National Stem Cell Bank in Wisconsin

National Stem Cell Bank in Wisconsin

The National Institute of Health (NIH) formally announced today through a press release that it has awarded $16.1 million over four years to fund a National Stem Cell Bank, which will be based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and operated by WiCell Research Institute. Two other universities, Northwestern University and the University of California-Davis, will receive a combined total of $9.6 million over 4 years as Centers of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research.

WiCell is a non-profit research institution founded in 1999 for stem cell research. The scientific director, Dr. James Thompson, was the leader of the research team that first isolate human embryonic stem cells. According to a Milwaukee Business Journal article, the Stem Cell Bank will provide the following advantages:

"A lower cost of $500 for obtaining stem cell lines for academic research, compared with $5,000 previously;
The continuing ability for academic researchers to patent any discovery made with the stem cell lines;
Comprehensive technical support;
Availability of special training classes to teach researchers how to work with stem cell lines."

An Associated Press article in Greater Milwaukee Today reports that the stem cell bank will distribute the 5 stem cells lines already held by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It also has an agreement to distribute 6 lines that are held by the Australian based company ES Cell International. Governor Jim Doyle said that the award cemented Wisconsin’s place as a leader in stem cell research.

The two Stem Cell Centers of Excellence will work on stem cell reseach for specific diseases; at Northwestern, the research will be on using embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injury, and UC-Davis will do research on culturing umbilical cord stem cells, isolating renal progenitor cells, and improving cell imaging methods for tracking transplanted cells.

California Researchers Set Stem Cell Goals

California Researchers Set Stem Cell Goals

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this morning on a weekend conference where scientists brainstormed ideas for CIRM (California Institute of Regenerative Medicine) projects. The next step will be the creation of an agency subcommittee to “work out a strategic plan.” The grant proposals will be reviewed by an outside panel of science advisors.

Proposals included research on stem cell treatment in diabetes, spinal cord injury, blood disorders, and cancer; creating a bank of human embryonic stem cell colonies; research on the basic mechanisms of stem cells, especially differentiation; devising methods to track stem cells after injection; research on how to reprogram stem cells to represent particular genetic diseases, a process which would probably use somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), also known as therapeutic cloning; and finding ways for institutions to collaborate with each other.

The president of CIRM, Zach Hall, was quoted in the article as saying, “We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”

A New Use for Stem Cells: Diagnosis

A New Use for Stem Cells: Diagnosis

Researchers at the Second Annual European Vascular Genomics Network conference taking place in Hamburg have announced that stem cells which circulate in the blood could be used as diagnostic markers for atherosclerosis. The stem cells in question are those produced by bone marrow and released into the bloodstream in the normal function of the body.

The diagnostic potential is in a deficit of these cells. Conditions such as smoking, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels are risk factors for atherosclerosis. Individuals who have these conditions have fewer healthy stem cells in the blood or have stem cells which are unable to migrate throughout the body, to adhere to the endothelium, or to remain viable while repairing vascular injury. Consequently, a test showing a low level of the blood stem cells might predict the risk of atherosclerosis.

The researchers cautioned that much is still unknown. While it is known that stem cells can help in the healing of an infarcted heart, the mechanism by which stem cells do this has not yet been learned, nor do researchers know whether the cells which are doing the work are those which are completely differentiated, those which are not differentiated at all, or some other group.

Articles on this research can be found at DrugResearcher.com and Medical News Today.