Cord Blood News Volume 3.14 | Apr 14 2011

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    Justin.choi
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    Cord Blood News 3.14, April 14, 2011

         In this issue: Science News | Current Publications | Industry News | Policy News | Events
     

    TOP STORY
    Prostaglandin E2 Enhances Human Cord Blood Stem Cell Xenotransplants and Shows Long-Term Safety in Preclinical Nonhuman Primate Transplant Models
    Dimethyl-prostaglandin E2 significantly increased total human hematopoietic colony formation in vitro and enhanced engraftment of unfractionated and CD34+ human cord blood after xenotransplantation. [Cell Stem Cell]

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    SCIENCE NEWS
    Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Stem Cells Studied for Lupus Therapy
    Human umbilical cord blood-derived mensenchymal stem cells have been found to offer benefits for treating lupus nephritis when transplanted into mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in Cell Transplantation]

    ‘Universal’ Virus-Free Method Turns Blood Cells to Beating Heart Cells
    Scientists have developed a simplified, cheaper, all-purpose method they say can be used by scientists around the globe to more safely turn blood cells into heart cells. [Press release from The Johns Hopkins University discussing online prepublication in PLoS ONE]

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    CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

    Hematopoietic Differentiation of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Very Small Embryonic/Epiblast-Like Stem Cells
    Data suggest that umbilical cord blood (UCB)-very small embryonic/epiblast-like stem cells correspond to the most primitive population of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in UCB. [Leukemia]

    Recruitment of Host’s Progenitor Cells to Sites of Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Implantation
    Given their in vivo: (i) recruitment of host progenitor cells, (ii) homing towards injured sites and (iii) multipotentiality in tissue repair, human amniotic fluid stem cells are a very appealing reserve of stem cells potentially useful for clinical application in regenerative medicine. [Biomaterials]

    Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Stromal Cells, a New Resource in the Suppression of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation in Sublethally Irradiated Mice
    Results suggest that human umbilical cord blood-derived stromal cells possess the capability of suppressing acute graft-versus-host disease, possibly via their influence on CD3 T cells, NK cells, and cytokines. [J Biol Chem]

    Therapeutic Effects of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in Experimental Lupus Nephritis
    Researchers investigated whether transplantation of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells is useful in alleviating lupus nephritis in a murine model. [Cell Transplant]

    A Universal System for Highly Efficient Cardiac Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells That Eliminates Interline Variability
    Researchers describe a highly efficient system for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells to the cardiac lineage. This system eliminated the variability in cardiac differentiation capacity of a variety of human pluripotent stem cells, including hiPSC generated from CD34+ cord blood using non-viral, non-integrating methods. [PLoS ONE]

    Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha-Mediated Inhibition of Erythropoiesis Involves GATA-1/GATA-2 Balance Impairment and PU.1 Over-Expression
    This study focuses on the mechanisms involved in TNFα-mediated inhibition of erythropoiesis. CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells were isolated from human cord blood. [Biochem Pharmacol]

    5-Azacytidine Induces Cardiac Differentiation of Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Activating Extracellular Regulated Kinase (ERK)
    Researchers demonstrated that 5-azacytidine induced cardiac differentiation of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells and explored the potential signaling pathway. [Stem Cells Dev]

    The Ex Vivo Expansion of Conjunctival and Limbal Epithelial Cells Using Cord Blood Serum-Supplemented Culture Medium
    Researchers’ aim was to develop a xenobiotic-free culture system using umbilical cord blood serum as an alternative growth supplement for the cultivation of human conjunctival and limbal epithelial cells. [Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci]

    Gene Expression Changes with Differentiation of Cord Blood Stem Cells to Respiratory Epithelial Cells: A Preliminary Observation
    With this study, researchers sought to characterize the gene expression changes as stem cells from umbilical cord blood differentiate towards type II pneumocytes. [Stem Cell Res Ther]

    Contribution of HLA-A/B/C/DRB1/DQB1 Common Haplotypes to Donor Search Outcome in Unrelated Hematopoietic-Stem Cell Transplantation
    Prediction of search outcome could be improved by including the 50 most common HLA haplotypes into the current approaches. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant]

    Salvage Haploidentical Transplantation for Graft Failure Using Reduced-Intensity Conditioning
    Findings may serve as a rationale for giving precedence to HLA-haploidentical transplantation (haplo-SCT) over cord blood transplantation in salvage SCT after graft failure. [Bone Marrow Transplant]

    INDUSTRY NEWS
    MRC-CRM and iCeMS Sign Agreement on Academic Collaboration
    The University of Edinburgh’s Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MRC-CRM) and Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) signed a memorandum of understanding covering future collaborative research. [MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine Press Release]

