Cord Blood News Volume 6.16 | May 1 2014

OKT3 Antibody Pre-Treatment Prevents Xenogeneic GvHD and Allows for Reliable Initiation of Xenografts from Unfractionated Human Hematopoietic Tissues
OKT3 treatment of unfractionated cord blood resulted in robust engraftment of primary and secondary mice that was indistinguishable from grafts obtained using purified CD34+ cells. [Blood] Abstract

CD52 Is a Molecular Target in Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis
To study the mechanisms of CD52 expression and the value of this antigen as a potential therapeutic target, investigators generated a human mast cell (MC) cell line, designated MCPV-1, by lentiviral immortalization of cord blood-derived MC progenitor cells. [FASEB J] Abstract

Human Lymphoid Development in the Absence of Common γ-Chain Receptor Signaling
Researchers applied recent data that have revised our understanding of the earliest stages of lymphoid commitment in human bone marrow (BM) to determine the requirement for signaling through IL-2RG and JAK3 in normal development of human lymphoid progenitors. BM samples from SCID patients with IL-2RG or JAK3 deficiency, which produce similar “T-NK-B+” clinical phenotypes, were compared with normal BM and umbilical cord blood as well as BM from children on enzyme treatment for adenosine deaminase-deficient SCID. [J Immunol] Abstract

CD4⁺ T Cells from Human Neonates and Infants Are Poised Spontaneously to Run a Nonclassical IL-4 Program
The authors showed the appearance of a distinct CD4⁺ T cell subset expressing IL-4 at an early stage of development in infant adenoids and cord blood that is lost during aging. [J Immunol] Abstract

Negative Selection by Apoptosis Enriches Progenitors in Naïve and Expanded Human Umbilical Cord Blood Grafts
The influence of TNF-α and Fas-ligand on viability and function was evaluated in fresh- and expanded-umbilical cord blood cells. CD34⁺ progenitors and T cells display outstanding survival, whereas ~30% and >50% B lymphocytes and myeloid cells undergo spontaneous apoptosis within 24 and 48 hours, respectively. [Bone Marrow Transplant] Abstract

A Prenatal Prediction Model for Total Nucleated Cell Count Increases the Efficacy of Umbilical Cord Blood Banking
Scientists investigated prenatal clinical predictors for total nucleated cell count that would help to identify successful umbilical cord blood donors already on admission to the delivery unit. [Transfusion] Abstract

Evaluation of Intracellular and Extracellular Trehalose as a Cryoprotectant of Stem Cells Obtained from Umbilical Cord Blood
Results showed the effectiveness of the solution containing intracellular and extracellular trehalose in the cryopreservation of cord blood cells, demonstrating that trehalose may be an optimal cryoprotectant when present both inside and outside of cells. [Cryobiology] Abstract

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Pluristem’s Manufacturing Facility Approved by European Auditors for Phase III Trials
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. announced that its new manufacturing facility has received the European Union’s Qualified Person Declaration. With this declaration, Pluristem is now approved to use cell therapies manufactured at its state-of-the-art facility located in Haifa, Israel, in all phases of its clinical trials conducted in the European Union, including Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. [Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.] Press Release

Mesoblast Provides Update on Clinical Programs of Prochymal^® for Crohn’s Disease and Acute Graft versus Host Disease
Mesoblast Limited provided an update on its clinical programs using the product Prochymal^®, which was acquired as part of the entire culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell business of Osiris Therapeutics by the Mesoblast Group. [Mesoblast Limited] Download Press Release

C. Randal Mills Named as New President of California’s Stem Cell Agency
Describing him as a “visionary and highly regarded scientific and business leader” the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency, appointed C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. [California Institute for Regenerative Medicine] Press Release

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NEW Research Technologist – hPSC (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientific Researcher/PhD Candidate – Epigenetics (Erasmus MC)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Hematology, Immunology, Cancer Therapeutics (The Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

Assistant/Associate Professor – Blood Bank and Transfusion Medicine (University of Virginia Health System)

Postdoctoral Position – Hematopoiesis (Albany Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Mammalian Hematopoietic and Erythroid Development (The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)

Postdoctoral Position – Human Stem Cell Biology and Hematopoiesis (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

Director of GMP/GLP Quality Operations (University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine)

Research Associate – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – Pluripotent Stem Cells (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – PSC Biology and Bioengineering (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

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