Blood Stem Cell Breakthrough?

Blood Stem Cell Breakthrough?

Genetic Engineering News published a press release from the biotech company Pluristem, saying that it has developed a new method of separating stem cells from the tissue they are contained in. The press release says (and this is over my head technically):

Pluristem's advanced approach to cell selection and separation was accomplished by using non-selected mononuclear cells (MNC) in the Company's U.S. patented three dimensional scaffolding with flow-through co-culture techniques simulating the physiological environment within the bone marrow. The efficacy of the system in expanding non-selected MNC is based upon the selective adherence of HSC and early progenitor cells from the general MNC pool to the 3-D stroma cells cultures within the bioreactor system.

Since this is a press release from a company, it is full of optimistic language about increasing the availability of the stem cells, which would certainly be a good thing. Anyone out there able to comment on this technique and its viability for widespread use?

Hwang hospitalized

Hwang Woo Suk has been hospitalized to recover from stress and fatigue, according to a very brief article on the UK's News 24. The Korean Internation OhMyNews reports that he has lost 10 kg (over 20 pounds) and possibly has a stomach ulcer and pneumonia.

The Korea Times reports the MBC-TV has put its weekly newsmagazine PD Daily, the program which was set to accuse Hwang of falsifying his data, on hold indefinitely.

Science Magazine has issued a press release clarifying some aspects of Hwang's cloning research, but has said that the results are not in question, according to a Reuters story on the issue.

To Join or Not to Join?

To Join or Not to Join?

An AP story reprinted widely (I read it on the Miami Herald because that was what popped up first) discusses the dilemma that stem cell research labs have about the recently created national stem cell bank in Madison, Wisconsin. Some labs prefer to bank their own stem cells, rather than depositing them at the WiCell lab. Some researchers wonder what the quality control methods will be. Others don’t want to use the federally approved stem cell lines at all, because they were contaminated with mouse feeder cells and are therefore unusable for human treatment. A spokesman for the bank said that it would at least be a place where researchers can easily order cells at a fraction of the current cost and get reliable information on their DNA makeup.

Researchers who depend upon the federally funded lines are at a serious disadvantage compared to those who can use embryonic stem cells developed elsewhere. If this is not already a major problem for research in the United States, it will soon become one. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me for NIH to put money into a facility that people will not be using because there are better resources elsewhere; but on the other hand, NIH can’t really put it anywhere better, because of the federal funding restrictions.

Tracking Stem Cells in Hearts

Tracking Stem Cells in Hearts

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to track how mesenchymal stem cells move through the heart in dogs. (Mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells found in bone marrow that are capable of differentiating into several other forms of cells.) In the study, the researchers labeled the stem cells with iron oxide. The main advantage of this study is that it provides a non-invasive way of finding out more about the stem cells’ migration through the body and tracking the healing process. In the study, the stem cells were injected into three areas of dogs’ hearts. The MRI studies showed that the control group which had received no stem cells had a 20% loss of mass in left ventricular tissue, while the dogs that received the stem cells only had a 2.5% loss. This means that the stem cell treated hearts were maintaining muscle strength. The MRI also showed that most of the stem cells were incorporated into the heart tissue in the “peri-infarction” zone (the area between the scar tissue and the damaged tissue).

The press release was picked up by MyDNA.com and Science Daily, among others.

UK to Increase Stem Cell Research Funding

UK to Increase Stem Cell Research Funding

The Chancellor of the Exchequer for the United Kingdom has announced that finding for stem cell research will get £100 million over the next two years, according to an article in The Register last week. The money will largely go to the UK Stem Cell Foundation and to companies engaging in clinical trials. It doubles the existing amount of government funding. The Telegraph reported that, “The new money was given in response to the recommendations in the UK Stem Cell Initiative report by Sir John Pattison.” The story is reported in other sources, including Bloomberg.