Cord Blood News Volume 8.33 | Aug 25 2016

TOP STORY

CD4⁺ T-Cell Alloreactivity towards Mismatched HLA-Class II Alleles Early after Double Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation (dUCBT)

Given the frequent HLA-class II allele mismatches between cord blood unit (CBU) in dUCBT, researchers hypothesized that alloreactive HLA-class II-specific CD4⁺ T-cells from the ‘winning’ CBU may contribute to rejection of the ‘loser’ CBU. [Blood] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Up-Regulation in Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell Enhances Nephroprotection after Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in the Rat

The authors evaluated if the up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor strengthens the protective effect of amniotic fluid stem cells in a renal ischemia-reperfusion injury model. [Crit Care Med] Abstract

Secretome of Human Fetal Mesenchymal Stem Cell Ameliorates Replicative Senescence

Researchers hypothesized that the bioactive factors secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) isolated from human fetal tissues (hFMSC), collectively named as hFMSC secretome, could possess beneficial effects on human adult MSC undergoing replicative senescence, thus promoting their capability of proliferation and differentiation. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

A Novel High Throughput Screening Platform Reveals an Optimized Cytokine Formulation for Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Expansion

Scientists used combinatorial cell culture technology (CombiCult^®) to identify media formulations that promote CD133⁺ cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells proliferation while maintaining their phenotypic characteristics. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Modulate T-Cell Immune Response via Transcriptomic Regulation

By using a microarray-based global gene expression profiling system, scientists aimed to decipher the underlying molecular pathways that may mediate the immunosuppressive activity of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells on activated T cells. [Cytotherapy] Abstract

Retinoic Acid-Pretreated Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Combination with Triiodothyronine Improve Expression of Neurotrophic Factors in the Subventricular Zone of the Rat Ischemic Brain Injury

Investigators evaluated the effects of retinoic acid-pretreated Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells in combination with triiodothyronine in the ischemia stroke model. [Metab Brain Dis] Abstract

Implementing a Routine Flow Cytometry Assay for Nucleated Red Blood Cell Counts in Cord Blood Units

The authors present the validation and implementation approaches developed to transfer the routine nucleated red blood cells enumeration from the manual blood film method to a flow cytometric assay. [Int J Lab Hematol] Abstract

Rotavirus Activates Dendritic Cells Derived from Umbilical Cord Blood Monocytes

Scientists determined the response of monocyte-derived dendritic cells from umbilical cord blood and adult peripheral blood to rotavirus in vitro. [Microb Pathog] Abstract

Mesenchymal Stem Cell: A New Horizon in Cancer Gene Therapy

The authors highlight various applications of mesenchymal stem cells in cancer gene therapy. [Cancer Gene Ther] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the cord blood research field.

Tulane Professor Receives Grant to Improve Stem Cell Survival

Kim O’Connor, a professor in Tulane University’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, received a three-year $599,638 grant from the National Science Foundation to study ways to improve the survival of mesenchymal stem cells once they are implanted in patients. [Tulane University] Press Release

Genmab Announces Submission of Supplemental Biologics License Application to FDA for Daratumumab in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma

Genmab A/S announced that its licensing partner, Janssen Biotech, Inc. has submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, or bortezomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who received at least one prior therapy. [Genmab A/S] Press Release

The European Commission Grants a Conditional Marketing Authorization to Zalmoxis^®, the First Immunogene Therapy for the Treatment of Adult Patients with High-Risk Hematological Malignancies

MolMed S.p.A. announced that the European Commission has granted a Conditional Marketing Authorization for Zalmoxis, the first immunogene therapy, as patient-specific adjunctive treatment in haplo-identical hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for adult patients with high-risk hematological malignancies. [MolMed S.p.A.] Press Release

Obama’s Science Legacy: Uneven Progress on Scientific Integrity

Many researchers who watched Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 were thrilled by his pledge to “restore science to its rightful place”. But scientists and legal scholars say that, in many ways, Obama has failed to live up to that lofty promise. [Nature News] Editorial

Mouse Microbes May Make Scientific Studies Harder to Replicate

Experimenters are questioning the potential research impact of the microbiome—a term often used to refer to commensal gut bacteria, but which also includes resident viruses, fungi, protozoa, and single-celled archaea species. [Science] Editorial

Putin Appoints Church Historian as Science Minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a church historian as the country’s new science and education minister. The president announced that Olga Vasilyeva would succeed the current science minister, Dmitry Livanov, who will become presidential envoy on trade and economic relations with Ukraine, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2016
October 7-11, 2016
Copenhagen, Denmark

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

NEW Research Fellow – Cancer Biology (University of Michigan)

Technical Sales Representative (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Assistant Associate or Full Member Faculty – Myeloid Malignancies (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Functions in the Hematopoietic System and Other Systems Derived from the Mesoderm (University of Illinois, Chicago)

Postdoctoral Position – Tumor Immunology (Roswell Park Cancer Institute)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Hematopoietic Stem Cells (University of Pennsylvania)

Postdoctoral Position – Organogenesis and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (University of Southern California)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer Genomics (Ohio State University)

Assistant Member Faculty – PlatinumImmunotherapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Cell Biologist – Mesenchymal Stem Cells (Biostage)

PhD Studentship – Various Projects (Vienna Biocenter)

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