Self-Organized Retinal Tissue from Human Embryonic Stem Cells Researchers showed that human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit a capacity for generating self-organized, complex tissue structures with their report of an hESC-derived optic cup. The report also describes the group’s development of a cryopreservation technology capable of freezing these retinal tissues intact. [Press release from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology discussing online prepublication in Cell Stem Cell] Press Release |Abstract
Specification of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons from Primate Pluripotent Stem Cells By sequentially applying sonic hedgehog and CHIR99021 to induce the midbrain floor plate progenitors and fibroblast growth factor 8 to promote dopaminergic differentiation in a chemically defined medium, researchers have established a robust system for generation of midbrain dopamine neurons from human and rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. [Stem Cells] Abstract
ROCK Inhibitor Converts Corneal Endothelial Cells into a Phenotype Capable of Regenerating In Vivo Endothelial Tissue Using a rabbit corneal endothelial dysfunction model, the transplantation of corneal endothelial cells (CECs) in combination with Y-27632 successfully achieved the recovery of corneal transparency. These results suggest that the selective ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 enables cultivated CEC-based therapy and that the modulation of Rho-ROCK signaling activity serves to enhance cell engraftment for cell-based regenerative medicine. [Am J Pathol] Abstract |Press Release
Cell Therapy Modulates Expression of Tax1-Binding Protein 1 and Synaptotagmin IV in a Model of Optic Nerve Lesion Tax1-binding protein 1 (Tax1BP1) and Synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV) transcription and/or expression are differently modulated by optic nerve crush and bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) treatment, and might be related to neuronal damage and cell-therapy effects in the retina. The increased expression of Tax1BP1 in the treated eyes could be involved in the neuroprotective effects of BMMC. [Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci] Abstract
The Myelin Repair Foundation Achieves Phase I Myelin Repair Clinical Trial The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) announced the achievement of a myelin repair Phase I clinical trial for multiple sclerosis earlier than the foundation’s goal set for 2014. This Phase I clinical trial conducted at Cleveland Clinic will examine the efficacy of a new myelin repair therapeutic pathway with mesenchymal stem cells. [Myelin Repair Foundation] Press Release
Interim Data from Clinical Trial of ReNeuron’s Stem Cell Therapy for Stroke ReNeuron announced the presentation of interim data from the PISCES (Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke) clinical trial of its ReN001 stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients. [Press release from ReNeuron Group plc discussing research presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), Yokohama] Press Release
Senate Panel Approves $100 Million Boost for NIH in 2013 The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $100 million raise for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 2013 fiscal year which begins on 1 October. [Senate Appropriations Committee, United States] Press Release
Budget Cuts Threaten Japanese Scientists’ Pay Scientists in Japan are concerned about proposed belt-tightening measures that would decrease many public-sector salaries by up to 10% overnight and, some worry, have a long-term effect on the country’s efforts to maintain an internationally competitive research environment. [Japanese Government, Japan] Press Release
New Open Access Journal Lets Scientists Publish ’til They Perish An unusual new open access scientific journal is offering researchers the ultimate publishing flat rate: Pay $259 once and publish as many papers as you want for the rest of your life. The founders of PeerJ, a peer-reviewed biomedical journal unveiled, are aiming to start accepting submissions in August and to publish their first articles in December. [ScienceInsider] Press Release
Osiris Receives Second Approval for Life-Saving Stem Cell Drug; Prochymal Granted Marketing Consent by New Zealand Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced it has received consent from New Zealand to market its first-in-class stem cell therapy Prochymal® (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease in children. With this decision New Zealand joins Canada, which last month became the world’s first internationally recognized regulatory authority to grant approval to a stem cell drug. [Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release
SpherIngenics: Georgia Tech Startup Secures Department of Defense Funding for Development of Cell Delivery Technology Using microbead technology developed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, SpherIngenics is producing protective capsules for the delivery of cell-based therapies. Supported by a broad range of Georgia Tech initiatives, the company recently received a two-year $730,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to continue development of the technology. [Georgia Institute of Technology] Press Release
LSU Researchers Receive $370,000 NIH Grant to Pursue Novel Paradigm in Stem Cell Preservation Louisiana State University (LSU) researchers received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant of $370,000 to pursue a novel line of research in adipose-derived stem cell cryopreservation. This research focuses on the investigation of new protocols and protein expression states that would help stem cell therapy products such as engineered bone implants survive the freezing process required to store and ship these products. [Louisiana State University] Press Release
$10 Million for Medical Application of Nanotechnology A $10 million gift from the Querrey Simpson Charitable Foundation will establish a center that will enhance Northwestern University’s global leadership position in regenerative nanomedicine. [Northwestern University] Press Release
Gladstone Investigator Shinya Yamanaka Receives Millennium Technology Award This award recognizes Dr. Yamanaka’s discovery of a way to turn adult skin cells into cells that act like embryonic stem cells. This discovery has since altered the fields of cell biology and stem cell research, offering new hope for the future of both personalized and regenerative medicine. [The J. David Gladstone Institutes] Press Release
Shire’s Advanced BioHealing Commits to Developing Regenerative Medicine Campus Shire plc announced that its Regenerative Medicine business, Advanced BioHealing, Inc., has entered into a lease agreement with BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. which will allow the company to further expand its operational footprint and presence in the San Diego area over the next several years. [Shire plc] Press Release
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