Cord Blood News Volume 9.20 | May 25 2017

TOP STORY

Identification of a Human Clonogenic Progenitor with Strict Monocyte Differentiation Potential: A Counterpart of Mouse cMoPs

Investigators identified human common monocyte progenitors (cMoPs) as a CLEC12A^hiCD64^hi subpopulation of conventional granulocyte-monocyte progenitors in umbilical cord blood and in bone marrow. Human cMoPs gave rise to monocyte subsets without showing any potential for differentiating into myeloid or lymphoid cells. [Immunity] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Microfluidic Sorting of Cells by Viability Based on Differences in Cell Stiffness

Scientists report a label-free microfluidic technique to separate live and dead cells that exploits differences in cellular stiffness. The device uses a channel with repeated ridges that are diagonal with respect to the direction of cell flow. To highlight the utility for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, frozen samples of cord blood were thawed and the purity of viable nucleated cells was increased from 65% to over 94% with a recovery of 73% of the viable cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Immunomodulatory Function of Whole Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) were separated from whole umbilical cord using a single enzyme digestion. UC-MSCs suppressed umbilical cord blood lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by mitogen, and ELISA showed that the secretion of INF-γ was downregulated, and the secretion of IL-4 was upregulated, with CD8⁺ T cells markedly decreased and CD4⁺ T cells changed lightly. [Mol Immunol] Abstract

The Effects of Hyperthermia on the Immunomodulatory Properties of Human Umbilical Cord Vein Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)

Based on the recruitment of MSCs to inflamed tissues and the immunomodulatory properties of these cells, the authors aimed to examine the effects of hyperthermia on the immunomodulatory properties of MSCs in a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). Umbilical cord vein-MSCs co-cultured in an MLR reduced lymphocyte proliferation, whereas hyperthermia attenuated this effect. [Int J Hyperthermia] Abstract

Splicing Factor SF3B1^K700E Mutant Dysregulates Erythroid Differentiation via Aberrant Alternative Splicing of Transcription Factor TAL1

Enhanced interaction between SF3B1 and RBM15 promoted the production of full-length TAL1 (TAL1fl) mRNA, while reduction of RBM15 protein level via PRMT1-mediated degradation pathway changes short TAL1 transcript variant (TAL1s)/TAL1fl ratio in favor of TAL1s. Overexpression of TAL1s stimulated the transcription of β-hemoglobin in human leukemia K562 cells and promoted erythroid differentiation of human cord blood CD34⁺ cells cultured in erythropoietin-containing medium. [PLoS One] Full Article

Evaluation of Direct and Cell-Mediated Triple-Gene Therapy in Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Researchers investigated the efficacy of various combinations of vascular endothelial growth factor, glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, angiogenin and neuronal cell adhesion molecule in rats. Multiple therapeutic genes were administered intrathecally either via adenoviral vectors or by using genetically modified human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells. [Brain Res Bull] Abstract

HIF-1α Stabilizing Agent FG-4997 Rescues Human CD34⁺ Cell Mobilization in Response to G-CSF in Immuno-Deficient Mice

The authors observed that combination treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and FG-4497 resulted in significant mobilization of human lineage-negative (Lin^–) CD34⁺ hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPC) and more primitive human Lin^–CD34⁺CD38^– HSPC into blood and spleen whereas mice treated with G-CSF alone did not significantly mobilize human HSPC. [Exp Hematol] Abstract

Human Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Loaded on Linear Ordered Collagen Scaffold Improves Functional Recovery after Completely Transected Spinal Cord Injury in Canine

Researchers sought to examine the synergistic effects of linear ordered collagen scaffold (LOCS) and human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hPMSCs) when transplanted into completely transected beagle dogs. After 36 weeks observation, they found that LOCS+hPMSCs implants promoted better hindlimb locomotor recovery than was observed in the non-treatment group and LOCS group. [Sci China Life Sci] Abstract

Cardiopulmonary Assessment of Patients with Systemic Sclerosis for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Recommendations from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Autoimmune Diseases Working Party and Collaborating Partners

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare disabling autoimmune disease with a similar mortality to many cancers. Two randomized controlled trials of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for SSc have shown significant improvement in organ function, quality of life and long-term survival compared to standard therapy. [Bone Marrow Transplant] Full Article

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

Dana-Farber Researchers Approved for $2.6 Million Research Funding Award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

A team led by Gregory Abel, MD, MPH, a member of the division of Population Sciences as well as the division of Hematologic Malignancies at Dana-Farber has been selected to receive $2.6 million in funding from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute for a five-year clinical trial to determine if the Shared Care program can be safe and effective in providing quality in follow-up care. [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] Press Release

FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA^® (Pembrolizumab) for Adult and Pediatric Patients with Unresectable or Metastatic, Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) or Mismatch Repair Deficient Cancer

Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for KEYTRUDA^®, the company’s anti-PD-1 therapy. KEYTRUDA is now indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic, MSI-H or mismatch repair deficient solid tumors that have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options, or colorectal cancer that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. [Merck & Co., Inc.] Press Release | Editorial

Colombian Biologist Cleared of Criminal Charges for Posting Another Scientist’s Thesis Online

A Colombian biologist who faced a criminal trial for posting another scientist’s thesis online has been cleared of copyright violation — an offense that, under Colombian law, might have brought him a jail sentence. [Nature News] Editorial

What’s in Trump’s 2018 Budget Request for Science?

President Donald Trump unveiled his full 2018 budget request to Congress. The spending plan, for the fiscal year that begins 1 October, fleshes out the so-called skinny budget that the White House released this past March. That plan called for deep cuts to numerous research agencies. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets & Cancer Therapeutics
November 5-9, 2017
Boston, United States

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

NEW Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Sleeping Beauty (Moffitt Cancer Center)

NEW Postdoctoral Research Position – Lymphoma (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Molecular Hematology (University of Gothenburg, Institute of Biomedicine)

Research Associate – Stromal Cell-Based Immunotherapies (Orbsen Therapeutics Limited)

Postdoctoral Position – Acute Myeloid Leukemia (LMU Munich)

Postdoctoral Position – Mesenchymal Stem Cell (Longboats Explorers Inc.)

Assistant, Associate or Full Professors – Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital)

Full Member Faculty – Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Program (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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

Assistant Member Faculty – Platinum/Immunotherapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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