SCIENCE NEWSResearchers Identify Genetic Cause of New Vascular Disease
Clinical researchers have identified the genetic cause of a rare and debilitating vascular disorder not previously explained in the medical literature. [Press release from the National Institutes of Health discussing online prepublication in the New England Journal of Medicine]Researchers Unlock the Potential for Exploring Kidney Regeneration
Researchers have identified a cell in zebrafish that can be transplanted from one fish to another to regenerate nephrons, providing the potential to improve kidney function. [Press release from Brigham and Women’s Hospital discussing online prepublication in Nature] Cell Reprogramming Leaves a “Footprint” Behind
Reprogramming adult cells to recapture their youthful “can-do-it-all” attitude appears to leave an indelible mark, found researchers. When the team scoured the epigenomes of so-called induced pluripotent stem cells base by base, they found a consistent pattern of reprogramming errors. [Press release from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discussing online prepublication in Nature] Some iPS Cells Indistinguishable from Embryonic Stem Cells
Scientific studies comparing the similarities and differences between the inducible stem (iPS) and embryonic stem (ES) cells have been conflicting and inconclusive. Seeking to settle this debate, researchers devised a tool incorporating a genomics-based analytical approach. [Press release from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard discussing online prepublication in Cell] Scientists Unlock One Mystery of Tissue Regeneration
Researchers have identified a genetic switch that controls oxidative stress in stem cells and thus governs stem cell function. [Press release from the University of Rochester discussing online prepublication in Cell Stem Cell] Study Finds a Stem Cell Origin of Skin Cancer and the Genetic Lesions That Promote Its Malignancy
Researchers have unmasked a long sought stem cell origin of carcinoma and identified the genetic lesions occurring within these cells that spur them on to malignancy. [Press release from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory discussing online prepublication in Cell Stem Cell] Stem Cells from Different Sources Are Not Equivalent
A team of researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine found that human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) exhibited substantially more heterogeneity in gene expression than did human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), leading them to suggest that hiPSCs have a less stable pluripotent state than hESCs, information that is important to consider when thinking about using these cells for the purpose of regenerative medicine. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation] Study Shows Promise That Heart Damage in Children Could Be Repaired by Using Stem Cells from Patient's Own Heart
Visionaries in the field of cardiac therapeutics have long looked to the future when a damaged heart could be rebuilt or repaired by using one’s own heart cells. A study shows that heart stem cells from children with congenital heart disease were able to rebuild the damaged heart in the laboratory. [Press release from Children's Memorial Hospital discussing online prepublication in Circulation] Cells' Energy Factories Linked to Damaging Inflammation
Scientists have discovered that molecules called reactive oxygen species produced by the mitochondria, in cells, may play a role in a rare inherited disorder in which uncontrolled inflammation damages the body’s tissues. Their research in human and mouse cells suggests that blocking these molecules could reduce inflammation in TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome and possibly other inflammatory diseases. [Press release from the National Institutes of Health discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Experimental Medicine] New Induced Stem Cells May Unmask Cancer at Earliest Stage
By coaxing healthy and diseased human bone marrow to become embryonic-like stem cells, a team of scientists has laid the groundwork for observing the onset of the blood cancer leukemia in the laboratory dish. [Press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison discussing online prepublication in Blood] Researchers Discover Way to Reverse Immune System Aging
Researchers have discovered a way to reverse the aging process by removing old B lymphocytes from old mice, and forcing the production of young, potent cells to replace them. [Press release from the American Technion Society discussing online prepublication in Blood] New Probiotic Combats Inflammatory Bowel Disease
A genetically tweaked version of a common probiotic found in yogurt and cheese appears to be an effective therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It may also prove to be useful in colon cancer, another disease triggered by inflammation. [Press release from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA] MicroRNA Cocktail Helps Turn Skin Cells into Stem Cells
Researchers identified several specific microRNAs that are important during reprogramming and exploited them to make the transition from skin cell to induced pluripotent stem cell more efficient. [Press release from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute discussing online prepublication in The EMBO Journal] Researchers Develop Safer Way to Make Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers have found a better way to create induced pluripotent stem cells from a small blood sample. This new method avoids creating DNA changes that could lead to tumor formation. [Press release from Johns Hopkins Medicine discussing online prepublication in Cell Research] Engineered Cells Could Usher in Programmable Cell Therapies
In work that could jumpstart the promising field of cell therapy, researchers have engineered cells that could solve one of the key challenges associated with the procedure: control of the cells and their microenvironment following transplantation. [Press release from Brigham and Women's Hospital discussing online prepublication in Biomaterials] New 3D Nanoscaffold Could Revolutionize Human Tissue Engineering
