Cord Blood News Volume 5.08 | Feb 28 2013

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Suppress Antitumor Immune Responses through IDO Expression and Correlate with Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients with Breast Cancer
Because IDO plays a pivotal role in immune tolerance via suppressing T cell function, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression of IDO in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in breast cancer and its role in MDSC-mediated inhibition of immune surveillance. CD33⁺ progenitors isolated from healthy donors’ umbilical cord blood were cocultured with breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells to induce MDSCs. [J Immunol] Abstract

Both the Nature of KIR3DL1 Alleles and the KIR3DL1/S1 Allele Combination Affect the KIR3DL1 NK-Cell Repertoire in the French Population
Researchers investigated the KIR3DL1⁺ NK-cell repertoire, taking into account the allelic KIR3DL1/S1 polymorphism, KIR3DL1 phenotype, and function. The higher expression of KIR3DL1 observed on cord blood NK cells suggests the expression of the functional KIR3DL1*004 receptors. [Eur J Immunol] Abstract

Graft-versus-Host Disease after Double-Unit Cord Blood Transplantation Has Unique Features and an Association with Engrafting Unit-Recipient HLA-Match
Manifestations and risk factors of graft-versus-host disease after double-unit cord blood transplantation (DCBT) are not firmly established. The authors evaluated 115 DCBT recipients transplanted for hematologic malignancies with myeloablative or non-myeloablative conditioning and calcineurin-inhibitor/mycophenolate mofetil immunosuppression. [Biol Blood Marrow Transplant] Abstract

Human Endothelial Colony-Forming Cells Expanded with an Improved Protocol Are a Useful Endothelial Cell Source for Scaffold-Based Tissue Engineering
A bottleneck in artificial vascularization strategies is to obtain sufficient amounts of endothelial cells, as they can be harvested only in small quantities directly from human tissues. Thus, protocols are required to expand appropriate cells in sufficient amounts without interfering with their capability to settle on scaffold materials and to initiate vessel formation. Researchers analyzed whether umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells fulfill these requirements. [J Tissue Eng Regen Med] Abstract

A Novel Method of CD34+ Cell Separation from Umbilical Cord Blood
Umbilical cord blood is rich in the heavily glycosylated CD34 antigen-bearing hematopoietic stem cells that are valuable for transplantation therapy of malignant and nonmalignant disease. CD34+ cell yields of mononuclear cells (UCMCs) isolated by anti-CD34 monoclonal antibody on immunomagnetic particles are insufficient to treat adults. The authors fractionated UCMCs by physicochemical charge-based methods. [Transfusion] Abstract

Efficient Expansion of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in a Disposable Fixed Bed Culture System
Investigators evaluated the expansion of cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in a disposable fixed bed culture system. [Biotechnol Prog] Abstract

Cryopreserved Cord Blood Progenitors and Their Cell Adhesion Molecules Are Increased by Coculture with Osteoblasts and Parathyroid Hormone
Scientists evaluated whether human parathyroid hormone could increase the number of primitive hematopoietic stem cells with adhesion molecules in cryopreserved cord blood. [J Pediatr Hematol Oncol] Abstract

LifeCell Raises Rs.35 Cr from Helion Venture Partners to Fuel its Growth Plans
LifeCell International Private Limited announced securing an investment from Helion Venture Partners to support its plans of increasing market penetration of stem cell banking in India whilst also enabling the development of novel cell based therapies. [LifeCell International Private Limited] Press Release

Pluristem Receives FDA Orphan Drug Status Designation for Treatment of Aplastic Anemia
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated Pluristem’s placental expanded cells orphan drug status for the treatment of aplastic anemia. [Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.] Press Release

Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research
In a policy memorandum, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren has directed Federal agencies with more than $100 million in R&D expenditures to develop plans to make the published results of federally funded research freely available to the public within one year of publication and requiring researchers to better account for and manage the digital data resulting from federally funded scientific research. [Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White House, United States] Press Release

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)

Early Stage Researcher PhD Posts – DECIDE ITN (The University of Birmingham)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Biology (Washington University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Michigan)

Postdoctoral Position – Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Stem Cell Aging (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation)

Postdoctoral Researcher – NK/T Cells (The Ohio State University – Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Stem Cell Research (University of Washington)

Lecturer or Reader – Associate Professor (University of Reading)


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