Extracellular Matrix News Volume 1.06 | Jun 3 2010

TOP STORY

Breakthrough in Stem Cell Culturing
Researchers have produced human stem cells entirely without the use of other cells or substances from animals. Instead they are cultured on a matrix of a single human protein: laminin-511. [Press release from the Karolinska Institutet discussing online prepublication in Nature Biotechnology]

New Culture Dish Could Advance Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Researchers built a new stem cell growth matrix that is completely synthetic and doesn’t contaminate the stem cells with foreign substances that could interfere with their normal function. [Press release from the University of Michigan discussing online prepublication in Nature Biotechnology]

Scaffold Gradients: Finding the Right Environment for Developing Cells
A research team has developed a way to offer cells a three-dimensional scaffold that varies over a broad range of degrees of stiffness to determine where they develop best. [Press release from The National Institute of Standards and Technology discussing online prepublication in Biomaterials]

Human Extracellular Matrix Significantly Improves Device Biocompatibility
Assessment of bioengineered, human extracellular matrix (hECM)-coated polymers showed a statistically significant reduction in immune cell infiltration, foreign body giant cell formation (p<0.05) and fibrous capsule formation (p<0.001), in addition to improved cell binding and proliferation, representing the potential for this hECM to significantly enhance the biocompatibility of various medical devices. [Press release from Histogen, Inc. discussing research presented at the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs Annual Conference]

Teeny, Tiny Fibers a Giant Breakthrough
Researchers are developing nanofibers, made primarily of collagen, which can be used to regenerate tissue for heart valves, spinal cords, tendon and ligament tears and ear drums. [Press release from London Free Press discussing research presented at the Advanced Foods and Materials Network Annual Conference]

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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

Long-Term Self-Renewal of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells on Human Recombinant Laminin-511
Researchers describe a system for culturing human embryonic stem (hES) cells and induced pluripotent stem cells on a recombinant form of human laminin-511, a component of the natural hES cell niche. [Nat Biotechnol]

Synthetic Polymer Coatings for Long-Term Growth of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Researchers report a fully defined synthetic polymer coating, poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide], which sustains long-term human embryonic stem cell growth in several different culture media, including commercially available defined media. [Nat Biotechnol]

Synthetic Peptide-Acrylate Surfaces for Long-Term Self-Renewal and Cardiomyocyte Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Researchers describe synthetic peptide-acrylate surfaces that support self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells in chemically defined, xeno-free medium. [Nat Biotechnol]

Development of Extracellular Matrices Mimicking Stepwise Adipogenesis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
A novel type of extracellular matrices, stepwise adipogenesis-mimicking matrices, was developed from cultured mesenchymal stem cells controlled at different stages of adipogenesis. [Adv Mater]

Self-Assembling Nanostructures to Deliver Angiogenic Factors to Pancreatic Islets
The infiltration of bioactive nanofibers in the interior of islets as an artificial extracellular matrix can improve cell viability and function in vitro and enhance their vascularization in the presence of growth factors such as fibroblast growth factor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor. [Biomaterials]

The Quantification of Single Cell Adhesion on Functionalized Surfaces for Cell Sheet Engineering
The use of force spectroscopy to measure and quantify the forces involved in the adhesion of 3T3 fibroblasts to different chemically functionalized surfaces has been investigated. [Biomaterials]

Effect of Mechanical Factors on the Function of Engineered Human Blood Microvessels in Microfluidic Collagen Gels
Results indicate that the mechanical microenvironment plays a major role in the functionality and stability of engineered human microvessels in microfluidic collagen gels. [Biomaterials]

INDUSTRY NEWS

Biomedical Structures Receives Growth Capital from Ampersand Ventures to Fund Ongoing Expansion
Biomedical Structures LLC, a leading supplier of custom-designed biomaterials and textiles used in advanced clinical applications from orthopedics and reconstructive surgery to tissue engineering, announced that it has completed a private equity financing with Ampersand Ventures. [PR Newswire]

