SCIENCE NEWS Researchers Design New Biomaterial That Mimics Muscle Elasticity Researchers have cast artificial proteins into a new solid biomaterial that very closely mimics the elasticity of muscle. [Press release from the University of British Columbia discussing online prepublication in Nature] Common Steroid Medications Hold Promise for Tissue Repair A class of drugs commonly used for asthma, inflammation, and skin injury also may hold promise for tissue-repairing regenerative medicine. [Press release from Duke University Medical Center discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA]
Scientists Create Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Enhanced Pluripotency Researchers have converted established human induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells to a base state of greater pluripotency. [Press release from the Whitehead Institute discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA]
Engineering Better Immune Cells Scientists from Caltech have shown that putting an RNA-based toggle mechanism into both live mice and human T cells allows them to turn cell growth on and off with a specific drug. [Press release from MIT Technology Review discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA] Bone Marrow Stem Cells in MS Show Promise A groundbreaking trial to test bone marrow stem cell therapy with a small group of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been shown to have possible benefits for the treatment of the disease. [Press release from the University of Bristol discussing online prepublication in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics] Researchers Agree on Future of MS Stem Cell Research Nature Reviews Neurology published an international consensus on the future of stem cell transplantation research for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), paving the way for more coordinated global research efforts and potentially better, and quicker, patient access to stem cell clinical trials. [Press release from PR Newswire discussing online prepublication in Nature Reviews Neurology]
Gene Therapy Success Sets Stage for New Treatments for Inherited Blindness, Penn Veterinary Researchers Say Veterinary vision scientists have safely and successfully used a viral vector in targeting a class of photoreceptors of the retina called rods, a critical first step in developing gene therapies for inherited blindness caused by rod degeneration. [Press release from the University of Pennsylvania discussing online prepublication in Gene Therapy] Cytori Reports Stem & Regenerative Cells from Body Fat Produce Statistically Significant Improvement in Heart Function in Chronic Ischemia Trial The first clinical trial of adipose tissue-derived stem and regenerative cells for the treatment of no-option chronic heart disease patients showed the following: the procedure was safe and feasible; it demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in maximum oxygen consumption and patients' aerobic capacity measured as metabolic equivalents; and reduced the extent of infarct size in the left ventricle. [Press release from Cytori Therapeutics, Inc.] University of Georgia Discovery Holds Promise for Treatment of Diabetes and Other Debilitating Diseases Two animal science researchers introduced to the world 13 pigs that may hold the key to new therapies to treat human diseases, including diabetes. The discovery marks the first time pluripotent stem cells have been created from adult livestock. [Press release from the University of Georgia] CURRENT PUBLICATIONS Designed Biomaterials to Mimic the Mechanical Properties of Muscles Researchers report artificial elastomeric proteins that mimic the molecular architecture of titin through the combination of well-characterized protein domains GB1 and resilin. [Nature] Quiescent and Active Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells with Distinct Morphologies Respond Selectively to Physiological and Pathological Stimuli and Aging The discovery of multiple neural stem/progenitor cell populations with Notch dependence but selective responses to stimuli and reversible quiescence has important implications for the mechanisms of adaptive learning and also for regenerative therapy. [Cell Stem Cell] Integrin Alpha-6 Regulates Glioblastoma Stem Cells Researchers examined the glioblastoma stem cell perivascular microenvironment in patient specimens to identify enrichment markers with a functional significance and identified integrin alpha-6 as a candidate. [Cell Stem Cell] Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Somatic Cells by Protein-Based Reprogramming Without Genetic Manipulation Researchers report that that a single transfer of embryonic stem cell-derived proteins into primarily cultured adult mouse fibroblasts, rather than repeated transfer or prolonged exposure to materials, can achieve full reprogramming up to the pluripotent state without the forced expression of ectopic transgenes. [Blood]
Factor IX Ectopically Expressed in Platelets Can Be Stored in Alpha-Granules and Corrects the Phenotype of Hemophilia B Mice Studies suggest that targeting human factor IX expression to platelets could be a new gene therapy strategy for hemophilia B. [Blood]
Human CD34+ Cells in Experimental Myocardial Infarction: Long-Term Survival, Sustained Functional Improvement, and Mechanism of Action Researchers sought to track the fate of injected human CD34+ cells in the hearts of severe combined immune deficiency mice after experimental myocardial infarction and to determine the mechanisms of action. [Circ Res]
Identification of Select Glucocorticoids as Smoothened Agonists: Potential Utility for Regenerative Medicine Halcinonide, fluticasone, clobetasol, and fluocinonide provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop unique clinical strategies to treat Hedgehog-dependent illnesses. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] Human Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) with Biological and Epigenetic Characteristics Similar to Those of Mouse ESCs Here, researchers rewire the identity of conventional human ESCs into a more immature state that extensively shares defining features with pluripotent mouse ESCs. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] Genetic Control of Mammalian T-Cell Proliferation with Synthetic RNA Regulatory Systems Researchers describe a synthetic RNA-based regulatory system and its application in advancing cellular therapies by linking rationally designed, drug-responsive, ribozyme-based regulatory devices to growth cytokine targets to control mouse and primary human T-cell proliferation. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]