Researchers have created a three-dimensional electrospun scaffold on the nano scale that more effectively and efficiently facilitates cell and tissue growth in the laboratory. [Press release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's discussing online prepublication in Biomaterials] Bioengineered Veins Could Help Patients Needing Bypass Surgery, Dialysis
New research demonstrates the capability of tissue-engineered vascular grafts that are immediately available at the time of surgery and are less likely to become infected or obstructed. The bioengineering method of producing veins shows promise in large- and small-diameter applications, such as for coronary artery bypass surgery and for vascular access in hemodialysis. [Press release from East Carolina University discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine] CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)
NT5E Mutations and Arterial Calcifications
Researchers identified mutations in NT5E in members of three families with symptomatic arterial and joint calcifications. This gene encodes CD73, which converts AMP to adenosine, supporting a role for this metabolic pathway in inhibiting ectopic tissue calcification. [N Engl J Med] Identification of Adult Nephron Progenitors Capable of Kidney Regeneration in Zebrafish
The data demonstrate that the zebrafish kidney probably contains self-renewing nephron stem/progenitor cells. The identification of these cells paves the way to isolating or engineering the equivalent cells in mammals and developing novel renal regenerative therapies. [Nature] Hotspots of Aberrant Epigenomic Reprogramming in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers report the first whole-genome profiles of DNA methylation at single-base resolution in five human Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, along with methylomes of embryonic stem (ES) cells, somatic cells, and differentiated iPSCs and ES cells. [Nature] Reference Maps of Human ES and iPS Cell Variation Enable High-Throughput Characterization of Pluripotent Cell Lines
Researchers have established genome-wide reference maps of DNA methylation and gene expression for 20 previously derived human embryonic stem (ES) lines and 12 human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines, and have measured the in vitro differentiation propensity of these cell lines. This resource enabled researchers to assess the epigenetic and transcriptional similarity of ES and iPS cells and to predict the differentiation efficiency of individual cell lines. [Cell] Expression of Therapeutic Proteins After Delivery of Chemically Modified mRNA in Mice
Researchers investigated the therapeutic utility of chemically modified mRNA as an alternative to DNA-based gene therapy. [Nat Biotechnol] Redox Regulation by Keap1 and Nrf2 Controls Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation in Drosophila
Findings establish Keap1 and Nrf2 as a critical redox management system that regulates stem cell function in high-turnover tissues. [Cell Stem Cell] (Delta)Np63(Alpha) Is an Oncogene that Targets Chromatin Remodeler Lsh to Drive Skin Stem Cell Proliferation and Tumorigenesis
Findings indicate that (delta)Np63(alpha) is an oncogene that cooperates with Ras to promote tumor-initiating stem-like proliferation and suggest that Lsh-mediated chromatin-remodeling events are critical to this process. [Cell Stem Cell] Policy Uncertainty and the Conduct of Stem Cell Research
A survey of U.S. stem cell scientists shows that uncertainty following the legal challenge to the Obama Administration's human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research policy has negative scientific and economic impacts and affects a range of stem cell scientists, not just those working with hESCs. The international implications of these results are also discussed. [Cell Stem Cell] Single Cell Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Heterogeneity of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers used single cell analysis to resolve the gene expression profiles of 362 human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for an array of 42 genes that characterize the pluripotent and differentiated states. Comparison between single hESCs and single hiPSCs revealed markedly more heterogeneity in gene expression levels in the hiPSCs, suggesting that hiPSCs occupy an alternate, less stable pluripotent state. [J Clin Invest] Characterization and Functionality of Cardiac Progenitor Cells in Congenital Heart Patients
Resident human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) are most abundant in the neonatal period and rapidly decrease over time. Human cardiosphere-derived cells can be reproducibly isolated and expanded from young human myocardial samples regardless of age or diagnosis. hCPCs are functional and have potential in congenital cardiac repair. [Circulation] Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Promote Production of Proinflammatory Cytokines and Are Elevated in TNFR1-Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS)
Findings suggest that mitochondrial reactive oxygen species may be a novel therapeutic target for TRAPS and other inflammatory diseases. [J Exp Med] Efficient Generation of Transgene-Free Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Normal and Neoplastic Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells
Scientists demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem cells free of transgene and vector sequences could be efficiently generated from human bone marrow and cord blood mononuclear cells using non-integrating episomal vectors. [Blood] B Cell Depletion Reactivates B Lymphopoiesis in the BM and Rejuvenates the B Lineage in Aging
Results suggest that immunosenescence in the B-lineage is not irreversible, and that depletion of the long-lived B cells in old mice rejuvenates the B-lineage and enhances immune competence. [Blood] 
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