Cord Blood News Volume 11.15 | Apr 25 2019

TOP STORY

Disruption of the MBD2-NuRD Complex but not MBD3-NuRD Induces High Level HbF Expression in Human Erythroid Cells

To determine the effect of MBD2 depletion in human erythroid cells, genome editing technology was utilized to knockout MBD2 in human umbilical cord derived erythroid progenitor-2 cells resulting in γ/γ+β mRNA levels of ~50% and ~40% fetal hemoglobin by high performance liquid chromatography. [Haematologica] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Adolescents and Young Adults

The authors compared outcomes after hematologic stem cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia among children, adolescents and young adults, based on nationwide registry data in Japan. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant] Abstract

Reducing Ethnic Disparity in Access to High‐Quality HLA‐Matched Cord Blood Units for Transplantation: Analysis of the Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank Inventory

Using HLA genotypes of cord blood units and their mothers, scientists determined probable ethnic assignments for each haplotype using HaploStats. Significant increases in HLA‐match likelihoods are predicted for all ethnicities as the inventory grows to its target of 10,000 units and the gap in HLA‐match likelihoods for Caucasian and non‐Caucasian patients progressively declines. [Transfusion] Abstract

Quantitative Analysis of SSEA3⁺ Cells from Human Umbilical Cord after Magnetic Sorting

Researchers separated Wharton’s jelly and the cord lining from human umbilical cords, cultured MSCs isolated from these two tissues with collagenase, and quantified the percentage of SSEA3⁺ cells over three passages. [Cell Transplant] Full Article

Transcriptional Regulators CITED2 and PU.1 Cooperate in Maintaining Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Scientists found that simultaneous PU.1/CBP/p300-interacting-transactivator-with-an-ED-rich-tail 2 (CITED2) deregulation in human CD34⁺ cord blood cells, as well as CITED2 upregulation in preleukemic murine PU.1-knockdown bone marrow cells, significantly increased the maintenance of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells compared with the respective deregulation of either factor alone. [Exp Hematol] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Survivability of Rabbit Amniotic Fluid-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Post Slow-Freezing or Vitrification

Investigators evaluated the effect of two distinct cryopreservation procedures – conventional slow-freezing and vitrification, on survivability and mesenchymal marker expression stability of rabbit amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells. [Acta Histochem] Abstract

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Spinal Cord Injury: Animal Models, Imaging Tools and the Treatment Strategies

The authors discuss the efficacy and limitations of adult mesenchymal stem cells, which can be derived from bone marrow, adipose tissue or umbilical cord blood and its Wharton’s jelly. [Neurochem Res] Abstract

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

ExCellThera’s Lead Technology, ECT-001, Receives FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) Designation

ExCellThera Inc. announced that the FDA has granted RMAT designation to its lead technology, ECT-001, in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. [ExCellThera Inc.] Press Release

Hal Broxmeyer to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

The leadership of the Cord Blood Association announced that Hal E. Broxmeyer, PhD, will be the recipient of the association’s 2019, and second, Lifetime Achievement Award. [Cord Blood Association] Press Release

Elsevier and Norway Agree on New Open-Access Deal

After unsuccessful negotiations between a coalition of Norwegian organizations and the academic publisher Elsevier culminated in cancelled subscriptions earlier this year, the two have successfully established a new nationwide licensing agreement. [The Scientist] Editorial

Fearing No-Deal Brexit, European Funder Orders UK Researchers to Transfer Grants

The prospect of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, has loomed long and large over researchers, but the effects on funding, so far, have been speculative. Now, a European funding agency has made a pre-emptive strike in advance of Brexit, changing a policy that directly impacts grants in the United Kingdom. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Why Are Canada’s Scientists Getting Political?

Erratic funding for basic research, coupled with concerns that science has fallen down the priority list for politicians, has contributed to a shift in researchers’ attitudes to lobbying. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW 2019 International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH) Annual Scientific Meeting
August 22-25, 2019
Brisbane, Australia

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

NEW Research Technician – Leukemia (VIB)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Stem Cells and Erythropoiesis in MDS (Karolinska Institutet)

Researcher Position – Cell Signaling (University of Tromsø)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Hematopoiesis, Leukemia, and Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes (The University of Texas Southwestern)

Assistant, Associate, or Full-Professor Positions – Cancer Research (Brown University)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Functional Genomics (Justus Liebig University Giessen)

Postdoctoral Fellows – Hematological Malignancies and Cancer Immunology (Fox Chase Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Mechanobiology (The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston)

Postdoctoral Position – Hematopoietic Stem Cells (Washington University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow Positions – Human iPS cells, Epigenetics, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Biology, and Blood Cancers (Nationwide Children’s Hospital & Ohio State University)

Assistant Professor – Computational Biology/Stem Cell Biology (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Faculty Positions – Cancer Research (Shenzhen University)

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