Saturday, February 11, 2012
Researchers Formulate Mode of Directing Stem Cells to Boost Bone Formation and Bone Strength
http://www.medindia.net/news/researchers-formulate-mode-of-directing-stem-cells-to-boost-bone-formation-and-bone-strength-97231-1.htm
Researchers are exploring stem cells as possible treatments for a wide variety of conditions and injuries, ranging from peripheral artery disease and macular degeneration to blood disorders, skin wounds and diseased organs. Directing stem cells to travel and adhere to the surface of bone for bone formation has been among the elusive goals in regenerative medicine.
The researchers made use of a unique hybrid molecule, LLP2A-alendronate, developed by a research team led by Kit Lam, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. The researchers' hybrid molecule consists of two parts: the LLP2A part that attaches to mesenchymal stem cells in the bone marrow, and a second part that consists of the bone-homing drug alendronate. After the hybrid molecule was injected into the bloodstream, it picked up mesenchymal stem cells in the bone marrow and directed those cells to the surfaces of bone, where the stem cells carried out their natural bone-formation and repair functions.
"Our study confirms that stem-cell-binding molecules can be exploited to direct stem cells to therapeutic sites inside an animal," said Lam, who also is an author of the article. "It represents a very important step in making this type of stem cell therapy a reality."
Twelve weeks after the hybrid molecule was injected into mice, bone mass in the femur (thigh bone) and vertebrae (in the spine) increased and bone strength improved compared to control mice who did not receive the hybrid molecule. Treated mice that were normally of an age when bone loss would occur also had improved bone formation, as did those that were models for menopause.
Alendronate, also known by the brand name Fosamax, is commonly taken by women with osteoporosis to reduce the risk of fracture. The research team incorporated alendronate into the hybrid molecules because once in the bloodstream, it goes directly to the bone surface, where it slows the rate of bone breakdown. According to Nancy Lane, a co-investigator on the study and director of the UC Davis Musculoskeletal Diseases of Aging Research Group, the dose of alendronate in the hybrid compound was low and unlikely to have inhibited the compound's therapeutic effect.
"For the first time, we may have potentially found a way to direct a person's own stem cells to the bone surface where they can regenerate bone," said Lane, who is an Endowed Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology and an expert on osteoporosis. "This technique could become a revolutionary new therapy for osteoporosis as well as for other conditions that require new bone formation."
Osteoporosis is a major public health problem for 44 million Americans. One in two women will suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. Although effective medications are available to help prevent fracture risk, including alendronate, their use is limited by potential harmful effects of long-term use.
The major causes for osteoporosis in women include estrogen deficiency, aging and steroid excess from treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. Generally, the osteoporosis generated by these metabolic conditions results from change in the bone remodeling cycle that weakens the bone's architecture and increases fracture risk.
Mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow induce new bone remodeling, which thicken and strengthen bone.
The authors noted that the potential use of this stem cell therapy is not limited to treating osteoporosis. They said it may prove invaluable for other disorders and conditions that could benefit from enhanced bone rebuilding, such as bone fractures, bone infections or cancer treatments.
"These results are very promising for translating into human therapy," said Jan Nolta, professor of internal medicine, an author of the study and director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures. "We have shown this potential therapy is effective in rodents, and our goal now is to move it into clinical trials."
Funding for the study came from the Endowment on Healthy Aging and the National Institutes of Health. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has given the team a planning grant to develop a proposal for human clinical trials.
"This research was a collaboration of stem cell biologists, biochemists, translational scientists, a bone biologist and clinicians," said Lane. "It was a truly fruitful team effort with remarkable results."
Using a person's own stem cells to help promote bone growth or regenerate bone formation. This is very promising news for the millions suffering from osteoporosis. The future using your own stem cells to treat and cure different diseases and ailments is brighter than ever..............MrCordBlood
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Exercise Triggers Stem Cells In Muscle
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in skeletal muscle have been known to be important for muscle repair in response to non-physiological injury, predominantly in response to chemical injections that significantly damage muscle tissue and induce inflammation. The researchers, led by kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, investigated whether MSCs also responded to strain during exercise, and if so, how.
