Hematopoiesis News Volume 1.29 | Aug 3 2010

Purified Blood Stem Cells Improve Success of Bone Marrow Transplants in Mice, Study Shows 
Researchers have challenged decades of accepted wisdom about bone marrow transplantation with a new study showing that mice receiving purified blood stem cells are less prone to complications than mice receiving stem cells plus purified T cells. [Press release from Stanford University School of Medicine discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]

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UT Southwestern Researchers Find Key Step in Body’s Ability to Make Red Blood Cells
Researchers have uncovered a key step in the creation of new red blood cells in an animal study. [Press release from UT Southwestern Medical Center discussing online prepublication in Genes & Development]

Red Blood Cells Protected From Injury by MicroRNA
Pediatric researchers have discovered a new biological pathway in which microRNA help protect red blood cells from injury caused by free radicals. [Press release from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discussing online prepublication in Genes & Development]

Intensive Chemotherapy May Be Harmful to Most Older Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The prognosis for nearly three-quarters of elderly patients on intensive chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia is poor, with a median survival of less than six months. [Press release from the American Society of Hematology discussing online prepublication in Blood]

Bio-Path Holdings Announces Dosing of First Patient in a Phase I Clinical Trial of its Liposomal Grb-2 Cancer Drug Candidate
Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I study of its cancer drug candidate, Liposomal Grb-2 (L-Grb-2 or BP-100-1.01), in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). [Bio-Path Holdings, Inc. Press Release]

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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Defective Erythroid Differentiation in miR-451 Mutant Mice Mediated by 14-3-3zeta
Researchers show that microRNA-451 (miR-451) regulates erythropoiesis in vivo. [Gene Dev]

miR-451 Protects Against Erythroid Oxidant Stress by Repressing 14-3-3zeta
Researchers show that miR-144/451 ablation in mice causes mild erythrocyte instability and increased susceptibility to damage after exposure to oxidant drugs. This phenotype is deeply conserved, as miR-451 depletion synergizes with oxidant stress to cause profound anemia in zebrafish embryos. [Gene Dev]

The LKB1/AMPK Signaling Pathway has Tumor Suppressor Activity in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Through the Repression of mTOR-Dependent Oncogenic mRNA Translation
Researchers show in the current study that the LKB1/AMPK/TSC2 tumor suppressor axis is functional in AML and can be activated by the biguanide molecule metformin, resulting in a specific inhibition of mTOR catalytic activity. [Blood]

Vitamin D Receptor Deletion Leads to Increased Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells Residing in the Spleen
Researchers report that deletion of the vitamin D receptor in hematopoietic cells did not result in cell autonomous perturbation of hematopoietic stem cell or progenitor function. [Blood]

Allogeneic T Cells Impair Engraftment and Hematopoiesis after Stem Cell Transplantation
Here, researchers studied hematopoietic reconstitution post-hematopoietic cell transplantation, comparing grafts of purified hematopoietic stem cells with grafts supplemented with T cells in a minor histocompatibility antigen-mismatched mouse model. [Proc Natl Acad Sci]

MicroRNAs Enriched in Hematopoietic Stem Cells Differentially Regulate Long-Term Hematopoietic Output
Here, researchers identify a subset of microRNAs (miRNAs) that is enriched in hematopoietic stem-cells (HSC) compared with other bone-marrow cells. An in vivo gain-of-function screen found that three of these miRNAs conferred a competitive advantage to engrafting hematopoietic cells, whereas other HSC miRNAs attenuated production of blood cells. [Proc Natl Acad Sci]

Immune-Related Zinc Finger Gene ZFAT is an Essential Transcriptional Regulator for Hematopoietic Differentiation in Blood Islands
Here, researchers show that Zfat (a zinc-finger gene in autoimmune thyroid disease susceptibility region / an immune-related transcriptional regulator containing 18 C2H2-type zinc-finger domains and one AT-hook)-deficient (Zfat -/-) mice are embryonic-lethal, with impaired differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells in blood islands, where ZFAT is exactly expressed. [Proc Natl Acad Sci]

A Previously Unrecognized Promoter of LMO2 Forms Part of a Transcriptional Regulatory Circuit Mediating LMO2 Expression in a Subset of T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Patients
The data suggest that a self-sustaining triad of LMO2/ERG/FLI1 stabilizes the expression of important mediators of the leukaemic phenotype such as HHEX/PRH. [Oncogene]

