Pluripotent cells. “… reprogramming of cultured, terminally differentiated amniotic fluid cells results …. much easier, faster and more efficient than reprogramming neonatal and adult cells.”

Dr Katalin Polgar, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiology and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has said:

  • “There remains today a need in stem cell research for an easily reprogrammable cell type …”
  • “Our study shows that reprogramming of cultured, terminally differentiated amniotic fluid cells results in pluripotent stem cells that are identical to human embryonic stem cells, and that it is much easier, faster and more efficient than reprogramming neonatal and adult cells.”

More from a Release dated March 15, sourced from The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine:
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Hair. Skin. Rejuvenation. Cutaneous mesenchymal stem cells.

  • “Within the next decade stem cell-based therapies can be expected to be part of clinical medicine.”1
  • “In regard to the skin, the focus of stem cell research is on the epidermis and the hair follicle.”

Researchers from Department of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Nelson Dermatopathology Associates, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Institut für Dermatohistologie, Heidelberg, Germany. have presented an article titled: “Cutaneous mesenchymal stem cells : Current status of research and potential clinical applications.”

The researchers from Cleveland, Atlanta and Heidelberg, have also noted:

  • “In 2001, mesenchymal stem cells residing within the dermis were first isolated which have the capacity to differentiate into adipocytes, smooth muscle cells, osteocytes, chondrocytes and even neurons and glia as well as hematopoietic cells of myeloid and erythroid lineage.”
  • “The perifollicular connective tissue sheath and the papilla represent the likely anatomical niche for these multipotent dermal cells.”
  • “They have the potential to function as an easily accessible, autologous source for future stem cell transplantation.”
  • “Potential therapeutic applications include the treatment of acute and steroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and arthritis.”
  • “The neuronal differentiation potential of cutaneous mesenchymal stem cells may also be exploited in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and traumatic spinal injury.”
  • “The most immediate impact can be expected in the field of wound healing.”
(1) Sellheyer K, Krahl D: [Cutaneous mesenchymal stem cells : Current status of research and potential clinical applications.] Hautarzt. 2010 Mar 11; (Article in Press)

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

Debra E Weese-Mayer MD, Professor of Pediatrics from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has informed:

  • “This discovery confirmed what we had long believed to be true: first, that CCHS is a genetic disorder; second, that the gene responsible for CCHS has a key role in the early embryology of the ANS; third, that inheritance of CCHS and the PHOX2B mutation is autosomal dominant; fourth, that the nature of the PHOX2B mutations can explain the spectrum of the CCHS phenotype; and so much more …”
  • “The discovery that PHOX2B is the gene that defines CCHS offers endless opportunities in terms of basic science inquiry and clinical care– all with the long-term goal to improve quality of life for these patients.”

More from a Release dated March 12, sourced from American Thoracic Society:
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Hair follicles. Stem cells.

A Release dated March 12, sourced from American Association for the Advancement of Science has informed:

  • ‘The stem cell that gives rise to all the different cells of the skin actually lives in the hair follicle, researchers report in the March 12 issue of Science. It may therefore be possible to harness these stem cells to help with wound repair or skin transplants, for example, for burn victims.’

More from the Release dated March 12, sourced from American Association for the Advancement of Science:
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Stem cell functions. “… basis for a new generation of bioengineered vascular grafts.”

Guillermo Ameer, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Surgery from Northwestern University, has said:

  • “Normally, stem cells are not studied in the context of improving vascular grafts for bypass surgery. Therefore, we had to develop new tests to assess their use in this application …”
  • “We looked at the function of the cells on a citric acid-based polymer, which will be the basis for a new generation of bioengineered vascular grafts.”

More from a Release dated March 11, sourced from Northwestern University:
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Rapid culture method. Adipocyte differentiation. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Saitama, Japan.

  • “Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) derived from bone marrow are multipotent stem cells that can regenerate mesenchymal tissues such as adipose, bone or muscle.”1

Researchers from Translational Research Center, Saitama International Medical Center, Saitama, Japan; and Division of Functional Genomics and Systems Medicine, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan; have presented an article titled: “Development of a rapid culture method to induce adipocyte differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.”