"Since exercise can induce some injury as part of the remodeling process following mechanical strain, we wondered if MSC accumulation was a natural response to exercise and whether these cells contributed to the beneficial regeneration and growth process that occurs post-exercise," said Boppart, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I.
The researchers found that MSCs in muscle are very responsive to mechanical strain. They witnessed MSC accumulation in muscle of mice after vigorous exercise. Then, they determined that although MSCs don't directly contribute to building new muscle fibers, they release growth factors that spur other cells in muscle to fuse and generate new muscle, providing the cellular basis for enhanced muscle health following exercise.
A key element to the Illinois team's method was in exercising the mice before isolating the cells to trigger secretion of beneficial growth factors. Then, they dyed the cells with a fluorescent marker and injected them into other mice to see how MSCs coordinated with other muscle-building cells.
In addition to examining the cells in vivo, the researchers studied the cells' response to strain on different substrates. They found that MSC response is very sensitive to the mechanical environment, indicating that conditions of muscle strain affect the cells' activity.
"These findings are important because we've identified an adult stem cell in muscle that may provide the basis for muscle health with exercise and enhanced muscle healing with rehabilitation/movement therapy," Boppart said. "The fact that MSCs in muscle have the potential to release high concentrations of growth factor into the circulatory system during exercise also makes us wonder if they provide a critical link between enhanced whole-body health and participation in routine physical activity."
Next, the group hopes to determine whether these cells contribute to the decline in muscle mass over a person's lifetime. Preliminary data suggest MSCs become deficient in muscle with age. The team hopes to develop a combinatorial therapy that utilizes molecular and stem-cell-based strategies to prevent age-related muscle loss.
"Although exercise is the best strategy for preserving muscle as we age, some individuals are just not able to effectively engage in physical activity," Boppart said. "Disabilities can limit opportunities for muscle growth. We're working hard to understand how we can best utilize these cells effectively to preserve muscle mass in the face of atrophy."
Treating Brain Injuries With Stem Cell Transplants - Promising Results
Dr. Osanai and team assessed a new "intra-arterial" technique of stem cell transplantation in rats, with the aim of delivering the stem cells directly to the brain without having to go through the general circulation. They induced TBI in the animals before injecting stem cells into the carotid artery seven days later.
The stem cells were obtained from the rats' bone marrow and were labeled with "quantum dots" prior to being injected. Quantom dots are a biocompatible, fluorescent semiconductor created with nanotechnology that emit near-infrared light with much longer wavelengths that penetrate bone and skin, enabling a non-invasive method of monitoring the stem cells for a period of four weeks following transplantation.
This in vivo optical imaging technique enabled the scientists to observe that the injected stem cells entered the brain on the first attempt, without entering the general circulation. They observed that the stem cells started migrating from the capillaries into the injured part of the brain within three hours.
At week 4, the researchers noted that the rats in the stem cell transplant group achieved a substantial recovery of motor function, compared with the untreated animals that had no signs of recovery.
The team learnt, after examining the treated brains, that the stem cells had transformed into different brain cell types and aided in healing the injured brain area.
Over the last few years, the potential of stem cell therapy for curing and treating illnesses and conditions has been growing rapidly. Below is a list of some of its possible uses.
Developing stem cell therapy for brain injury in human patients
Stem cells represent a potential, new important method of treatment for those who suffered brain injuries, TBI and stroke. But even though bone marrow stem cells, similar to the ones used in the new study, are a promising source of donor cells, many questions remain open regarding the optimal timing, dose and route of stem cell delivery.In the new animal study, the rats were injected with the stem cells one week after TBI. This is a "clinically relevant" time, given that this is the minimum time it takes to develop stem cells from bone marrow.
Transplanting the stem cells into the carotid artery is a fairly simple procedure that delivers the cells directly to the brain.
