Liver Cells Can Be Generated From Patients’ Skin Cells

Who says adult stem cells can’t produce many different types of cells? Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have successfully produced liver cells from patients’ skin cells:

The scientists took the skin cells and reprogrammed those to form a regenerative tissue. They saw that, those skin derived cells, pluripotent stem cells had the capacity to develop almost 200 cell types in the human body including the liver cells.

Stephen A. Duncan, professor in human and molecular genetics, Medical College of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (MCW-M) led the project along with postdoctoral fellow Karim Si-Tayeb, and graduate student Fallon Noto.

Duncan said, “This is a crucial step forward towards developing therapies that can potentially replace the need for scarce liver transplants, currently the only treatment for most advanced liver disease.”

The researchers are hopeful that this finding can be used to diagnose and treat potentially hazardous metabolic liver diseases.

Liver is the master organ of the body controlling most of the metabolic functions like insulin secretion, digestion and detoxification. Once this is affected, it can result in a wide range of disorders including diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Liver malfunction can be due to infections like Hepatitis, genetic mutation or excessive alcohol consumption.

Jaw Bone Created From Stem Cells

Scientists have created part of the jaw joint in the lab using human adult stem cells:

They say it is the first time a complex, anatomically-sized bone has been accurately created in this way.

It is hoped the technique could be used not only to treat disorders of the specific joint, but more widely to correct problems with other bones too.

The Columbia University study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The bone which has been created in the lab is known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Problems with the joint can be the result of birth defects, arthritis or injury.

Although they are widespread, treatment can be difficult.

The joint has a complex structure which makes it difficult to repair by using grafts from bones elsewhere in the body.

The latest study used human stem cells taken from bone marrow.

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Excellent Stem Cell Mobilization and Safety Profile for TG-0054

In Taiwan:

TaiGen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced today that in a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers TG-0054, a chemokine receptor CXCR4 antagonist, was well tolerated and rapidly mobilized stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells from bone marrow into peripheral blood. The number of CD34+ stem cells in circulation after one dose of TG-0054 was equal or higher than reported cell numbers needed for stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The observed AEs were all mild and transient. A phase 2 study in stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin disease patients is currently being initiated.

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Happy Stem Cell Awareness Day!

Today is Stem Cell Awareness Day as proclaimed by Governors Arnold Scwartzenegger of California and Jim Doyle of Wisconsin (h/t Mary Meets Dolly). So check out some of the latest advancements in adult stem cell research:

Neuralstem Receives FDA Approval to Commence First ALS Stem Cell Trial:

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to commence a Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) with its spinal cord stem cells.

British surgeons are pioneering a new technique which uses stem cells to repair damaged bones. This research could help prevent the need for artificial hip replacements.

Study reveals benefit of adult stem cells for acute lung injury:

UCSF scientists have demonstrated that adult human mesenchymal stem cells reverse the effects of injury in a novel human lung preparation in the lab. The finding, they say, could lead to the development of stem cell therapies for patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, conditions that presently have a high rate of mortality and no pharmacological treatments.

UW-Madison researcher saved by stem cells. Kurt Saupe is is cancer-free after receiving a bone marrow transplant for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a rare and lethal disease among middle age adults.

“Liposuction leftovers” easily converted to iPS cells:

Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford’s School of Medicine.

Positive Results in the MARVEL Phase II/III Clinical Trial for patients with heart failure. According to this story the stem cells were derived from the patients’ leg muscles.

And here are a few articles highlighting some research facilities specifically working to advance ethical stem cell research:

Adult stem cell research creating miracles in Covington:

In the emerging field of adult stem cell therapy, Drs. Gabriel Lasala and Jose Minguell of TCA Cellular Therapy, LLC, are conducting ground breaking innovative research into the regenerative properties of adult stem cells.

“This is like penicillin was a century ago,” said Lasala about his research.

A visit to their facility in Covington is like meeting Louis Pasteur when he proved the germ theory of disease. Working through scientific protocols and funding their studies themselves, Lasala and Minguell have successful treated limb ischemia or peripheral vascular disease, saving people from amputation surgery due to gangrene from diabetes.

They have successfully treated cardiac and other vascular conditions as well.

Tulane enters into agreement to produce adult stem cells (see here as well)

Adult stem cells derived from bone marrow avoid the ethical debate that surrounds embryonic stem cells and may be the future of regenerative medicine. Tulane University is recognized as a leader in the production of adult stem cells for research use.

Stemnion uses placentas, not embryos, to get stem cells for burn therapy:

The company obtains its stem cells from placentas of full-term newborns born at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Placentas, usually discarded after births, are a rich source of stem cells that can be coaxed to accelerate healing by simply being sprinkled onto a wound, Strom said.

Scientists are working to make stem cells catalyze the growth of more specialized tissues, by draping them on biodegradable frameworks in the shape of tissues and organs.

Stay tuned to Adult Stem Cell Awareness for more! Be sure to also follow us on Twitter

Bone Marrow Stem Cell Treatment Saves Legs

The results of a clinical trial to save volunteers’ leg from amputation by injecting stem cell concentrate to the limb affected by thrombo angitis obliterance (TAO) have been encouraging. The stem cells were taken from the patients’ bone marrow.

The clinical trial is being conducted on patients suffering from blocks in the artery of the leg. Sixty patients were enrolled in the trial, and all of them were smokers. Some had diabetes as well.

Thirty nine of the 44 patients who had already undergone the mandatory 6-month follow-up did not require amputation following stem cell injection to the affected legs. Follow-up of the remaining 16 patients is under way.

