Cord Blood News Volume 2.05 | Feb 11 2010

TOP STORY

Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Umbilical Cord Matrix and Amniotic Membrane Mesenchymal Cells
Researchers report the efficient nuclear reprogramming using exogenous factors of mesenchymal cells from placental chorionic and amniotic membranes and the umbilical cord. [J Biol Chem]

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SCIENCE NEWS

Study Opens New Path to Fighting Leukemia Relapse
Researchers in Japan have identified 25 different spots on leukemia cells, each of which could be used to design a new drug to fight the disease. [Press release from Reuters discussing the online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine]

Engineer Creates Unique Software that Predicts Stem Cell Fate
An assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is creating software that offers a completely novel approach to analyzing time-lapse images capturing live stem cell behaviors. [Press release from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee discussing the online prepublication in Nature Methods]

Medical College of Georgia to Conduct First FDA-Approved Stem Cell Trial in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy
Researchers are conducting the first FDA-approved clinical trial to determine whether an infusion of stem cells from umbilical cord blood can improve the quality of life for children with cerebral palsy. [Medical College of Georgia Press Release]

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS

Chemokine Receptor CCR5 Mediates AlloImmune Responses in Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Researchers report that infiltrating lymphocytes in the skin of human acute graft-versus-host disease samples are predominantly CCR5⁺ T cells. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant]

An Age-Dependent Pharmacokinetic Study of Intravenous and Oral Mycophenolate Mofetil in Combination with Tacrolimus for Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis in Pediatric Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients
Researchers investigated the safety and pharmacokinetics of mycophenolate mofetil as graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis following intravenous and oral administration in conjunction with tacrolimus, after myeloablative and nonmyeloablative conditioning and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (AlloSCT) in 3 distinct age groups of pediatric AlloSCT recipients. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant]

Unrelated Transplants for Poor Prognosis Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Long-Term Outcome Analysis and Study of the Impact Hematopoietic Graft Source
Researchers analysed the outcome of adult patients with unrelated stem cell transplantation for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and studied the possible hematopoietic stem cell source impact used for the transplant. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant]

Role of Chk1 in the Differentiation Program of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Treatment with a specific Chk1 inhibitor resulted in a strong reduction in the percentage of myeloid precursors (CD33⁺) and an increase in the percentage of lymphoid precursors (CD38⁺) compared to untreated cells, suggesting a possible role for Chk1 in the differentiation program of umbilical cord blood CD133⁺ hematopoietic stem cells. [Cell Mol Life Sci]

Differential Chemokine Expression in Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease of the Conjunctiva
Researchers examined the expression of chemokines in the conjunctiva in cases of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In this study, 10 patients with chronic GVHD and 10 healthy controls were included. Clinical data were collected and tear film analysis and conjunctival cytology were carried out. [Bone Marrow Transplant]

PPAR-(gamma) Coactivator-1(alpha) Regulates Progesterone Production in Ovarian Granulosa Cells with SF-1 and LRH-1
Results indicate that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1(alpha) is involved in progesterone production in ovarian granulosa cells by potentiating transcriptional activities of the NR5A family proteins. [Mol Endocrinol]

Human Umbilical Cord Matrix-Derived Stem Cells Expressing Interferon-(Beta) Gene Significantly Attenuate Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma Xenografts in SCID Mice
The aim of this study was to determine the anti-cancer effect of IFN-(beta) gene-transfected human umbilical cord matrix mesenchymal stem cells on cells derived from bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, a subset of lung adenocarcinoma that is difficult to treat. [Lung Cancer] 

Optimization of Cryopreservation Condition for Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Umbilical Cord Blood
The conditions for cryopreservation of CD34⁺ hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood were optimized with a new cryo-medium containing 10% ethylene glycol and 2% dimethyl sulfoxide using a controlled-rate freezing method. [Cryobiology] 

The Association of Development of Chronic Lung Disease of Newborns with Neonatal Colonization of Ureaplasma and Interleukin-8 Level of Cord Blood
Researchers investigate the association of Chronic Lung Disease, neonatal Ureaplasma colonization, and the Interleukin-8 level of cord blood in preterm infants. [Pediatr Int]

INDUSTRY NEWS

ThermoGenesis Announces Major Strategic Development with Completion of New Distribution Agreement with GE Healthcare
Under the revised distribution contract, which runs through July, 2012, GE Healthcare will continue to distribute the AXP product line, excluding certain countries in Latin and South America, Asia, CIS and Eastern Europe. [ThermoGenesis Corp. Press Release]

Cord Blood America Finalizes Cord Blood Stem Cell Processing and Storage Agreement with BioCells, a Major South American Company
Cord Blood America, Inc. stated recently that it has finalized an agreement to process and store cord blood specimens for BioCells, Inc., headquartered in Argentina, and its affiliates in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Panama and Puerto Rico. [Cord Blood America, Inc. Press Release]

