Cord Blood News Volume 9.47 | Nov 30 2017

TOP STORY

Single-Cell Analysis Reveals the Continuum of Human Lympho-Myeloid Progenitor Cells

Scientists demonstrated that lympho-myeloid progenitor populations in cord blood — lymphoid-primed multi-potential progenitors, granulocyte-macrophage progenitors and multi-lymphoid progenitors — were functionally and transcriptionally distinct and heterogeneous at the clonal level, with progenitors of many different functional potentials present. [Nat Immunol] Abstract

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A Pilot Study of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Acute Liver Allograft Rejection

The authors evaluated the safety and clinical feasibility of umbilical cord (UC)-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy in liver transplant patients with acute graft rejection. Four weeks after UC-MSC infusions, alanine aminotransferase levels had decreased markedly and remained lower throughout the 12-week follow-up period. Importantly, allograft histology was improved after administration of UC-MSCs. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Full Article

Laser-Modified Titanium Surfaces Enhance the Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Laser beam irradiation at various fluences was used to treat commercially pure titanium discs to create complex surface topographies. The behavior of mesenchymal stem cells from an umbilical cord vein was evaluated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, a mineralization assay, and an alkaline phosphatase activity assay and by carrying out a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for osteogenic markers. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Ex Vivo-Expanded Natural Killer Cells Derived from Long-Term Cryopreserved Cord Blood Are Cytotoxic against Primary Breast Cancer Cells

Scientists derived ex vivo-expanded natural killer (NK) cells from long-term cryopreserved cord blood (CB), using an artificial antigen presenting cell–mediated expansion technique. They demonstrated it is possible to obtain an exponential amount of expanded CB-NK cells from long-term cryopreserved CB. [J Immunother] Abstract

Transplantation of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells Attenuated Ischemic Injury in MCAO Rats via Inhibition of NF-κB and NLRP3 Inflammasome

The results showed that transplantation of fresh human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells attenuated ischemic damage in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats, accompanied with improvement of neurologic deficits, learning and memory function. [Neuroscience] Abstract

A Prospective Multicenter Phase II Study of Intrabone Marrow Transplantation of Unwashed Cord Blood Using Reduced-Intensity Conditioning

Researchers conducted a prospective, multicenter Phase II study of intrabone marrow transplantation in which patients received reduced-intensity conditioning without anti-thymocyte globulin. Cord blood (CB) cells were injected without washing into four iliac bone sites, at which approximately 6 mL of CB was administered at one site with local anesthesia. [Eur J Haematol] Abstract

Cell Intrinsic Characteristics of Human Cord Blood Naïve CD4 T Cells

To decipher differences between human perinatal and adult T cells, investigators performed a focused comparative analysis on purified naïve CD4 T cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) and adult peripheral blood. Their data demonstrated naïve CD4 T cells from UCB differ from adult naïve CD4 T cells in surface expression of CD26, dipeptidyl peptidase-4. [Immunol Lett] Abstract

Hematopoietic Niche – Exploring Biomimetic Cues to Improve the Functionality of Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells

The authors focus on depicting the characteristics of co-culture systems, as well as other bioengineering approaches to improve the functionality of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells ex–vivo. [Biotechnol J] Abstract

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

Pluristem Granted Key U.S. Patent for Skeletal Muscle Regeneration – A Meaningful Asset ahead of Upcoming Phase III Femoral Neck Fracture Study

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent titled, “Skeletal muscle regeneration using mesenchymal system cells.” [Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.] Press Release

Perlmutter Cancer Center Expands Clinical Leukemia Program

NYU Langone Health has announced that nationally renowned physician and researcher Raoul Tibes, MD, PhD, will lead efforts to expand the clinical and investigative leukemia programs at its Perlmutter Cancer Center. [New York University Langone Health] Press Release

China to Roll Back Regulations for Traditional Medicine despite Safety Concerns

Support for traditional medicine in China goes right to the top. President Xi Jinping has called this type of medicine a “gem” of the country’s scientific heritage and promised to give alternative therapies and Western drugs equal government support. Now the country is taking dramatic steps to promote these cures even as researchers raise concerns about such treatments. [Nature News] Editorial

United States Bans Most Government Scientists from Travel to Cuba

The United States’s “new hostile policy towards Cuba undermines confidence” in joint research, says Luis Montero-Cabrera, a chemist at the University of Havana. The Trump administration, adds John Van Horn, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, “has likely shut the door to many U.S.-Cuban interactions.” [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW Standardization of the Hematopoietic Progenitor Assay Training Course
March 15-16, 2018
Cambridge, United Kingdom

NEW Applications of the Hematopoietic Progenitor Assay Training Course
March 15-17, 2018
Cambridge, United Kingdom

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

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Ghent University)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Cell Reprogramming in Hematopoiesis and Immunity (Lund University)

NEW Postdoctoral Positions – Hematopoietic Malignancies (New York University School of Medicine)

NEW Laboratory Investigator – Leukemia (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)

NEW Faculty Position – Hematology/Oncology (Northwestern University)

Cord Blood Bank Collector (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Acute Myeloid Leukemia (St. Louis Hospital)

Scientist – Hematopoietic Stem Cells (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

Postdoctoral Positions – Hematopoietic/Leukemic Stem Cell Biology (New York University School of Medicine)

Faculty Positions – Hematological Malignancies (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

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