University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic Sign Research Pact with Karolinska
The University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, under the mantle of the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, have formed a strategic research relationship with the Karolinska Institute of Stockholm, Sweden. Leaders of each institution signed memoranda of understanding to commit to the formal ongoing collaboration, called the Frontiers of Biomedical Research. [Mayo Clinic Press Release]

Glycosan BioSystems Seeks CE Mark in the European Union for HyStem-Rx, a Unique, Implantable Scaffold for Tissue Engineering
Glycosan BioSystems announced that it has begun the process for gaining regulatory approval within the European Union for the use of HyStem-Rx as a resorbable scaffold for implanting autologous adipose derived cells in reconstruction and aesthetic plastic surgery procedures. [PR Newswire]

Kollodis BioSciences Announces Launch of MAP-Based (Mussel Adhesive Protein) MAPTrix HyGel™ Line of Products: Chemically Defined Hydrogel Products for 3D Cell Culture Applications
Kollodis BioSciences, Inc. has announced the launch of its novel MAPTrix HyGel™ line of products. [Kollodis BioSciences, Inc. Press Release]

European Consortium Awards $29.5 Million for 16 Projects Employing Systems Biology
ERASYSBIO+ has agreed to fund systems biology projects involving a total 85 research groups from 14 countries. [GenomeWeb Press Release]

Organogenesis Announces Symposium for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds at EWMA Annual Conference in Switzerland
Organogenesis Switzerland GmbH will sponsor a symposium on Apligraf®, a bilayered living cellular construct for the treatment of chronic wounds and soft tissue repair, at the upcoming European Wound Management Association (EWMA) conference. [PR Newswire]

DFG Approves 12 New Collaborative Research Centers
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of twelve new Collaborative Research Centers. [German Research Foundation Press Release]

POLICY NEWS

Third Time’s a Charm for COMPETES Bill
By a vote of 262 to 150, legislators authorized $84 billion for research, education, and innovation programs over the next 5 years at the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and two Department of Commerce agencies-NOAA and NIST under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (HR 5116). [House of Representatives, United States]

Democrats: FDA Should Be Able to Recall Drugs
House Democrats repeatedly called for federal regulators to be given the authority to recall drugs.
Pending legislation would grant that power to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food, but not for drugs. [House of Representatives, United States]

Congress Considers Synthetic Biology Risks, Benefits
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the government is moving quickly to bring synthetic biology under review by two existing panels that have done a good job of monitoring cutting-edge research in the past. [U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States]

Last Hurrah from National Academies Stem Cell Committee
Even though the National Institutes of Health issued stem cell guidelines last year, there’s still a need for guidelines for research that remains off-limits for U.S. government-funded labs. [National Academies’ National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, United States]

NIH Set to Tighten Financial Rules for Researchers
After a wave of financial scandals over the past few years involving biomedical researchers, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposed far-reaching changes that would lead to tighter oversight of agency-funded extramural investigators and their institutions. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Administrative Supplements to Advance Special Translational Research Acceleration Projects on Immune Response Modifiers Currently Funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (NOT-CA-10-025) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

EVENTS

46th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
June 4-8, 2010
Chicago, United States

Medical Design and Manufacturing East Conference and Exposition
June 7-10, 2010
New York, United States

International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 8th Annual Meeting
June 16-19, 2010
San Francisco, United States

21st Meeting of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) 
June 26-29, 2010
Oslo, Norway

United Kingdom National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) Third Annual Scientific Conference
July 12-14, 2010
Nottingham, United Kingdom

2010 World Cancer Congress
August 18-21, 2010
Shenzhen, China

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Meeting – Advancing the Life Sciences
September 4-7, 2010
Barcelona, Spain

Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2010
September 13-15, 2010
Philadelphia, United States 

15th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO)
September 15-17, 2010
Bordeaux, France

9th Annual Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) World Congress
September 19-23, 2010
Sydney, Australia

35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress
October 8-12, 2010
Milan, Italy

Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium 2010
October 29-30, 2010
Leipzig, Germany

6th National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Conference
November 7-10, 2010
Liverpool, United Kingdom

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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