Hematopoiesis News Volume 2.20 | May 24 2011

    0
    17

    Hematopoiesis News 2.20, May 24, 2011

         In this issue: Science News | Current Publications | Industry News | Policy News | Events
    Cell Therapy News on Facebook  Hematopoiesis News on Twitter

    TOP STORY

    Team Discovers Key to Fighting Drug-Resistant Leukemia
    A team of scientists have uncovered the basis for acute lymphoblastic leukemia’s drug resistance: BCL6, a protein that leukemia cells use to stay alive. [Press release from the University of California, San Francisco discussing online prepublication in Nature]

    STEMvision_645x110_v01b.jpg

    SCIENCE NEWS

    A Gene that Fights Cancer, but Causes It Too
    An international team of researchers say a human gene implicated in the development of leukemia also acts to prevent cancer of the liver. [Press release from the University of California, San Diego discussing online prepublication in Cancer Cell]


    Platform Developed to Monitor Hematopoietic Stem Cells
    A Canadian research team has developed an automated microfluidic cell culture platform to monitor the growth, survival and responses of hundreds of hematopoietic stem cells at the single cell level. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Nature Methods]

    Improved Survival and Treatment for Chronic Blood Disorders
    New research shows that hydroxyurea does not increase the risk of developing acute leukemia, as had previously been suspected. Another new study shows that mortality from chronic myeloid leukemia has decreased sharply since the approval of the drug Imatinib as a standard treatment in 2001. [Press release from Karolinska Institutet discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology]

    Antibody-Guided Drug Works Against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
    An antibody packaged with a potent chemotherapy drug to selectively destroy acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells eradicated or greatly reduced the disease for 61 percent of 46 patients in a Phase II study. [University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Press Release]

    MultipleMyeloma_645x110_V01.jpg

    CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

    LABORATORY RESEARCH

    BCL6 Enables Ph+ Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells to Survive BCR–ABL1 Kinase Inhibition
    Scientists report the discovery of a novel mechanism of drug resistance, which is based on protective feedback signaling of leukemia cells in response to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. [Nature]

    Ptpn11/Shp2 Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in Hepatocellular Carcinogenesis
    In contrast to the leukemogenic effect of dominant-active mutants, Ptpn11/Shp2 has a tumor-suppressor function in liver.
    [Cancer Cell]

    High-Throughput Analysis of Single Hematopoietic Stem Cell Proliferation in Microfluidic Cell Culture Arrays
    Scientists show that this platform mimics conventional cultures in reproducing the responses of various types of primitive mouse hematopoietic cells with retention of their functional properties, as demonstrated by subsequent in vitro and in vivo (transplantation) assays of recovered cells. [Nat Methods]

    Modulation of TGF-Beta Signaling by Endoglin in Murine Hemangioblast Development and Primitive Hematopoiesis
    Using doxycycline-inducible ES cell lines, researchers interrogated the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway by expressing activated forms of ALK-1 and ALK-5, type I receptors for TGF-β. [Blood]

    SALL4 Is a Robust Stimulator for the Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
    Investigators show that either SALL4A- or B-transduced human hematopoietic stem cells obtained from the mobilized peripheral blood are capable of rapid and efficient expansion ex vivo by more than 10,000 fold for both CD34+/CD38- and CD34+/CD38+ cells in the presence of appropriate cytokines. [Blood]

    Sumoylation of CCAAT/Enhancer-Binding Protein α Promotes the Biased Primitive Hematopoiesis of Zebrafish
    Investigators show that loss of SUMO paralogs triggers a sharp up-regulation of the myeloid-specific marker mpo and down-regulation of the erythroid-specific marker gata1 in myelo-erythroid progenitor cells in the intermediate cell mass during primitive hematopoiesis. [Blood]

    A Tumor Suppressor Function of the Msr1 Gene in Leukemia Stem Cells of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
    Scientists sought to dissect the Alox5 pathway by comparing the gene expression profiles of wild type and Alox5-/- leukemia stem cells derived from their mouse model for BCR-ABL-induced chronic myeloid leukemia. [Blood]

    CLINICAL RESEARCH

    Success Story of Targeted Therapy in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: A Population-Based Study of Patients Diagnosed in Sweden From 1973 to 2008
    Using data from the population-based Swedish Cancer Registry and population life tables, researchers estimated relative survival for all patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia from 1973 to 2008 (n = 3,173; 1,796 males and 1,377 females; median age, 62 years). [J Clin Oncol]

    Multiple Hodgkin Lymphoma-Associated Loci within the HLA Region at Chromosome 6p21.3
    Using SNP data to impute alleles at classical HLA loci, investigators have conducted an integrated analysis of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) risk within the HLA region in 582 early-onset HL cases and 4,736 controls. [Blood]

    Discovery of New MicroRNAs by Small RNAome Deep Sequencing in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
    In order to discover the microRNAs relevant to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), scientists applied high-throughput sequencing to pooled fractions of leukemic cells obtained from 89 pediatric cases covering seven well-defined genetic types of ALL and normal hematopoietic cells. [Leukemia]

    INDUSTRY NEWS

    Don Elliman Joins Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology
    The former chief operating officer for the state of Colorado has joined the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology. [University of Colorado Denver Press Release]

    FDA Sets Meeting Date in Early June to Discuss Re-Submission of Pixantrone NDA for Accelerated Approval
    Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) announced that it will meet with the U.S. Food and Drugs (FDA) Office of Oncology Drug Products in early June to discuss the re-submission of CTI’s New Drug Application (NDA) for pixantrone for accelerated approval to treat patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. [Cell Therapeutics, Inc. Press Release]

    POLICY NEWS

    National Institutes of Health (United States)

    Food and Drug Administration (United States)
     
    Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)
     
    European Medicines Agency (European Union)

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

    Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

    EVENTS

    NEW Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory – Stem Cell Biology
    September 20-24, 2011
    Cold Spring Harbor, United States

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

    JOB OPPORTUNITIES
    Postdoctoral Associate (University of Massachusetts Medical School)

    Post Doctoral Fellow (MedImmune)

    Laboratory Project Scientist (University of California, San Diego)

    Postdoctoral Fellow (Indiana University) 

    Early Stage Researcher Marie Curie Fellowship in Cancer Stem Cell Research (University Medical Center Groningen) 

    Recruit Top Talent

    Reach more than 11,000 potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

    Jobs are categorized regionally: United States, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific

    Visit here to post your career opportunities.

    Have we missed an important article or publication in Hematopoiesis News? Click here to submit!

    Comments or Suggestions? Email info@connexoncreative.com with your feedback.

    Learn more about Hematopoiesis Cell News: Archives | Events | Contact Us