Cord Blood News 9.33 August 24, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYInvestigators showed that inhibitor of DNA binding protein 2 (Id2) drives development of human innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) because forced expression of Id2 in human thymic progenitors blocked T cell commitment, upregulated CD161 and promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger, and maintained CD127 expression, markers that are characteristic for human ILCs. This was not an in vitro artifact because CD5 was also found on ex vivo isolated ILCs from thymus and from umbilical cord blood. [Front Immunol] Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Scientists investigated the impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on placental DNA methylation and how this may mediate the association between maternal smoking and pro-inflammatory proteins in cord blood. [Epigenetics] Abstract Researchers report the largest series to date of routine quality data after performing 50 clinical-scale red blood cell (RBC)-depletions. The BM processing module for Spectra Optia (BMC) was a robust and efficient technology for RBC-depletion and volume reduction of bone marrow, providing near-complete RBC removal and excellent CD34+ cell recovery. [J Transl Med] Full Article Scientists investigated the possible therapeutic effects of the human Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stromal cell derived micro-vesicles (hWJMSCs-MVs) on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury after cardiac death renal transplantation in rats. After renal transplantation, the rats treated with hWJMSCs-MVs improved survival rate and renal function. [J Cell Biochem] Abstract Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Variation in Maternal and Cord Blood of Gestational Diabetes Population Investigators collected both maternal and cord blood samples from 16 pregnant women and their newborns, including eight exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). They identified the top 200 loci and their corresponding genes in the maternal blood group and cord blood group, both of which were methylated differently in the GDM and unexposed group. [Diabetes Res Clin Pract] Abstract Cord Blood Neutropenia Is an Independent Predictor of Early Sepsis Researchers defined reference values for cord blood neutrophil count and determined the sensitivity and positive likelihood ratio of cord neutropenia for the detection of early-onset sepsis (EOS). Cord blood neutropenia was significantly associated with EOS and the addition of cord neutropenia to current EOS risk factors increased the detection rate of EOS. [J Perinatol] Abstract | |
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REVIEWSConcise Review: Fetal Membranes in Regenerative Medicine: New Tricks from an Old Dog? The author explores the biological origin of the fetal membranes, a history of their use in medicine, and recent developments in the use of fetal membranes and their derived stem and stem-like cells in regenerative medicine. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Full Article Researchers hypothesize about the possibility to rejuvenate the biological activity of autologous endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) by transfecting the cell with the Ca2+-permeable channel transient receptor potential canonical 3, which selectively drives the Ca2+ response to VEGF in umbilical cord blood-derived ECFCs. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the cord blood research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSThe Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to support a clinical trial to improve the use of umbilical cord blood as a treatment for leukemia. [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center] Press Release The first subject has been transplanted in an investigator-initiated study of CordIn™ for patients with severe aplastic anemia or hypoplastic myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who have no available matched donor. [Gamida Cell] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSBiomedical Ph.D. Program at Major Research University Drops GRE Requirement for Admission The University of Michigan’s biomedical sciences graduate program announced that it will no longer require GRE scores for its Ph.D. admissions. Following a review of the available evidence and a public discussion involving the program’s faculty, staff, and trainees, the exam’s ability to predict student performance seems “weak at best” while it significantly disadvantages women, minorities, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, writes Scott Barolo, director of the Program in Biomedical Sciences, in the announcement. [Science Careers] Editorial Leaked Documents Expose Long-Standing Gender Tensions at Salk Institute Senior female faculty at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies raise more than twice as much in National Institutes of Health funding for scientists working in their labs as their male counterparts, according to a 2016 internal report on “faculty issues” requested by leaders of the San Diego, California institution. Yet Salk leaders favored male scientists by granting them greater access to internal funds and other resources, the report implies, echoing gender discrimination lawsuits filed last month against the research center. [ScienceInsider] Editorial A Bold Open-Access Push in Germany Could Change the Future of Academic Publishing Over the past two years, more than 150 German libraries, universities, and research institutes have formed a united front trying to force academic publishers into a new way of doing business. Instead of buying subscriptions to specific journals, consortium members want to pay publishers an annual lump sum that covers publication costs of all papers whose first authors are at German institutions. Those papers would be freely available around the world; meanwhile, German institutions would receive access to all the publishers’ online content. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW International Cord Blood Congress 2018 Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Director – Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) Postdoctoral Scholar – Malignant Hematopoiesis (Penn State College of Medicine) Production Manager – Blood and Related Transfusion Products (Blood Systems Research Institute) Assistant Professor – Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (Harvard University) Postdoctoral Position – Cell Biology (The Scripps Research Institute) Postdoctoral Fellow – Hematopoietic & Mesenchymal Stem Cells (Loma Linda University) Postdoctoral Associate – Normal & Malignant Hematopoiesis (University of Miami) Postdoctoral Researcher – Acute Myeloid Leukemia (Ohio State University) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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Home Cord Blood News Volume 9.33 | Aug 24 2017