Safety and Feasibility of Autologous Bone Marrow Cellular Therapy in Relapsing-Progressive Multiple Sclerosis The lack of serious adverse effects and the suggestion of a beneficial effect in this small sample of patients with progressive disease justify conducting a larger phase II/III study to make a fuller assessment of the efficacy of mobilization of autologous bone marrow in patients with multiple sclerosis. [Clin Pharmacol Ther] Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Future Prospects Researchers discuss how the data gathered to date challenge the narrow view that the therapeutic effects of neural stem/precursor cells and mesenchymal stem cells observed in the treatment of multiple sclerosis are accomplished solely by cell replacement. [Nat Rev Neurol] rAAV2/5 Gene-Targeting to Rods: Dose-Dependent Efficiency and Complications Associated with Different Promoters Efficient and specific rod transduction, together with preservation of retinal structure was achieved with both mouse opsin promoter and human G-protein-coupled receptor protein kinase 1 promoter when viral titers in the order of 1011 vg ml–1 were used. [Gene Ther]
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POLICY NSF to Ask Every Grant Applicant for Data Management Plan Scientists seeking funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will soon need to spell out how they plan to manage the data they hope to collect. It's part of a broader move by NSF and other federal agencies to emphasize the importance of community access to data. [National Science Foundation, United States] Montgomery Council Gives the Go-Ahead to 'Science City' Plan County officials hope the development, which could be two decades in the making, could position Montgomery as an international center for biosciences that would rival North Carolina's Research Triangle or Palo Alto, Calif. The county is home to almost 300 biotech companies and institutions. [Montgomery County Council, United States] Granholm Announces Stem Cell Public Education Day Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced at a press conference in Chicago that the World Stem Cell Summit will kick off with a free “Public Education Day” on October 3 at the Detroit Science Center. [Michigan, United States] Health Ministry Picks More Than 100 Drugs for Priority Development List A health ministry panel selected more than 100 drugs for a priority development list aimed at overcoming the substantial delay in approving new drugs in Japan. [Ministry of Health, Japan] With Hung Parliament, British Scientists Wonder Who's the Boss? On May 7, 2010, Britain woke up to an uncertain political future—and British scientists continue to remain in the dark about how expected government funding cuts will slice into research efforts. [Parliament of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom]
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BUSINESS National Bioscience Report Shows Some Growth Even During Recession The U.S. bioscience industry continued to score employment gains through 2008 – the first year of the recent economic downturn, according to a study by Battelle and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. [Biotechnology Industry Organization Press Release] San Francisco Extends Biotech Payroll Tax Exemption San Francisco supervisors voted 9-2 to allow biotech companies to be exempt from payroll taxes for 7½ years irrespective of the application date. [Sacramento Business Journal Press Release] Cellular Dynamics Partners with iPS Academia Japan, Inc. to In-License Seminal iPS Cell Patent Portfolio Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. and iPS Academia Japan, Inc. announced a nonexclusive licensing agreement for the seminal induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) patent portfolio arising out of the work of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, M.D, Ph.D., Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University. [Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. Press Release] Novocell Becomes ViaCyte, Inc. as it Accelerates Pre-Clinical Development of a Stem Cell Derived Treatment for Diabetes Novocell, Inc., a preclinical stage stem cell engineering company focused on diabetes, announced the Company’s shareholders and Board of Directors approved a name change to ViaCyte, Inc. [ViaCyte, Inc. Press Release] ARIAD Announces Restructuring of Its Ridaforolimus Collaboration with Merck ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has restructured its July 2007 collaboration with Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Corp. for the development, manufacture, and commercialization of ridaforolimus – ARIAD's investigational mTOR inhibitor. [ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release] Intercell Acquires Antibody Technology Platform to Further Exploit Its Capabilities to Combat Infectious Diseases Intercell AG announced that it has signed an agreement with Cytos Biotechnology Ltd. to acquire Cytos' platform technology for monoclonal antibody discovery. [Intercell AG Press Release] Osiris Resumes Enrollment in Stem Cell Trial for Crohn’s Disease Following Positive Interim Analysis Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it is resuming enrollment in its clinical trial evaluating Prochymal for patients with treatment-resistant Crohn’s disease. [Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. Press Release] Osiris Therapeutics Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Stem Cell Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has been granted Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Prochymal as a treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. [Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. Press Release] CEL-SCI Provides Update on Pivotal Phase III Study of Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Multikine CEL-SCI Corporation provided an update on its planned Phase III clinical trial of its cancer immunotherapy drug candidate Multikine®. [CEL-SCI Corporation Press Release] Vaccinogen Selects Clinipace Worldwide to Manage Global Phase IIIb Clinical Trial Clinipace Worldwide announced that Vaccinogen has selected the company to manage a pivotal phase IIIb confirmatory trial for OncoVAX® in the treatment of Stage II Colon Cancer. [Clinipace Worldwide Press Release] Interim Results From Aastrom's Vascular Trial to be Presented