Cord Blood News 9.48 December 7, 2017 | |
| |
TOP STORYInvestigators hypothesized that the human umbilical cord blood-MSCs treatment after focal cerebral ischemia prevents the dysregulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and induces the expression of endogenous tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases to neutralize the elevated activity of MMPs. [Cell Physiol Biochem] Full Article | |
| |
PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell-Derived Vesicles Protect from VEGF-Induced Endothelial Damage The authors showed that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling within the glomeruli of Alport mice is strongly elevated early on in the disease, causing glomerular endothelial cell damage. Intraventricular injected amniotic fluid stem cells that homed within the glomeruli showed strong modulation of the VEGF activity, particularly in glomerular endothelial cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article It was shown that Wharton’s jelly (WJ)-MSCs have the ability to deliver exogenous miRs to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells and the functional impact of this delivery is characterized. It was found that the labeled miR-124, as an example for miR of interest, can be successfully delivered with WJ-MSCs to U87 GBM cells via dependent or exosome-independent processes. [Stem Cell Rev] Abstract The authors evaluated whether the two main energy-producing pathways (glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation) are impaired in obesity during pregnancy thus contributing to metabolic intrauterine alterations. Specifically, they studied metabolic abnormalities in the intrauterine life of newborns using stem cells isolated from the amnion and umbilical cord. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract Scientists sought to determine the impact on the ability to identify suitable cord blood units for transplantation if the minimum total nucleated cell count for banking were increased from 90 × 107 to 124 or 149 × 107. They analyzed ethnically diverse patients who underwent transplantation of a single cord blood unit in 2005 to 2016. [Transfusion] Abstract Neonatal Neutrophils Stimulated by Group B Streptococcus Induce a Proinflammatory T-Helper Cell Bias Researchers hypothesized that group B Streptococcus (GBS)–stimulated neonatal neutrophils provide a milieu that may drive proinflammatory T-helper cell programming. GBS–stimulated neutrophils released soluble mediators that induced greater IL-17 responses in neonatal vs. adult CD4+ T cells in the absence of added polarizing cytokines. [Pediatr Res] Abstract Using an explant attachment method, Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs (WJMSCs) were isolated from three different parts of the umbilical cord, mainly present towards the placenta, the center of the whole cord and the part attached to the fetus. WJMSCs from all three parts were maintained in normal growth conditions and analyzed for mesenchymal markers, pluripotent genes, proliferation rate and tri-lineage differentiation potential. [Cell Tissue Res] Full Article Scientists demonstrated that transplantation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the cerebral lateral ventricles provides rapid engraftment of morphologically, antigenically, and transcriptionally dependable microglia-like cells. [Sci Adv] Full Article | Press Release Researchers report a case of a 62-year-old ethnic Indonesian woman previously diagnosed as having thoracic spinal cord entrapment with paraplegic condition and chronic renal failure on hemodialysis. She was treated with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell implantation protocol. Three weeks after first intrathecal and intravenous implantation she could move her toes and her kidney improved. [J Med Case Rep] Full Article | |
| |
REVIEWSThe Future of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Therapeutic Approaches for Cancer – From Cells to Ghosts Many questions are still unanswered regarding the biology of MSCs in normal and pathophysiological settings. In addition to summarizing the current state of MSC-based therapeutic approaches for cancer, the authors describe the remaining questions, obstacles and risks, as well as novel developments such as MSC-derived nanoghosts. [Cancer Lett] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the cord blood research field. | |
| |
SCIENCE NEWSMiMedx Group, Inc., the leading biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts with patent-protected processes for multiple sectors of healthcare, announced that the company’s products were recognized. [Press release from MiMedx Group, Inc. discussing research presented at the 2017 Desert Foot, Phoenix] Press Release | |
| |
INDUSTRY NEWSPlasticell and Anthony Nolan to Partner in Clinical Trials of Ex Vivo Expanded Cord Blood Stem Cells Plasticell announced it will collaborate with Anthony Nolan to progress clinical development of Plasticell’s ex vivo expanded cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cell product. [Plasticell Limited] Press Release Cellenkos Inc. Appoints Tara Sadeghi as Senior Director of Clinical Operations Cellenkos Inc., an early stage clinical biotechnology company developing umbilical cord blood derived T-regulatory cellular therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders, announced that Tara Sadeghi was appointed as Senior Director of Clinical Operations. [Cellenkos Inc.] Press Release | |
| |
POLICY NEWSUS Graduate Students in Uproar over Proposed Tax Hike Many US universities waive tuition for students who conduct research or teach. But a provision in a tax bill passed by the US House of Representatives would add that tuition to students’ taxable income. [Nature News] Editorial Hundreds of German Universities Set to Lose Access to Elsevier Journals Around 200 German universities will lose their subscriptions to Elsevier journals within weeks, because negotiations have failed to end a long-term contract dispute. [Nature News] Editorial Trump Science Job Nominees Missing Advanced Science Degrees When it comes to filling jobs dealing with complex science, environment, and health issues, the Trump administration is nominating people with fewer science academic credentials than their Obama predecessors. And it’s moving slower as well. [STAT News] Editorial Biohackers Disregard FDA Warning on DIY Gene Therapy Despite a warning from the federal government about do-it-yourself (DIY) gene therapy, two companies say they’ll continue offering DNA-altering materials to the public. The companies, The Odin and Ascendance Biomedical, both recently posted videos online of people self-administering DNA molecules their labs had produced. [MIT Technology Review] Editorial
| |
EVENTSNEW SYStem – Symposium for the Next Generation of Stem Cell Researchers NEW Standardization of the Hematopoietic Progenitor Assay Training Course Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
| |
JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Research Assistant – Flow Cytometry (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center) Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Ghent University) Postdoctoral Position – Cell Reprogramming in Hematopoiesis and Immunity (Lund University) Postdoctoral Positions – Hematopoietic Malignancies (New York University School of Medicine) Laboratory Investigator – Leukemia (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) 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) Faculty Positions – Hematological Malignancies (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
| |
Have we missed an important article or publication in Cord Blood News? Click here to submit! Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. | |
|