ESC & iPSC News Volume 7.31 | Aug 8 2012

Scl Represses Cardiomyogenesis in Prospective Hemogenic Endothelium and Endocardium
Results reveal unexpected plasticity in embryonic endothelium such that loss of a single master regulator can induce ectopic cardiomyogenesis from endothelial cells. [Cell] Abstract | Press Release

Regulation of Embryonic and Induced Pluripotency by Aurora Kinase-p53 Signaling
By integrating global gene expression and computational analyses, researchers discovered that loss of aurora kinase A (Aurka) leads to upregulated p53 activity that triggers embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation. Specifically, Aurka regulates pluripotency through phosphorylation-mediated inhibition of p53-directed ectodermal and mesodermal gene expression. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract

Small Molecule-Mediated TGF-ß Type II Receptor Degradation Promotes Cardiomyogenesis in Embryonic Stem Cells
1,4-dihydropyridine inducer of type II TGF-ß receptor degradation-1 (ITD-1) selectively enhanced the differentiation of uncommitted mesoderm to cardiomyocytes, but not to vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells. ITD-1 is a highly selective TGF-ß inhibitor and reveals an unexpected role for TGF-ß signaling in controlling cardiomyocyte differentiation from multipotent cardiovascular precursors. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Press Release

Reprogramming IgH Isotype-Switched B Cells to Functional-Grade Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers described an approach that allows splenic B cells activated to undergo Ig heavy-chain (IgH) class-switch recombination to be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells that contribute to high-grade chimerism in mice. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract | Full Article

Drug Screening for ALS Using Patient-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Findings suggest that motor neurons generated from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells may provide a useful tool for elucidating ALS disease pathogenesis and for screening drug candidates. [Sci Transl Med] Abstract | Press Release

Establishment of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Centenarians for Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Researchers reported the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from fibroblasts obtained immediately postmortem from centenarian donors who were extremely healthy until an advanced age. [PLoS One]
Full Article

Serum- and Stromal Cell-Free Hypoxic Generation of Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Hematopoietic Cells In Vitro, Capable of Multilineage Repopulation of Immunocompetent Mice
When hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) were generated in serum-free medium without stroma cell support and when hypoxic conditions were used, HOXB4⁺ embryonic stem cell-derived hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were immunophenotypically similar to definitive bone marrow resident CD150⁺CD48⁻CD45⁺CD201⁺ HSCs. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Abstract | Press Release

Novel, High-Yield Red Blood Cell Production Methods from CD34-Positive Cells Derived from Human Embryonic Stem, Yolk Sac, Fetal Liver, Cord Blood, and Peripheral Blood
The yield of cultured red blood cells can theoretically be maximized by amplifying the stem, progenitor, or precursor compartment. Here, researchers combined methods designed to expand these three compartments to optimize the yield of cultured red blood cells and found that exposing CD34⁺ cells to a short pulse of cytokines favorable for erythroid differentiation prior to stem cell expansion followed by progenitor expansion produced the highest yield of erythroid cells. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Abstract | Press Release

ACT Announces First Dry AMD Patient Treated with Higher Dosage of Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived RPE Cells
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) announced treatment of the fourth patient, the first in the second patient cohort, in the company’s Phase I/II clinical trial for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. [Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.] Press Release

Stem-Cell Pioneer Banks on Future Therapies
Stem-cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan plans to jump-start the field by building up a bank of stem cells for therapeutic use. A long-held dream of Yamanaka’s, the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) Cell Stock project received a boost, when a Japanese health-ministry committee decided to allow the creation of cell lines from the thousands of samples of fetal umbilical-cord blood held around the country. [NatureNews] Press Release

Hopes Dashed for Solo Serbian Science Ministry
The newly formed Serbian government has defied recommendations from the country’s scientific community: it will not re-establish the dedicated science ministry that was abolished last year. [Serbian Government, Serbia] Press Release

Texas Cancer Research Board Approves Slate of Delayed Grants
One of the key issues in an uproar over grant making that has roiled Texas’s $3 billion cancer research fund receded when the agency’s board approved $39 million in research grants that it had set aside earlier this year. [Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, United States] Press Release

Court Orders Temporary Closure of Italian Dog-Breeding Premises
One of the largest suppliers of dogs for drug research in Europe could struggle to survive after an Italian court ordered that it be closed temporarily. [Italian Court, Italy] Press Release

Scientist – Mesenchymal Cell Research (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Research Technologist – Media Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Research Technologist – Research and Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Scientific Communications & Publishing Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Quality Control Operations Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Stem Cell Researcher (BioTalentum Ltd.)

Postdoctoral Research Position (University Lille 2 France)

Postdoctoral Position – Stem Cells (Children’s Hospital of Chicago Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Mechanobiology (National Institute for Materials Science)


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