at Society for Vascular Surgery Annual Meeting Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. announced that positive interim results from the company's U.S. Phase IIb trial designated RESTORE-CLI has been accepted for presentation at this year's Vascular Annual Meeting® of the Society for Vascular Surgery. [Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. Press Release] REGiMMUNE Presents New ToleroVax Data at the 2010 American Transplant Congress REGiMMUNE Corporation said that data from a preclinical study showed an enhanced immune suppression when ToleroVax (RGI-2001), its lead product candidate for the prevention of acute Graft-versus-Host Disease, is combined with anti-thymocyte globulin. [REGiMMUNE Corporation Press Release] Power3 Principals Patent Stem Cell Breakthrough Identifying Protein Biomarkers Which Scientists Expect to be the Gold Standard for Future Stem Cell Therapy StemTroniX, Inc. and Power3 Medical Products, Inc. announced that a joint provisional patent application entitled, “Stem Cell Protein Biomarkers and Their Use in Monitoring Stem Cells and Their Products for Stem Cell Therapy” has been filed by the principals of StemTroniX and Power3 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [Power3 Medical Products, Inc. Press Release] Alnylam Receives Intent to Grant by European Patent Office for New Patent Broadly Covering RNAi Therapeutics Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced that the European Patent Office has issued a notification of an intent to grant for the “Manoharan II” patent series (EP Application No 04 718 537), titled “Therapeutic Compositions.” [Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release] Controversial NF-Kappa B Patent Falls Down on Written Description A hearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit examining the 'written description' requirement of U.S. patent law has seen Ariad's patent directed towards the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway invalidated. [Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Press Release] Details of New Wellcome Trust Investigator Awards Announced The Wellcome Trust announced further details of its Investigator Awards, a major new scheme to support world-class researchers to tackle ambitious research questions about health and disease. [The Wellcome Trust Press Release] Chemical Engineering Professor Wins $1.9 Million NIH Award Shashi Murthy, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern University, has been awarded a three-year $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop innovative techniques for isolating and cultivating stem cells for use in the replacement of damaged tissue. [Northeastern University Press Release]
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EVENTS World Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2010 May 11-13, 2010 London, United Kingdom European Molecular Biology Laboratory Stem Cells, Tissue Homeostasis and Cancer Conference May 12-15, 2010 Heidelberg, Germany American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 2010 Clinical Trials Training Course and 13th Annual Meeting May 17-22, 2010 Washington, DC, United States 2010 Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) Stem Cell Symposium: Epigenetics, Transcriptomics and Nanobiotechnology of Stem Cells May 20-21, 2010 Brisbane, Australia 16th Annual International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Meeting May 23-26, 2010 Philadelphia, United States ESTOOLS International Scientific Symposium: Stem Cells in Biology and Disease May 26-28, 2010 Lisbon, Portugal London Research Institute Stem Cell Club Meeting May 31, 2010 London, United Kingdom Stem Cell Investor & Executive Networking Conference Event (S.C.I.E.N.C.E.) June 1, 2010 New York, United States Regenerative Medicine in 21st Century: Managing Uncertainty at the Global Level Conference June 9-10, 2010 Madison, United States 8th International Conference on Cell and Stem Cell Engineering June 11-12, 2010 Dublin, Ireland Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) – European Union 2010 June 13-17, 2010 Galway, Ireland International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 8th Annual Meeting June 16-19, 2010 San Francisco, United States XXXIst International Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) in joint cooperation with the 43rd Congress of the German Society for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology (DGTI) June 26-July 1, 2010 Berlin, Germany United Kingdom National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) Annual Scientific Conference July 12-14, 2010 Nottingham, United Kingdom 2nd International Conference on Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (ICCMB2) August 2-4, 2010 Singapore City, Singapore CHI's 5th Annual Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Summit (ImVacS) August 17-19, 2010 Cambridge, United States Select BioSciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference August 24-25, 2010 Edinburgh, Scotland International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) – Europe 2nd Regional Meeting September 11-14, 2010 Belgirate, Italy Hydra VI: The European Summer School on Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine September 11-17, 2010 Hydra, Greece Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2010 September 13-15, 2010 Philadelphia, United States Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) – Asia Pacific 2010 September 15-17, 2010 Sydney, Australia 2010 World Stem Cell Summit October 4-6, 2010 Detroit, United States 5th World Congress on Preventive & Regenerative Medicine (WCRM) October 5-7, 2010 Hannover, Germany American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) Annual Meeting & Cellular Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Expo (CTTXPO) 2010 October 9-12, 2010 Baltimore, United States 3rd Annual Dubai Congress on Anti-Aging and Aesthetic Medicine (DCAAAM) October 26-27, 2010 Dubai, United Arab Emirates World Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Congress Asia 2010 October 26-29, 2010 Singapore City, Singapore Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium 2010 October 29-30, 2010 Leipzig, Germany Stem Cell Network 10th Annual Scientific Meeting November 22-24, 2010 Calgary, Canada Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) – North America 2010 Annual Conference December 5-8, 2010 Orlando, United States Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.
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