Cord Blood News Volume 10.37 | Sep 20 2018

TOP STORY

Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Rat Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Neutrophil Inflammatory Response

Human umbilical cord MSC-extracellular vesicles (huc-MSC-EVs) reduced the respiratory burst of neutrophils and prevented hepatocytes from oxidative stress-induced cell death in vitro. Researchers found that the mitochondria-located antioxidant enzyme, manganese superoxide dismutase, was encapsulated in huc-MSC-EVs and reduced oxidative stress in the hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury model. [FASEB J] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Differences in the Intrinsic Chondrogenic Potential of Equine Umbilical Cord Matrix and Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells for Cartilage Regeneration

Both umbilical cord blood MSCs (UCB-MSCs) and umbilical cord matrix MSCs (UCM-MSCs) displayed intrinsic differences at their undifferentiated basal status, UCB-MSCs expressed higher levels of chondrogenic markers whereas UCM-MSCs synthesized higher amounts of osteogenic markers. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Proteomics Study of Human Cord Blood Reticulocyte-Derived Exosomes

Investigators presented the first mass spectrometry-based proteomics of human reticulocyte-derived exosomes (HuRex). HuRex were isolated from cultures of human reticulocyte-enriched cord blood using different culture conditions and exosome isolation methods. Functional assays demonstrated active capture of HuRex by mature dendritic cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article | Press Release

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Experimental Autoimmune Cholangitis through Immunosuppression and Cytoprotective Function Mediated by Galectin-9

Umbilical cord-MSC (UC-MSC) transplantation significantly ameliorated liver inflammation, primarily by diminishing T helper 1 (Th1) and Th17 responses as well as modifying liver chemokine activities in experimental autoimmune cholangitis mice. UC-MSCs significantly repressed the proliferation of CD4⁺ T cells and suppressed the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells, which was likely dependent on galectin-9. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Intrabone Transplant Provides Full Stemness of Cord Blood Stem Cells with Fast Hematopoietic Recovery and Low GVHD Rate: Results from a Prospective Study

Scientists reported the results of a prospective study on a poor-prognosis cohort of 23 patients receiving intrabone single umbilical cord blood transplant. Cumulative incidence of hematological recovery at day 90 was 82 ± 9% and 70 ± 10% and correlated with CD34⁺ cells in the graft. [Bone Marrow Transplant] Full Article

Effect of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 Secreted by Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Amyloid Beta Levels in In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Alzheimer’s Disease

When amyloid beta (Aβ)-treated BV2 microglia cells were treated with exogenous recombinant growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), the Aβ levels in culture medium decreased. In contrast, co-culture of BV2 cells and hUCB-MSCs treated with GDF-15-specific siRNA did not influence the Aβ levels in the culture medium. [Biochem Biophys Res Commun] Abstract

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Umbilical Cord Tissue Cryopreservation: A Short Review

The authors present current evidence on the possibility of umbilical cord tissue cryopreservation for subsequent clinical use. Protocols for obtaining umbilical cord-derived vessels, Wharton’s jelly-based grafts, multipotent stromal cells, and other biomedical products from cryopreserved umbilical cords are highlighted, and their prospective clinical applications are discussed. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the cord blood research field.

Omixon & PIRCHE^® Collaborate on Epitope Determination with NGS

Omixon and PIRCHE AG announced a collaboration to deliver the first integrated epitope determination and matching service that leverages whole gene consensus sequences assembled from NGS data of the HLA region. [Omixon Inc.] Press Release

B.C. Women’s Hospital Preemie Baby Biobank First of Its Kind in Canada

Unique research is taking place at B.C. Women’s Hospital and one of the doctors taking part says it’s the first of its kind in Canada. Doctors hope cord blood can be used to study diseases and infections affecting premature babies. [CBC News] Editorial

This Research Groups Seeks to Expose Weaknesses in Science—and They’ll Step on Some Toes If They Have To

Metaresearchers investigate how scientists operate, and how they can slip off the rails. Their main focus is questionable research practices, such as massaging data and selective reporting of statistical tests. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Huge Peer-Review Study Reveals Lack of Women and Non-Westerners

The study looked at all submissions made to the open-access title eLife from its launch in 2012 to 2017 — nearly 24,000 in total. It found that women worldwide, and researchers outside North America and Europe, were less likely to be peer reviewers, editors and last authors. [Nature News] Editorial

African and Asian Researchers Are Hampered by Visa Problems

Going to a conference? Good luck getting a visa. Researchers from Africa and Asia still encounter much greater obstacles in getting visas to visit other countries for work than do those from Europe or North America. They are also less likely to visit another country for research, according to a global survey of academics’ movements. [Nature News] Editorial

Denied ‘Life-Extending Opportunities’: Black Patients Are Being Left Out of Clinical Trials amid Wave of New Cancer Therapies

Reflecting the reluctance of the FDA to force drug makers to enroll more minority patients, and the failure of most manufacturers to do so voluntarily, stark underrepresentation of African-Americans is widespread in clinical trials for cancer drugs, even when the type of cancer disproportionately affects them. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress
September 27-October 1, 2019
Barcelona, Spain

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Professorship – Somatic Gene Therapy (University of Zurich)

NEW Post-Doctoral and Research Associate Positions – Chromatin Remodeling Proteins in Normal Stem Cell & Cancer Biology (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

Research Associate – Leukemia and Lymphoma (University College London)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Epigenetics of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Development and Disorders (Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

Bioinformatician – Single Cell Biology and Reprogramming (Lund University Stem Cell Center)

Adjunct Principal Investigator Positions – Molecular Medicine (CeMM and LBI-RUD)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Interdisciplinary (Oregon Health & Science University)

Institute Sr Research Scientist – Flow Cytometry (MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Post-Doctoral Fellow or Research Scientist – Transplant Immunology (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Postdoctorial Research Fellow – Transplantation and Tumor Immunology (Medical University of South Carolina)

Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

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