Effects of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Plus Thymus Transplantation on Malignant Tumors: Comparison Between Fetal, Newborn, and Adult Mice
Researchers performed hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using the intra-bone marrow method with or without thymus transplantation from fetal, newborn, and adult B6 mice (H-2b) into BALB/c mice (H-2d) bearing Meth-A sarcoma (H-2d). [ Stem Cells Dev]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Intensive Chemotherapy Does Not Benefit Most Older Patients (Age 70 Years or Older) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Researchers analyzed 446 patients 70 years or older with AML (20% blasts) treated with cytarabine-based intensive chemotherapy between 1990 and 2008, to identify risk groups for high induction (8-week) mortality. [Blood]

Angiopoietin-2 Plasma Dosage Predicts Time to First Treatment and Overall Survival in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Here, researchers evaluated Angiopoietin-2 glycoprotein levels in plasma samples collected from a multicentric cohort of CLL patients (n = 316) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method, and investigated its prognostic role in relation to time to first treatment (TTFT) and overall survival. [Blood]

Grant of Nearly $5.2 Million Supports RPCI-Led Research to Improve Survival After Blood/Marrow Transplant
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a four-year, $5.18 million Research Project Grant (R01) to investigators at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) to support research aimed at improving the survival rate of those patients and making transplant a possibility for more patients. [Roswell Park Cancer Institute Press Release]

miRagen Therapeutics Announces Identification of a microRNA as Key Regulator of Blood Cell Development
miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. announced the publication of data demonstrating the essential role of microRNA-451 in the regulation of erythropoiesis. [miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. Press Release]

Haemonetics Announces Agreement with Consorta, Inc. for New Blood Management Business Intelligence Portal
Haemonetics Corporation announced an agreement with Consorta, Inc., one of the nation’s leading healthcare resource management and group purchasing organizations, to provide IMPACT Online, Haemonetics’ new blood management business intelligence portal, to Consorta’s member hospitals. [Haemonetics Corporation Press Release]

Six Researchers to Receive Prestigious Awards From the American Society of Hematology
The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world’s largest professional society of blood specialists, will honor six scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of hematologic diseases. These awards will be presented at the 52nd ASH Annual Meeting taking place December 4-7 in Orlando. [The American Society of Hematology Press Release]

NSF Funding Request Faring Well in Congress
While the 2011 budget requests of other U.S. research agencies are struggling to stay afloat in choppy fiscal seas, so far National Science Foundation’s (NSF) is sailing through Congress largely intact. [National Science Foundation, United States]

Senate Spending Panel Approves $1 Billion Boost for NIH
A Senate subcommittee matched President Barack Obama’s request for a $1 billion increase in 2011 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That raise would bring the agency’s total budget to $32 billion, or 3.5% above the 2010 level, according to a statement from the Senate appropriations labor, health, and human services subcommittee. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NIH Takes on New Role in Fight Against Rare Diseases
A government program focusing on rare diseases, the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program, has launched five pilot projects that are taking the National Institutes of Health in a new direction: developing drugs. TRND will work together with scientists, advocates and others to do the required research and testing on drugs before a compound can be tried in humans in a clinical trial. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request [Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States]

National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting (Doc. 2010-18627) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Office of the Director; Notice of Closed Meeting [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; Notice of Meeting [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Correction for RFA-HL-10-024, Ancillary Studies in Clinical Trials (R01) (NOT-HL-11-108) [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, United States]

EVENTS (Listed by Date)

Select Biosciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences 2nd Annual World Biobanking Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences Inaugural Cellular Therapy Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Meeting 2010
September 4-7, 2010
Barcelona, Spain

International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) – Europe 2nd Regional Meeting
September 11-14, 2010
Belgirate, Italy

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

Society for Hematology and Stem Cells (ISEH) 2010 Meeting
September 15-18, 2010
Melbourne, Australia

Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) 38th Annual Convention
September 21-24, 2010
Washington D.C., United States

American Society of Hematology (ASH) State-of-the-Art Symposium 2010
September 24-25, 2010
Chicago, United States

Society for the Advancement of Blood Management® (SABM®) 2010 Annual Meeting
September 24-26, 2010
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Stem Cells and Regeneration
October 3-9, 2010
Woods Hole, United States

American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) Annual Meeting 2010
October 9-12, 2010
Baltimore, United States

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

52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition
December 4-7, 2010
Orlando, United States

Highlights of American Society of Hematology (ASH) Vancouver
January 21-22, 2011
Vancouver, Canada

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

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