stem cells Tag
17 Jul Study Uses Dental Stem Cells To Promote Retinal Regeneration After Eye Injury
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ben Mead
Molecular Neuroscience Group
Neurotrauma and Neurodegeneration Section
School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Traumatic and neurodegenerative disease of the retina lead to an irreversible loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) which are the neuronal cells located in the inner retina that transmit visual signals to the brain. Thus RGC injury results in visual defects which can ultimately progress into permanent blindness. One promising therapeutic approach is the use of stem cells as a source of replacement for lost retinal cells. However a theory has emerged suggesting that stem cells can act through the secretion of signalling molecules (growth factors). One stem cell that has recently shown great promise for neuronal repair are dental pulp stem cells (DPSC), which are multipotent stem cells easily isolated from adult teeth, including third molars (Mead et al 2013, 2014).
In our research, we transplanted either dental pulp stem cells or the more widely studied bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) into the vitreous chamber of the eye after optic nerve crush (Mead et al 2013). The main finding of this study was that DPSC, to a significantly greater degree than BMSC, promoted the survival of injured RGC and the regeneration of their axons. We also showed that the mechanism of action was not through differentiation and replacement of cells but was actually paracrine mediated, i.e. through DPSC-derived growth factors (Mead et al, 2013, 2014).
12 Jun After Heart Attack: Encouraging Stem Cells To Regenerate Damaged Muscle
MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Takuji Toyama MD Division of Cardiology Gunma Prefectural Cardiovascular Center Maebashi, Japan. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Toyama: The early start of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapy in acute myocardial infarction ( AMI) patients can improve myocardial perfusion, fatty acid metabolism and cardiac function in subacute and follow-up periods.07 Apr Designing A Neural Prosthesis Using Light Activated Nerve Stem Cells
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Ivo Lieberam
Lecturer, MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology
King's College London
New Hunt's House, Guy's Hospital Campus
London, SE1 1UL UK
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Lieberam: In this study, which my group undertook in collaboration with Linda Greensmith’s group at University College London, we found that we could artificially control muscle activity using transplanted stem cell-derived nerve cells as an interface between an opto-electronic pacemaker and paralysed muscle in mice. The nerve cells were equipped with a molecular photosensor, so that they could be activated by light. We think that long-term, this technology may be used in neural prosthesis designed to re-establish relatively simple motor functions, such as breathing or swallowing, in patients suffering from spinal cord injury or neuromuscular diseases such as Motor Neuron Disease.
03 Dec Stem Cells: Generating Lung Cells from PluriPotent Stem Cells
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Hans-Willem Snoeck MD, PhD
Columbia University Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Snoeck: We were, for the first time, able to differentiate human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells into at least 6 different types of lung and airway epithelial cells. Furthermore, we could demonstrate function of surfactant-producing type II alveolar epithelial cells, and the lung progenitors we generated could generate airway after transplantation under the kidney capsule of immunodeficient mice.
22 Oct Cryopreserved Fat Cells Can Be Stored for Future Stem Cell Use
Medicalresearch.com Interview with:
David T Harris, Phd
Department of Immunobiology
University of Arizona
PO Box 245221, Tucson, AZ 85724.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Harris: The primary finding of the study was that it was routinely possible to harvest left-over adipose tissue and stem cells from both liposuction and cosmetic procedures, cryopreserve it for prolonged periods of time, and then thaw the tissue later when needed. Frozen and thawed adipose tissue was routinely viable and able to be differentiated into additional fat, as well as bone, cartilage and neuron-like cells. Thus, one can bank adipose tissue and stem cells without first isolating the stem cells allowing one to use the frozen and thawed tissue at later times for both cosmetic applications as well as for regenerative medicine.
20 Aug Stem Cells: Different Cell Sources Advantages and Disadvantages
Medical Research.com Interview with: Katrin Streckfuss-Boemeke, PhD Department of Cardiology and Pneumology Heart Research Center Göttingen (HRCG) University Medical Center Göttingen Georg-August-University Göttingen 37075 Göttingen Germany Medical ResearcH.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main finding is that human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be generated from different somatic cell sources including bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), hair keratinocytes, and skin fibroblasts, but MSCs and fibroblasts are more easily reprogrammed than keratinocytes. All generated hiPSCs can differentiate into cardiomyocytes with an efficiency ranging from 3 to 42%. However, the highest cardiac differentiation efficiency was achieved from MSC-derived hiPSCs. Although the cardiac differentiation efficiency varied among different cell lines, there is no significant difference in the functionalities of cardiomyocytes derived from different hiPSC lines.13 Aug Pregnancy in Early Twenties Reduces Mammary Gland Progenitor Cells and Breast Cancer Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02215
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Polyak: We found that when comparing normal breast tissue of women who have not had children (nulliparous) and those who had children in their early 20s, the largest changes are in breast epithelial progenitors. The frequency of these cells is lower in parous women (women who had children) and the properties are also altered in a way that they are less likely to proliferate. Women with high risk of breast cancer, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, have very high frequency of these cells, and also parous women who did get cancer have more than those who did not. These results indicate that the frequency of these cells may predict breast cancer risk.
04 Aug Making sperm from stem cells in a dish
Posted at 18:56h
in Stem Cells
Researchers have found a way to turn mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm. This finding, reported in the journal Cell in a special online release on August 4th, opens up new avenues for infertility research and treatment. A Kyoto University team has coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm precursors,...