The Real Future of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Yet another researcher has come out admitting that research using human embryos isn’t likely to yield the dramatic cures that have been promised for the better part of the last 10 years. This time it’s embryologist James Thompson, who isolated the first ESCs. See my post The Real Future of Embryonic Stem Cell Research for more.

This is no surprise to us here at ASCA. For information on stem cells that are being used for transplants and treatments visit some of our archived posts as well as my ASC archives at Reflections of a Paralytic.

Stimulating Stem Cells to Treat ALS

Some Canadian researchers say it might be possible to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by stimulating the body’s own stem cells:

The idea is to use a growth-factor stimulant to increase the number of stem cells in the body, in the hope they will travel to the site of motor-neuron injury and slow down the disease’s progression, says [team leader] Dr. [Neil] Cashman.

After successfully completing a small trial with eight patients, Dr. Cashman is now building support for a trial involving ALS centers all across Canada.

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Enzyme Induces Adult Stem Cells to Grow Bone

So far scientists have had a hard time making human adult stem cells produce bone, but some researchers are closer to solving this problem:

Researchers at the University of Twente have shown that if the enzyme PKA is previously activated in the stem cells in the lab, following implantation this results in substantial bone formation. This opens up new ways of repairing bone tissue using cell material from the patient. The researchers are publishing their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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Behold the Wonder of the Female Body

The female body is pretty amazing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its ability to generate and sustain the life of another human being. Now it is helping advance the science of stem cell research. So far scientists have been able to find stem cells in placenta, menstrual blood and breast milk. We also would not have umbilical cord blood stem cells, which have been successful in treating many human patients, were it not for the female body. Now two Indian researchers have discovered the presence of adult stem cells in the entire female genital tract:

[Scientists Satish] Patki and [Ramesh] Bhonde, who heads the stem cell division at NCCS, told newspersons in Kolhapur on Tuesday that they have also demonstrated that stem cells could be obtained from the female genital tract by using non-surgical methods…

Under lab conditions, the stem cells obtained from the uterus were developed into cells of kidney, liver, fat, brain and beta cells of the pancreas — which produces insulin — and the beating cells of the heart.

According to the researchers, the application of this research includes curing degenerative diseases and studying the effects of drugs.

According to them, the treatment with stem cells can increase the embryo carrying capacity of the uterus, which is helpful in infertility diseases like repeated abortions, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and for in-vitro fertilisation.

Fr. Berg fighting for even-handedness at Empire State Stem Cell Board

Last year Fr. Thomas Berg, founder of the Westchester Institute, was appointed to the ethics committee of the newly formed Empire State Stem Cell board. I wondered (aloud) if he would be able to be a positive influence as a voice not just for alternative sources of stem cells, but for the larger field of adult stem cell research. Well, now we know! Kudos to Fr. Berg for this National Review article, “New York’s $600 Million Dollar Question” :

My intense exposure to the field of stem-cell research over the past eight years has too often revealed a largely unsubstantiated bias favoring work on human embryonic stem cells over other types of research — especially work on adult stem cells. And today, this is a bias turned scientific and political ideology, one that too often dominates the imaginations of those who hold the purse strings on private and State funding.

Editing to note that Don Margolis has blogged this article, too. For those looking for sickle cell anemia news, it’s worth your while to check out Fr. Berg’s article for information about Dr. Lubin’s research. As a carrier of this trait, I know that adult stem cell therapies are “where it’s at” for sickle cell disease (and so many others) . . . but apparently CIRM can’t absorb that inconvenient truth.

Judie Brown not happy with language in WI bishops’ stem cell letter

Recently the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin released a pastoral letter entitled, “Serving All and Sacrificing None”.  Judie Brown of American Life League finds the language used in the document “sloppy”. Catholic Exchange has Judie’s full commentary here.