The researchers from Translational Research Center, Saitama International Medical Center, Saitama, Japan; and Division of Functional Genomics and Systems Medicine, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan; have also noted:

  • “It is thought that hMSCs can be utilized as a cell resource for tissue engineering and as human models to study cell differentiation mechanisms, such as adipogenesis, osteoblastogenesis and so on.”
  • “Since it takes 2-3 weeks for hMSCs to differentiate into adipocytes using conventional culture methods, the development of methods to induce faster differentiation into adipocytes is required.”
  • “In this study we optimized the culture conditions for adipocyte induction to achieve a shorter cultivation time for the induction of adipocyte differentiation in bone marrow-derived hMSCs.”
  • “Briefly, we used a cocktail of dexamethasone, insulin, metylisobutylxanthine (DIM) plus a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist, rosiglitazone (DIMRo) as a new adipogenic differentiation medium.”
  • “We successfully shortened the period of cultivation to 7-8 days from 2-3 weeks.”
  • “We also found that rosiglitazone alone was unable to induce adipocyte differentiation from hMSCs in vitro.”
  • “However, rosiglitazone appears to enhance hMSC adipogenesis in the presence of other hormones and/or compounds, such as DIM.”
  • “Furthermore, the inhibitory activity of TGF on adipogenesis could be investigated using DIMRo-treated hMSCs.”
  • “We conclude that our rapid new culture method is very useful in measuring the effect of molecules that affect adipogenesis in hMSCs.”
(1) Ninomiya Y, Sugahara-Yamashita Y, Nakachi Y, Tokuzawa Y, Okazaki Y, Nishiyama M: Development of a rapid culture method to induce adipocyte differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010 Mar 2; (Article in Press)

Stroke. “… injections of beta-hCG, a hormone that triggers the growth of neural stem cells.”

A Release from the University of California – Irvine has informed:

  • “A clinical research trial of a new treatment to restore brain cells damaged by stroke has passed an important safety stage, according to the UC Irvine neurologist who led the effort.”

    More from the Release dated March 10, sourced from University of California – Irvine:
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Artificial periosteum. “The sock-like sheath on the outside of the bone is a habitat for stem cells …”

Melissa Knothe Tate, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and Ulf Knothe, Orthopedic Surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic, have reported the development of ‘… an artificial sleeve that spurs fast healing when a car wreck, bomb blast or disease leaves too little cover.’

More from a Release dated March 9, sourced from Case Western Reserve University:
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Anesthesia. “… research team discovered, by chance, a link between stem cell loss and …”

Professor Klas Blomgren, from the Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, Sweden, has said:

  • “Paediatric anaesthetists have long suspected that children who are anaesthetised repeatedly over the course of just a few years may suffer from impaired memory and learning …”
  • “This is a theory that is also supported by foreign research.”

More from a Release dated March 7, sourced from University of Gothenburg:
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Transferable findings. Oct4 transcription factor. “… gene that is essential for maintaining pluripotency, and is what makes egg cells, as well as embryonic stem cells and early embryos, potentially immortal.”

According to a Release dated March 8, sourced from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft:

  • “… scientists have puzzled over to what extent the findings of studies on the embryonic stem cells (ES cells) of mice are transferable to humans.”
  • “It is certainly true that human and mouse ES cells are both pluripotent.”
  • “That means they are capable of forming any of the body’s cell types, numbering more than 200 in all.”
  • “And both types of cells have an active Oct4 transcription factor, for example.”
  • “This is the gene that is essential for maintaining pluripotency, and is what makes egg cells, as well as embryonic stem cells and early embryos, potentially immortal.”
  • “In other aspects, though, as scientists have known for some time now, human and mouse ES cells differ enormously.”
  • “Certain signalling substances that can be used to turn mouse cells into liver, nerve or muscle cells, for instance, produce either no effect or totally different effects in human ES cells.”

More from the Release dated March 8, sourced from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft:
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