The experiments have also provided key evidence that stem cell treatment can promote healing after TBI with a substantial recovery of function.
Dr. Osanai and team write that by using in vivo optical imaging:
"The present study was the first to successfully track donor cells that were intra-arterially transplanted into the brain of living animals over four weeks."
A similar form of imaging technology could also prove beneficial for monitoring the effects of stem cell transplantation in humans, although the tracking will pose challenges, due to the human skull and scalp being much thicker than in rats.
The researchers conclude:
"Further studies are warranted to apply in vivo
optical imaging clinically."
Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Scientists Make Strides Towards Fixing Infant Hearts
This image shows cells derived from amniotic fluid forming capillary-like networks when treated with specific growth factors and grown on a soft biological surface. Research at Rice University aims to use stem cells from amniotic fluid to repair congenital heart defects with living tissue that is a genetic match for a newborn. Image: Jacot Laboratory/Rice University |
Researchers at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital have turned stem cells from amniotic fluid into cells that form blood vessels. Their success offers hope that such stem cells may be used to grow tissue patches to repair infant hearts.
"We want to come up with technology to replace defective tissue with beating heart tissue made from stem cells sloughed off by the infant into the amniotic fluid," said Rice bioengineer Jeffrey Jacot, who led the study. "Our findings serve as proof of principle that stem cells from amniotic fluid have the potential to be used for such purposes."
The results were published online by Tissue Engineering Part A. The research was conducted at Texas Children’s Hospital.
According to the American Heart Association, about 32,000 infants a year in the United States are born with congenital heart defects, 10,000 of which either result in death or require some sort of surgical intervention before they're a year old.
Jacot, an assistant professor of bioengineering based at Rice's BioScience Research Collaborative and director of the Pediatric Cardiac Bioengineering Laboratory at the Congenital Heart Surgery Service at Texas Children’s Hospital, hopes to grow heart patches from the amniotic stem cells of a fetus diagnosed in the womb with a congenital heart defect. Because the cells would be a genetic match, there would be no risk of rejection, he said.
"Between 60 and 80% of severe heart defects are caught by ultrasound," he said. "Ultimately, when a heart defect is diagnosed in utero, we will extract amniotic cells. By birth, we will have made tissue for the repair out of the infant's own cells. The timing is critical because the surgery needs to be done within weeks of the infant's birth."
Surgeons currently use such nonbiological materials as Dacron or Teflon, which do not contract or grow with the patient, or native pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart. Pericardium generally forms scar tissue and can only be used in the first operation. Both solutions require further operations and raise the risk of cardiac arrest, Jacot said.
Stem cells, the focus of both great hope and great controversy, are the cells in every organism that differentiate into specialized cells in the body. Stem cells drawn from human embryos are known to have great potential for treatment of defects and disease, but research into their use has been limited by political and other concerns, Jacot said.
That isn't the case with cells found in amniotic fluid, he said. Amniotic fluid is the liquid that protects and nourishes a fetus in the womb. Fluid is sometimes taken from pregnant women through amniocentesis, but cells for the Jacot laboratory's studies were drawn from women undergoing treatment for twin-twin transfusion syndrome. "This is where two identical twins share a placenta and one is getting more blood than the other. It's not common," he said, noting that Texas Children's is one of the few hospitals that treat the syndrome. "Part of the general treatment is to remove fluid with the goal of saving both lives, and that fluid is usually discarded."
Jacot said other laboratories have tested amniotic fluid as a source of stem cells with promising results. "Our work is based on five years of work from other labs in which they've discovered a very small population of amniotic stem cells—maybe one in every 10,000—that naturally express markers characteristic of embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells."
Jacot and his team created a population of amniotic stem cells through a complex process that involved extracting cells via centrifugation and fluorescence-activated sorting. They sequestered cells with a surface receptor, c-kit, a marker associated with stem cells.
