Cord Blood News Volume 11.07 | Feb 28 2019

TOP STORY

A Stemness Screen Reveals C3orf54/INKA1 as a Promoter of Human Leukemia Stem Cell Latency

The authors interrogated functionally-validated datasets of leukemia stem cell-specific genes together with their known protein interactors and selected 64 candidates for a competitive in vivo gain-of-function screen to identify genes that enhanced stemness in human cord blood hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. [Blood] Abstract

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Generation of Insulin‐Producing Hepatocyte‐Like Cells from Human Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells as an Alternative Source of Islet Cells

Researchers transfected human Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells with a special construct, which included homology arms and glucose‐responsive elements upstream of the minimum liver‐type pyruvate kinase promoter‐directed insulin gene. They differentiated these transfected cells to hepatocyte‐like cells by using serial exposure of different inducing material and exogenous growth factors. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract

Retrospective Cohort Study Comparing the Outcomes of Intravenous Busulfan vs. Total-Body Irradiation after Single Cord Blood Transplantation

Scientists conducted a retrospective multicentre study to analyse the outcomes of IV Bu and TBI in cord blood transplantation patients with hematologic malignancies. Between 1 May, 2008 and 31 Mar, 2018, a total of 331 patients from the China Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Corporation were evaluated. [Bone Marrow Transplant] Abstract

Assessment of Tumor Promoting Effects of Amniotic and Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Human MSCs from amniotic membrane and umbilical cord were used to evaluate the effects of MSCs on tumor development in vitro and in vivo. [J Cancer Res Clin Oncol] Abstract

Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells Application in Hematopoietic Stem Cells Expansion on Nanofiber Three‐Dimensional Scaffold

Investigators evaluated the effects of umbilical cord blood (UCB)-MSCs application in UCB-HSCs expansion on the nanoscaffold that mimics the cell’s natural niche. [J Cell Biochem] Abstract

Effects of miRNA‐342‐3p in Modulating Hedgehog Signaling Pathway of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Down‐Regulating Sufu

Over‐expression of miRNA‐342‐3p in human umbilical MSCs (hUCMSCs) enhanced the expression of osteogenic genes by targeting Sufu. And the potential of osteogenic differentiation of hUCMSCs was inhibited along with knockdown miRNA‐342‐3p. [Oral Dis] Abstract

Maternal Serum, an Isolation and Expansion Tool for Umbilical Cord Matrix Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

The authors developed a methodology for the isolation of umbilical cord matrix cells without the use of enzymatic digestion or complicated dissection, investigated the use of pooled maternal serum as a media supplement, and demonstrated that the cells isolated were mesenchymal stromal cells. [Tissue Eng Part C Methods] Abstract

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Thy-1: More than a Marker for Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

The authors summarize data on the impact of thymus cell antigen 1 (Thy-1) on the control of MSC differentiation and its consequences for bone and fat formation. [FASEB J] Abstract

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BrainStorm Announces First Contracted US Clinical Site for Phase II Progressive MS Study

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. announced Cleveland Clinic as the first US clinical site contracted for a planned Phase II open-label, multicenter study of repeated intrathecal administration of autologous MSC-NTF cells in participants with progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). [BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.] Press Release

Blood Disorder Research Receives 2.5 Million from the NIH

Feinstein Institute for Medical Research associate professor and anemia expert Lionel Blanc, PhD, received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study improved treatment for erythropoietic disorders, including Diamond Blackfan anemia. [Feinstein Institute for Medical Research] Press Release

Pioneering ‘Live-Code’ Article Allows Scientists to Play With Each Other’s Results

The online journal eLife has created its first “computationally reproducible” article, in which figures are integrated with the software, data and computational environment required to produce them. Readers can change the underlying code and produce modified figures in order to better understand, validate or build on the work. [Nature News] Editorial

NIH Revoked Funding from 14 Scientists over Sexual Harassment Last Year

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigated more than two dozen allegations of sexual harassment last year against scientists whose work it supports, the agency said. The NIH ultimately replaced 14 principal investigators who had received agency grants, while 21 principal investigators were disciplined or fired by their employers. [Nature News] Editorial

Big Pharma Is Embracing Open-Access Publishing Like Never Before

In a literature analysis, researchers found that the proportion of open-access papers published by 23 large drug companies, such as Pfizer and Roche, almost doubled between 2009 and 2016, and has overtaken the proportion of freely available papers published generally in medicine-related fields. [Nature News] Editorial

Spanish Science Reforms Aim to Make Life Easier for Parents

The Spanish government has passed reforms to the nation’s scientific system that will cut red tape and make life easier for researchers — especially parents. The reforms make it easier for public research institutions to hire staff, and for scientists to buy equipment and return to a science career after taking a maternity or paternity leave. [Nature News] Editorial

University of California Breaks Up With Major Publisher Over Research Access Dispute

After months of negotiations, the University of California system has decided not to renew its subscriptions to journals put out by the major publisher Elsevier — a decision that could have big ripple effects for the way that academic research gets read and paid for. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW CRYO2019
July 22-25, 2019
San Diego, California, United States

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NEW Postdoctoral Scholarship – Proteomics and Erythropoiesis (Lund University)

Postdoctoral Position – Experimental Hematology (Leipzig Universitätsklinikum)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Development of Lymphoid Cells (Lund University)

Faculty Positions – Cancer Research (Shenzhen University)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (Pennsylvania State University)

Assistant, Associate, or Professor – Regenerative Medicine (University of Louisville)

Postdoctoral Research Scholar – Hematologic Malignancies (Washington University School of Medicine)

Research Fellow – Hematology, Blood Disorders and Stem Cell Biology (New York Blood Center)

Associate Senior Lecturer – Regenerative Medicine (Lund University)

Assistant Professor – Regenerative Medicine (University of British Columbia)

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