The last patient, enrolled on May 25, will complete his six-month follow up in November.

“We have got very good results,” said Dr. K.S. Vijayaragavan. “The legs of 89 per cent of the patients have been saved.” Dr. Vijayaragavan, Head of the Department of Vascular Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, is conducting the trial.

According to him, the failure to save the leg of five patients was because they continued to smoke even after stem cell injection. Immediate and complete cessation of smoking is the most basic and important requirement for saving the leg. Diabetes should also be under control.

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University of Florida Scientists Program Blood Stem Cells to Become Vision Cells

GO GATORS!!

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for one of the most common causes of vision loss in older people.

The success in repairing a damaged layer of retinal cells in mice implies that blood stem cells taken from bone marrow can be programmed to restore a variety of cells and tissues, including ones involved in cardiovascular disorders such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.

“To our knowledge, this is the first report using targeted gene manipulation to specifically program an adult stem cell to become a new cell type,” said Dr. Maria B. Grant, a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at UF’s College of Medicine. “Although we used genes, we also suggest you can do the same thing with drugs — but ultimately you would not give the drugs to the patient, you would give the drugs to their cells. Take the cells out, activate certain chemical pathways, and put the cells back into the patient.”

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Sight Restored With ASC Contacts!

Check out this amazing video about some scientists in Australia who were able to significantly restore the sight of patients with blinding corneal disease using stem cells from the patients’ own eyes:

Unlike most other ASC treatments that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and often require surgical implantation, the procedure is totally cheap and easy. Said UNSW’s Dr Nick Di Girolamo, lead author of the study, “There’s no suturing, there is no major operation: all that’s involved is harvesting a minute amount – less than a millimeter – of tissue from the ocular surface.” He says it could even be used to treat patients in poorer countries, “If you’re going to be treating these sorts of diseases in third world countries all you need is the surgeon and a lab for cell culture. You don’t need any fancy equipment.”

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Man Treated for Heart Failure With Own Cardiac Stem Cells

A team of University of Louisville physicians at Jewish Hospital successfully conduct what is being reported as the world’s first adult cardiac stem cell injection:

After two heart attacks, Michael Jones of Louisville suffered heart failure that made him so weak he could manage only a few football passes now and then with his grandson.

But after becoming one of the world’s first heart patients to get an infusion of cardiac stem cells, Jones said he works out on a treadmill and bike and feels invigorated.

“I hope to have as normal a life as anyone,” “the self-employed painting and remodeling contractor said at a news conference Friday. “I might even start jogging again.”

Jones, 66, received an infusion of his own stem cells through a minimally invasive catheterization procedure on July 17— as part of a clinical trial being conducted by a team of University of Louisville physicians at Jewish Hospital.

The doctors, who announced the trial and started recruiting patients in February, are using adult cardiac stem cells to heal hearts. They said they were infusing the second patient Friday. A similar procedure, involving slightly different cells, was performed last month in California, doctors said.

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This is not the first time a cardiac patient has been treated with stem cells – see: Stem Cells Treat Heart Attack Patient, Adult Stem Cells Better Choice Than Death or Transplant for Heart Failure Patients, Stem Cells Gave Don Ho 15 Extra Months to Perform – so I think the “first time” they’re referring to is the source of the stem cells rather than the procedure itself.

Adult Stem Cells Help Scleroderma Patient Feel “Reborn”

New Jersey patient’s chronic autoimmune disease improves after adult stem cell treatment:

[A]fter undergoing an autologous adult stem-cell transplant 14 months ago to stop his advanced case of scleroderma, an incurable autoimmune disease that causes excess collagen to make skin tighten and feel hard and thick, George is able to pinch his pliable skin. He’s also able to open his mouth real wide.

“I feel really good,” said George, a retired William C. McGinnis School principal, who in April was taken off all medications, including antibiotics, related to his transplant.

“I feel I was reborn,” George said. “It’s great to be alive.”…

Just before the March 13, 2008, adult stem-cell transplant, George’s skin was stiff and his face was tight. He had a hard time swallowing. Doctors were concerned his condition was spreading internally to the point it might close his esophagus and damage his heart and lungs.

The procedure George underwent at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago involved taking stem cells from his bone marrow, cleaning and freezing them while he received large doses of chemotherapy to cleanse his immune system before the stem cells were put back into his body to grow.

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“Lifesaver” to Donate Stem Cells a Second Time

Now here’s a wonderful, feel-good story to start your off weekend with!:

Terry Bowe is a lifesaver.

In 2005, he donated his blood stem cells to a critically ill patient whose name he didn’t know and whose city and even country of residence remained a guarded secret.

All he was told by officials with the National Marrow Donor Program was the recipient was a 36-year-old woman with leukemia who was fighting for her life.

In 2006, after both donor and recipient agreed to meet, Bowe came face to face with Kimberly Richards, a wife and mother from Glendale, Ariz.

“He actually saved my life,” Richards said after that first meeting.

Nearly four years after receiving Bowe’s life-saving gift, Richards remains a survivor.

“Terry considered it a privilege to be given the opportunity to save someone else’s life,” Richards said Wednesday from her home in Arizona. “Where would I be if he hadn’t?”

Now at age 54, Bowe has the rare chance to do it again. The Bakersfield husband and father has been matched with a 59-year-old man suffering from leukemia.

“I’m amazed that I get to do this again,” said the Chevron employee. “After my first experience, I swore I would do it again in a heartbeat. And I am. No hesitation.

“The minor discomfort I experienced paled in comparison to the reward of helping somebody,” he added.

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