The cells were cultured in endothelial growth media to make them suitable for growing into a network of capillaries, Jacot said. When the cells were placed in a bio-scaffold, a framework used for tissue engineering, they did just that.
"Anything we make will need a blood supply," he said. "That's why the first cell type we looked for is one that can form blood vessels. We need to know we can get a capillary network throughout tissue that we can then connect to the infant's blood supply."
Jacot said the cells they tested grow very fast. "We've done calculations to show that, with what we get from amniocentesis, we could more than grow an entire heart by birth," he said. "That would be really tough, but it gives us confidence that we will be able to quickly grow patches of tissue outside of the body that can then be sewn inside."
He said construction of a functional patch is some years away, but his lab is making progress. While embryonic cells have the most potential for such a project, amniotic cells already show signs of an ability to turn into heart muscle, he said.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission Announces New Program for Pre-Clinical and Clinical Research Grants
MARYLAND STEM CELL RESEARCH COMMISSION ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM
FOR PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCH GRANTS
Funding will assist for-profit companies in advancing medical therapies using human stem cells
COLUMBIA, Md. (Jan. 25, 2012) – The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (Commission) has announced a new program for pre-clinical and clinical research grants. This program will support for-profit companies in advancing medical therapies using human stem cells. The Commission has issued a new request for Applications (RFA), RFA-MD-12-4, soliciting proposals for this program.
“In Maryland, we stand on the cutting edge of technology and innovation,” said Governor O’Malley. “To grow Maryland’s biotech and life sciences assets, this session, we are proposing $10.4 million to continue the State’s investment in Stem Cell Research. I am pleased that the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission will help our State continue to create jobs and tap into science and discovery. Together, with business and government partners alike, we can continue to make critical investments in the way we feed, fuel and heal our world.”
Established under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) supports all types of human stem cell research in the State of Maryland. In response to the three RFAs previously issued for the current funding cycle, the Commission has received 179 research applications: 30 Investigator-Initiated, 105 Exploratory and 44 Post-Doctoral Fellowships proposals, maintaining a continued high level of interest from the scientific community. The new RFA was created to accelerate the pace of stem cell research in Maryland and to continue to return the State’s investment by stimulating the local economy.
“Moving research as rapidly as possible from the laboratory to pre-clinical and clinical trials will shorten the time patients must wait to benefit from emerging new stem cell therapies," said Margaret Conn Himelfarb, MPH, Chair of the Commission. "Our new RFA is intended to strategically and responsibly expedite this critical stage of scientific development. It marks a major milestone toward realizing the goal of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act, and helps support the State's burgeoning biotech industry."
Because its proximity to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes Maryland an attractive location for life sciences companies, the Commission hopes this program will help attract new companies to the State. Maryland-based companies of all types are eligible to apply for RFA-MD-12-4. Companies conducting clinical research may be based elsewhere in the United States, but the work funded under this RFA must be
Media Contact:
Kathleen Shaffer 410-902-5053 kshaffer@mghus.com
Kelly Cahill 410-504-8312 kcahill@mghus.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
conducted at a site in Maryland. Companies conducting pre-clinical research must be based in Maryland. No MSCRF funding will be used to support work conducted outside of Maryland.
Applicants for pre-clinical research grants may request up to $500,000 in direct costs, and applicants for clinical research grants are eligible to receive up to $750,000 in direct costs. Both grants will be budgeted over a period of up to three years. RFA-MD-12-4 is intended only for companies requesting funds for projects that have achievable milestones. Studies must comply with all FDA guidelines. In pre-clinical applications, preference will be given to late-stage pre-clinical research. Proposals that involve a clinical trial must have an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) or an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) cleared by the FDA for the therapy or device under investigation, before the application is submitted to MSCRF for review.
Pre-clinical research grant awards require a 1:2 match (applicant:MSCRF), all or part of which may be an in-kind match. Clinical research grant awards require a 1:1 match (applicant:MSCRF), all or part of which may be an in-kind match. In-kind matches may include personnel, salaries and equipment.