    Mesoblast Update on Valeant Proposal to Cephalon 
    Mesoblast wishes to inform the market that the Board of its strategic partner Cephalon Inc. has rejected the unsolicited proposal from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc to acquire its issued share capital or certain assets. [Mesoblast Limited Press Release]

    American Cancer Society Awards New Research and Training Grants
    The American Cancer Society has awarded 132 national research and training grants totaling $51,473,000 to 85 institutions nationwide in the second of two grants cycles for 2011. [American Cancer Society Press Release]

    Pluristem Announces Encouraging Six-Month Follow-Up Results of Its Phase I Critical Limb Ischemia Clinical Trials
    Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. announced that following completion of three and six month clinical follow-up, data from its two open-label, dose-escalation, Phase I clinical trials conducted in the U.S. and Germany suggests that Pluristem’s placenta-derived cell therapy, PLX-PAD, is safe, improves quality of life, and is potentially effective in treating patients and reducing amputations in those suffering from Critical Limb Ischemia, the end-stage of Peripheral Artery Disease.

    HemaCare Names Dr. Scott Burger Scientific Advisory Board Chair
    HemaCare Corporation named Scott R. Burger, MD as the Chairperson of its Scientific Advisory Board. HemaCare has also engaged Dr. Burger, a world renowned cell therapy expert, in a comprehensive consulting services agreement. [BusinessWire]

    NeoStem’s Subsidiary Progenitor Cell Therapy Receives FACT Accreditation for Its New Allendale, New Jersey Manufacturing Facility
    Progenitor Cell Therapy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NeoStem, Inc., announced that it has, once again, demonstrated compliance with the FACT-JACIE International Standards for Cellular Therapy Product Collection, Processing and Administration, and has earned FACT accreditation for its processing facilities through October 19, 2013 based on inspections by FACT at PCT’s facilities in Allendale, New Jersey and Mountain View, California. [NeoStem, Inc. Press Release]

    New Storage Facility for Umbilical Cord Blood
    A new large-scale facility for storing umbilical cord blood opened in Melbourne. [ABC News]

    Blood Banks Need 300,000 Cord Samples for Unrelated Transplants
    Russia’s blood banks should contain around 300,000-400,000 blood samples to carry out umbilical cord blood transplantations, the deputy director of the Federal Scientific Clinical Centre for Child Haematology, Oncology and Immunology, Alexei Maschan, said.[Itar-Tass News Agency]

    Announcing the First Stem Cell Translational Journal
    AlphaMed Press announces the launch of a major peer-reviewed journal, STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, answering an acknowledged need within the research and clinical communities for comprehensive coverage of stem cell science, stem cell-based regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, stem cell-based predictive toxicology, and cancer stem cell investigation. [AlphaMed Press Press Release]

    Can a Legal Thriller Do More Than Thrill?
    The arsenal of tools to educate the public about the constant need for bone marrow donors – websites, social media, patient testimonials, fundraising events, television public service announcements – is welcoming a new partner: a reality-based legal thriller in which one of the major characters gets sick. [PR Newswire]

    POLICY NEWS
    National Institutes of Health (United States)

    Food and Drug Administration (United States)

    Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

    European Medicines Agency (European Union)

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

    Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

    EVENTS

    NEW CIRM/Regenerative Medicine Consortium – Imaging Technology for Cellular Therapies
    May 26, 2011
    Webinar

    NEW 10th Annual American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research
    October 22-25, 2011
    Boston, United States

    NEW Days of Molecular Medicine 2011 – Re-Engineering Regenerative Medicine
    November 10-12, 2011
    Hong Kong

    NEW AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics: Discovery, Biology, and Clinical Applications
    November 12-16, 2011
    San Francisco, United States

    NEW The 2012 London Regenerative Medicine Event
    February 16, 2012
    London, United Kingdom

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

    JOB OPPORTUNITIES

    Implementation Coordinator – Maternity Leave Contract (STEMSOFT Software Inc.)

    Lab Technologist – Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (STEMCELL Technologies)

    Quality Assurance Manager – Program in Children’s Regenerative Medicine (The University of Texas Medical School at Houston)

    Production Manager – Cord Blood Bank (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute BMDI Cord Blood Bank)

    Transplant Coordinator – Cord Blood Bank (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute BMDI Cord Blood Bank)

    Supervisor Cell Therapy Laboratory – Cord Blood Bank (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

    Supervisor Cell Therapy Lab (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

    Research Associate (University College London Institute of Child Health)

    INTERBIO-21st Project Coordinator (University of Oxford – Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology)

    Senior Scientist (Matchtech)

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