She finds fault, for instance, with the bishops’ wording:

We know many struggle with official Catholic teaching that a small group of cells invisible to the naked eye deserves the same protection as the life of a baby in the womb. . .

She may have a point. Professor Diane Irving is also unhappy with this language. On the other hand, it is important to convey to those who are sincerely confused (or just plain obstinately wrong) that we do understand why they do not see what we see. They see individual cells, we see the early stages of an already existent human being. If we cannot show them that we see what they see, they will not even begin to try to see what we see. Perhaps it would have been better not to omit or change the words “a small group of cells”, but to add to them, ‘which is already a human being with an inherent right to life”.

Is this just tit for tat, dotting “i’s”, etc? I don’t know. In my work, I do know that language is powerful. Judie’s point is true, a concession of a word here or there can have difficult consequences. On the other hand, there are ways to use language which can build bridges and invite opportunities for understanding . . . and that is, I think, the goal of a pastoral letter. What do you think?

 

Controlling Adult Stem Cells

At the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting atendees heard about the promise of adult stem cells. Yes, you heard that right, the promise of ASCs, not that embryonic stem cell hype (which I’m sure was also present at the meeting). From the story:

Professor Kielty’s team study stem cells that are found in human bone marrow called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs have the ability to relocate and develop into several different types of cells and tissue and are very promising as a source of cells for transplant in tissue repair. As well as offering the potential for bespoke treatments derived from a person’s own cells, MSCs are unlikely to trigger a severe immune response, and may be suitable for “off-the-shelf” treatments for tissue repair. This research focuses on the details of a messaging system that leads to the development of blood vessels from MSCs in the body. This system is called ‘PDGF receptor signalling’…

Professor Kielty said: “What we have shown is that adult stem cells respond in particular ways to some of the chemical signals in the body. The next stage will be to understand how this messaging system regulates relocation of the MSCs and instructs them to become blood vessel cells. After that, we can look at applying our understanding to develop stem-cell derived therapies for tissue repair.”

Here again we see how modern stem cell science is debunking the theory that ASCs have little to no pluripotency. In fact, because of their maturity, it is easier for ASCs to conform to their surroundings. ESCs have generally proved to be too pluripotent, hence their tendency to form tumors.

Ethical Life Science News

Here are a few good ethical life science news stories for you:

Scientists say menstrual blood can repair hearts:

Scientists obtained menstrual blood from nine women and cultivated it for about a month, focusing on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells.

Some 20 percent of the cells began beating spontaneously about three days after being put together in vitro with cells from the hearts of rats. The cells from menstrual blood eventually formed sheet-like heart-muscle tissue.

The success rate is 100 times higher than the 0.2-0.3 percent for stem cells taken from human bone marrow, according to Shunichiro Miyoshi, a cardiologist at Keio University’s school of medicine, who is involved in the research.

Separate in-vivo experiments showed that the condition of rats who had suffered heart attacks improved after they received the cells derived from menstrual blood.

Miyoshi said women may eventually be able to use their own menstrual blood.

“There may be a system in the near future that allows women to use it for their own treatment,” Miyoshi told AFP on Thursday.

Gene therapy improves sight in near-blind patients

LOS ANGELES/LONDON (Reuters) - Gene therapy for a rare type of inherited blindness has improved the vision of four patients who tried it, boosting hopes for the troubled field of gene repair technology, scientists said on Sunday.

Two separate teams of doctors reported successes in using gene therapy to treat Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA.

LCA damages light receptors in the retina. It usually begins affecting sight in early childhood and causes total blindness by the time a patient is 30. There is no treatment.

Both teams used a common cold virus to deliver a normal version of one damaged gene that causes the disease, called RPE65, directly into the eyes of patients.

Although both trials were only testing for safety, patients reported they could see a little better afterwards, the researchers told a meeting of eye specialists in Florida and also reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Stem cell hope for fixing injured knees (h/t: Vital Signs):

Up to 60 Victorians are to trial a simple injection scientists believe could replace drugs - and even surgery - in treating debilitating osteoarthritis.