Elbit Imaging Announces Data Monitoring Committee Recommends Continuation of Phase III Study of StemEx^®, a Cord Blood Stem Cell Product, for Leukemia and Lymphoma
Elbit Imaging Ltd. announces that its associated company, Gamida Cell Ltd. through the Gamida-Teva Joint Venture (JV), announced that the Data Monitoring Committee has independently reviewed preliminary data from the pivotal registration, Phase III clinical trial of StemEx and has recommended that the JV continue to enroll patients in this study. [Elbit Imaging Ltd. Press Release]

Biologics, Inc. Selected to Provide Pharmacy Management Services in National Marrow Donor Program Clinical Trial
Biologics, Inc. announces that its Oncology Clinical Trial Services division has been selected by the National Marrow Donor Program^®, a nonprofit organization that facilitates unrelated hematopoietic cell transplants. [Biologics, Inc. Press Release]

Athersys Receives United States Patent Covering Adult Stem Cell Composition & Production
Athersys, Inc. announced that it has been granted U.S. patent 7,659,118 that covers non-embryonic multipotent stem cells, their isolation and expansion, and related pharmaceutical compositions. [Athersys, Inc. Press Release]

Cerus Corporation Reports Positive Outcome of Phase 1 Clinical Trial of INTERCEPT Red Blood Cells
Cerus Corporation announced that its Phase I trial of red blood cells treated with the INTERCEPT Blood System met its primary endpoint, with preliminary analysis demonstrating that greater than 75 percent of treated cells continued to circulate 24 hours following transfusion. [Cerus Corporation Press Release]

Cerus to Collaborate with French National Transfusion Service on INTERCEPT Red Blood Cell Development
Cerus Corporation announced that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with France’s national transfusion service, the Etablissement Francais du Sang, for the development of the company’s INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells. [Cerus Corporation Press Release]

Debate in United States Over Blood from Newborn Safety Tests
A critical safety net for babies, that heel prick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S., is facing an ethics attack. [Associated Press]

POLICY NEWS

New 10-Year United Kingdom Blood Stem Cell Strategy to be Created
Gillian Merron, Public Health Minister, has asked the National Health Service Blood and Transplant to lead a team of experts in creating a new 10-year strategy for the provision of blood stem cells, including those from cord blood to fight leukaemias and other blood disorders. [National Health Service Blood and Transplant Press Release]

Senate Rejects Stem Cell Legislation
By a vote of 21 to 12, the South Dakota Senate shot down a bill that could have repealed South Dakota’s ban on embryonic stem cell treatments. [South Dakota Senate, United States]

Parsing National Institutes of Health’s 2011 Budget: Is Big Science Up, Small Science Down?
Is National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins planning to steer his ocean liner of an institute toward “big biology” at the expense of single-investigator grants? [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Medvedev Talks Science in Moscow
Russian science has been getting some bad press recently, what with a recent report on its declining productivity in scientific papers and a letter from expatriate scientists to the Russian president and prime minister warning of the parlous state of basic research. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia]

Impersonation of MHRA Staff [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, United Kingdom]

Waivers for Conflicts of Interest for the February 22, 2010 Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting [Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, United States]

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Program to Enhance National Institutes of Health-Supported Global Health Research Involving Human Subjects (S07) (RFA-OD-10-006) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54) (RFA-RM-10-001) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

IACUC 101 Workshop and PRIM&R 2010 IACUC Conference: March 21-23, 2010 in Baltimore, MD (NOT-OD-10-059) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Delays in Grant Application Submission Due to Blizzard (NOT-OD-10-060) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Notice of Intent to Establish a New National Institutes of Health Common Fund Program: Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) (NOT-RM-10-002) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Investigator Initiated Multi-Site Clinical Trials (Collaborative R01) (PAR-10-096) [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, United States]

EVENTS

2010 Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Tandem Meetings
February 24-28, 2010
Orlando, United States

American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) Cord Blood Licensure Workshop
March 8-10, 2010
Rockville, United States

36th Annual Meeting of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
March 21-24, 2010
Vienna, Austria

12th Biennial Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group (CBMTG) Conference
April 7-10, 2010
Vancouver, Canada

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010
April 17-21, 2010
Washington, DC, United States

British Society for Haematology 50th Annual Scientific Meeting
April 19-21, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

XXIII International Symposium on Technological Innovations in Laboratory Hematology
May 10-12, 2010
Brighton, United Kingdom

16th Annual International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Meeting
May 23-26, 2010
Philadelphia, United States 

8th Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Symposium
June 3-5, 2010
San Francisco, United States

International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 8th Annual Meeting
June 16-19, 2010
San Francisco, United States

Select Bioscience’s World Biobanking Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

International Society for Hematology and Stem Cells (ISEH) 2010 Meeting
September 15-18, 2010
Melbourne, Australia 

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Business Development Europe – Cell Therapy Products (PALL Corporation)

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