Cord Blood News Volume 2.38 | Oct 7 2010

Combination of HOXB4 and Delta-1 Ligand Improves Expansion of Cord Blood Cells
Results demonstrate enhanced generation of hematopoietic progenitors by combining HOXB4 and Delta-1 ligand (DL); addition of DL further enhances expansion of multipotent cells able to repopulate lymphoid and megakaryocyte lineages, which is not observed when HOXB4 is used alone. [Blood]

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Scientists Reveal First Structure of a Class of Proteins that Help Guide Blood Cell Movement
Researchers have determined the structure of a protein that helps guide blood-forming stem cells. [Press release from PhysOrg discussing online prepublication in Science]

Elasticity Found to Stretch Stem Cell Growth to Higher Levels
One of the major challenges in stem cell transplants is how to obtain sufficient numbers of these remarkably rare cells to put into patients. To help overcome this issue, researchers have found a way to increase the number of blood-forming stem cells when growing them outside of the body. [Press release from the Centenary Institute discussing online prepublication in Nature Biotechnology]

Crohn’s Disease Trial Uses Stem Cells Taken from Placentas
Patients with Crohn’s disease have shown improvement with placenta-derived stem cells. [Press release from The Detroit News discussing research presented at the World Stem Cell Summit]

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Structure of the CXCR4 Chemokine Receptor with Small Molecule and Cyclic Peptide Antagonists
Researchers report five independent crystal structures of CXCR4 bound to an antagonist small molecule IT1t and a cyclic peptide CVX15 at 2.5 to 3.2 angstrom resolution. [Science]

Substrate Elasticity Provides Mechanical Signals for the Expansion of Hemopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells
Data suggest that substrate elasticity and tensegrity are important mechanisms influencing hemopoietic stem and progenitor cell subsets and could be exploited to facilitate cell culture. [Nat Biotechnol]
 
Dynamic Interaction Networks in a Hierarchically Organized Tissue
Researchers describe the structure and dynamics of intercellular and intracellular networks in a stem cell derived, hierarchically organized tissue using experimental and theoretical analyses of cultured human umbilical cord blood progenitors. [Mol Syst Biol]

Unrelated Cord Blood Transplantation in Adults with Myelodysplasia or Secondary Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia: A Survey on Behalf of Eurocord and CLWP of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
In spite of high non-relapse mortality, data indicate that unrelated cord blood transplantation is an acceptable alternative option to treat adults with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome or secondary acute myeloblastic leukemia, without a suitable human leukocyte antigen-matched donor. [Leukemia]

Functional Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Cryopreserved Umbilical Cord Blood
Results eliminate the necessity of performing cell isolation procedures ahead of future clinical needs and suggest that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) derived from cryopreserved umbilical cord blood may be suitable for EPC-related therapies. [Cell Transplant]

A Rapid, Simple and Reproducible Method for the Isolation of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Wharton’s Jelly without Enzymatic Treatment
Researchers have established a simple, rapid and reproducible protocol to isolate abundant mesenchymal stromal cells from short segments of umbilical cords. [Stem Cells Dev]

Intravenous Infusion of GDNF Gene-Modified Human Umbilical Cord Blood CD34+ Cells Protects Against Cerebral Ischemic Injury in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
The study assessed the potential of intravenous transplantation of human umbilical cord blood CD34+ cells transfected with glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene to exert therapeutic benefits in spontaneous hypertensive rats exposed to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. [Brain Res]

CXCR7: A New SDF-1–Binding Receptor in Contrast to Normal CD34+ Progenitors Is Functional and Is Expressed at Higher Level in Human Malignant Hematopoietic Cells
CXCR7 is expressed at very low levels on normal human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and does not play a direct role in their proliferation or migration; however, in contrast it is involved in trafficking/adhesion of human leukemic cells. [Eur J Haematol]

STEMSOFT® Software Inc. Licenses StemLab® Software to The Blood Connection
STEMSOFT Software Inc., the leading provider of software solutions for the cell therapy and transplant community, is pleased to announce the licensing of StemLab, the leading cell therapy transplant and cord blood banking laboratory software, to The Blood Connection in Piedmont, South Carolina. [STEMSOFT Software Inc. Press Release]