Applicants are required to electronically submit a pre-application through the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) designated system by going to http://submissions.marylandtedco.org/preapp. The deadline for pre-applications is April 17, 2012, for funding in FY 2013.
For more information about the MSCRF and to view the FY 2011 annual report, please visit www.mscrf.org.
About the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) was established by the State of Maryland under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006 to promote State-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to public and private entities in the State. Administered by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), the MSCRF is overseen by an independent Commission that sets policy and develops criteria, standards and requirements for applications to the Fund. For more information about the MSCRF and a list of Commission members, please visit www.mscrf.org.
My hat is off to Maryland for continuing to pave the way as a leader in the United States promoting the uses of stem cells and helping growth occur using state monies. $10.4 million to continue the State's investment into stem cell research. Great job Maryland and I hope that other states will follow their lead in their respective biotech arenas............MrCordBlood
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Stem Cell Therapy Show Promise for Stroke, Studies Say
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Treating stroke patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow appears to safely help them regain some of their lost abilities, two small new studies suggest.
Indian researchers observed mixed results in the extent of stroke patients' improvements, with one study showing marked gains in daily activities, such as feeding, dressing and movement, and the other study noting these improvements to be statistically insignificant. But patients seemed to safely tolerate the treatments in both experiments with no ill effects, study authors said.
"The results are encouraging to know but we need a larger, randomized study for more definitive conclusions," said Dr. Rohit Bhatia, a professor of neurology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and author of one of the studies. "Many questions -- like timing of transplantation, type of cells, mode of transplantation, dosage [and] long-term safety -- need answers before it can be taken from bench to bedside."
The studies are scheduled to be presented Wednesday and Thursday at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting in New Orleans.
Stem cells -- unspecialized cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or human embryos that can change into cells with specific functions -- have been explored as potential therapies for a host of diseases and conditions, including cancer and strokes.
In one of the current studies, 120 moderately affected stroke patients ranging from 18 to 75 years old were split into two groups, with half infused intravenously with stem cells harvested from their hip bones and half serving as controls. About 73 percent of the stem cell group achieved "assisted independence" after six months, compared with 61 percent of the control group, but the difference wasn't considered statistically significant.
In the other study, presented by Bhatia, 40 patients whose stroke occurred between three and 12 months prior were also split into two groups, with half receiving stem cells, which were dissolved in saline and infused over several hours. When compared to controls, stroke patients receiving stem cell therapy showed statistically significant improvements in feeding, dressing and mobility, according to the study. On functional MRI scans, the stem cell recipients also demonstrated an increase in brain activity in regions that control movement planning and motor function.
Neither study yielded adverse effects on patients, which could include tumor development.
But Dr. Matthew Fink, chief of the division of stroke and critical care neurology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said that the therapy's safety is the only thing the two studies seemed to demonstrate.
"The thing to keep in mind is that these are really phase one trials," said Fink, also a professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "I'm concerned that people get the idea that now stem cell treatment is available for stroke, and that's not the case."
Fink noted that the cells taken from study participants' hip bones can only be characterized as "bone marrow aspirates" since the authors didn't prove that actual stem cells were extracted.
"They haven't really analyzed if they're stem cells and what they turn into when they go into circulation," he added. "The best way to look at this is, it's very preliminary . . . when patients come to me to talk about it, I'm going to tell them it's years away before we know if this is going to work."
Studies presented at scientific conferences should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more information onstem cells.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Great news for "stroke" patients. As the study points out, using stem cells "appear to safely help them regain some of their lost abilities." One study showed improvements in daily activities such as feeding, dressing, and mobility. The one thing that stood out to me was no patients in these studies suffered zero ill effects from the stem cell treatments. I hope that more parents will realize that this article in my ind just points out how storing your baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells is such an important decision. You are investing into the future of their health and possibly related siblings for not only therapies and treatments being used presently but the advancements in stem cell use in the years to come. Become educated and aware about how stem cells are creating a new medical revolution..................MrCordBlood