It could also prolong the careers of athletes, including AFL players, regularly sidelined by common cartilage tears.

Melbourne-based biotechnology company Mesoblast recently completed successful animal trials of the hi-tech procedure and believe there is a “billion-dollar market” for their technique.

The Australian trials found the injection of adult stem cells - taken from human donors’ bone marrow, abdominal fat, hip, skin or teeth - protected damaged knee cartilage for up to nine months.

Professor Silviu Itescu, Mesoblast’s director and chief scientific adviser, said the injected stem cells bound themselves to the cartilage, halting its degeneration.

Heart Derived Stem Cells Develop Into Heart Muscle:

The stem cells are derived from material left over from open-heart operations. Researchers at UMC Utrecht used a simple method to isolate the stem cells from this material and reproduce them in the laboratory, which they then allowed to develop. The cells grew into fully developed heart muscle cells that contract rhythmically, respond to electrical activity, and react to adrenaline.

“We’ve got complete control of this process, and that’s unique,” says principal investigator Prof. Pieter Doevendans. “We’re able to make heart muscle cells in unprecedented quantities, and on top of it they’re all the same. This is good news in terms of treatment, as well as for scientific research and testing of potentially new drugs.”

Cell-based Therapy Shows Promise In Patients With Parkinson’s Disease:

A novel cell therapy using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells attached to tiny gelatin bead microcarriers implanted in the brain can improve the symptoms of patients with moderate to advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD).

The pilot study* was initiated at Emory University Hospital and followed six patients with moderate to advanced PD to investigate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the Spheramine implantation. The full patient group has been evaluated for four years, and several have been monitored for six years. Bakay and colleagues report long-term improvement or stabilization of symptoms, maintained for a minimum of two years after Spheramine implantation. They note no Spheramine-related serious adverse events were reported and that the most frequent adverse event was postsurgical headache, which spontaneously resolved within one to two weeks.

Is it just me, or is the hype surrounding embryonic stem cell research is just starting to sound more and more ridiculous and unnecessary? Clearly there are ethical alternatives to using human embryos for scientific research that are proving to be easier to work with and more effective in both animal and human studies.

Stem Cell Videos

I found some great videos highlighting those who have benefited from adult stem cells:

Here is Jacki Rabon, whose spinal cord injury improved after she was injected with stem cells from her own nose (from this study).

I love this woman who, after two successful ASC injections, had a t-shirt made that she wears out in public to let everyone know about the benefits of ASCs.

These videos are from the Encore Toast to Adult and Cord Blood Stem Cells last March, hosted by Do No Harm.

See more videos like this on the You Tube channels stemcellsthatwork and stemcellguy.

Sad news

Bill just sent out the news that BOGO Wines is disbanding. BOGO has been running on the sacrifices, the good will, and purchases of so many people. But ultimately, good businesses supporting good causes need good profits. Bill puts it like this:

In a nutshell, BOGO should have been “stopped on cuts” two years ago. We have only been able to generate 25% of the needed sales to be self sustaining and to turn a small profit. And not to long ago, when I was still hoping against hope, my wife Dawn said “Bill, you have tried to do the impossible” She is right. Although, in the past three years while attempting to do the impossible, I have been blessed beyond measure. The relationships that I have been privileged to be part of, whether with organization or individuals, has truly be been humbling. But the best part of all this has been you, the customer. When people have asked me when BOGO will be available in their local wine stores, I explained “when there are enough people like my current customers. People who are compassionate, informed, active, prayerful and enjoy a good glass of wine. It has been an honor dealing with all of you.

Bill, you stepped out in faith with this venture. While BOGO may not have generated enormous revenue, it did help spread the word about ethical stem cell research and therapies in a completely novel way. It will be amazing to see what doors God opens for you now. Thanks, Bill, for all you have done.