

For more information, please visit http://www.millipore.com and http://www.ccrm.ca.

About EMD Millipore

EMD Millipore is the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Germany and offers a broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers' success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the Life Science Tools industry, EMD Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science.

Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2010 revenues of $2.2 billion. EMD Millipore is known as Merck Millipore outside of the U.S. and Canada.

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EMD Millipore and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine Collaborate to Optimize Conditions for ...