STEMSOFT Connect – A Simplified Solution to a Complex Problem
STEMSOFT is pleased to announce the release of their new standard interfaces, STEMSOFT Connect™.  STEMSOFT Connect offers standard interface tools that easily connect commonly used applications and devices to STEMSOFT’s applications. [STEMSOFT Software Inc. Press Release]

The University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank Wins $6.3 Million Federal Award to Collect and Bank Umbilical Cord Blood, with Emphasis on Minority Donors
The University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank, a component of ClinImmune Labs and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been awarded $6.3 million to collect and bank umbilical cord blood, with an emphasis on donors from minority groups. [University of Colorado Denver Press Release]

USF and Saneron Get $2.6 Million to Develop Alzheimer’s Treatment Using Umbilical Cord Blood Cells
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a three-year, $2.6-million grant to the University of South Florida (USF) and Tampa-based biotechnology company Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., to establish dosing and safety guidelines for transplanting human umbilical cord blood cells into animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. [EurekAlert!]

McLean Researchers Awarded $1.9 Million Grant for Stem Cell, Blood Research
Researchers at Harvard-Affiliated McLean Hospital have been awarded a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health Director’s Opportunity Award to continue their research into creating human induced pluripotent stem cells using a method aimed at eliminating the risk of cancer and other problems associated with other options such as genome-integrating viral methods. [McLean Hospital Press Release]

Mylan Receives Approval for Fludarabine Phosphate Injection, USP
Mylan Inc. announced that its subsidiary Bioniche Pharma received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for Fludarabine Phosphate Injection USP, 25 mg/mL, packaged in 50 mg/2 mL Single-dose Vials. [Mylan Inc. Press Release]

Shrinking U.S. Biotechnology Sector Lost 25% of Companies in Past 3 Years
One hundred publicly traded biotechnology companies in the U.S. have been acquired or ceased operations since the end of 2007, a 25 percent drop in the number of active companies, a report said. [Bloomberg]

Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Create Jobs and Promote Investment in Life Sciences
U.S. Representatives introduced bipartisan legislation that will provide tax incentives for small and mid-sized businesses to invest in life sciences research and development on a targeted basis. The Life Sciences Jobs and Investment Act of 2010 provides an opportunity to enhance medical innovation, life sciences education and job creation in the United States. [House of Representatives, United States]

NIH Announces New Program to Accelerate Research Independence
The National Institutes of Health intends to invest approximately $60 million over the next five years in the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award program to help junior investigators leapfrog over traditional post-doctoral training and move into independent academic positions at U.S. institutions, directly upon completion of their graduate research degrees. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NIH Grants Will Advance Studies of the Form and Function of Proteins
The National Institutes of Health has awarded 23 grants for structural biology research totaling up to $290 million over five years. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins important in biology and medicine. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NCBI Launches the Database of Genomic Structural Variations
The National Institutes of Health announces the launch of a new resource, called the Database of Genomic Structural Variation, or dbVar, to help scientists understand how differences in DNA contribute to human health and disease. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NIH Transformative Research Project Awards Hasten Innovation
The National Institutes of Health will award up to $64 million over five years to encourage exploration of exceptionally innovative and original research ideas that have the potential for extraordinary impact. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NHLBI Renews Programs for Nanotechnology Research
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is awarding $65 million to renew its Programs for Nanotechnology Research to help researchers develop tools based on materials designed at the molecular level to detect and deliver treatments for heart, lung, and blood diseases. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

FDA to Push for More Investment in Science
Health regulators plan to spend millions of dollars to step up their scientific prowess in a move that officials say will help quickly get new treatments to patients and protect the public against possible health threats. [Food and Drug Administration, United States]
 
Spain’s Science Budget Proposal: Not as Bad as Feared, but not Good
After weeks during which Spanish researchers fretted nervously about possibly significant cuts to their country’s science budget, Spanish Science and Innovation Minister Cristina Garmendia tried in a press conference to give a reassuring message to the scientific community: the ministry will have about the same amount of money next year as proposed in 2010 with which to fund competitive research projects and scholarships, support national research institutes, and give loans to R&D companies. [Ministry of Science, Spain]
 
Center for Scientific Review; Amended Notice of Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-25171) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-25180) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-25185) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
National Center for Research Resources; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-25176) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-25172) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
NHLBI Translational Research Implementation Program (TRIP) – Limited Competition – (P50) (RFA-HL-12-003) [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, United States]

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