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Scientists steer the development of stem cells to regenerate and repair organs
2024-12-20 - 2024-12
Investigators from Cedars-Sinai and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified a new way to deliver instructions that tell stem cells to grow into specific bodily structures, a critical step in eventually regenerating and repairing tissues and organs.
The scientists engineered cells that form structures called "synthetic organizers." These organizers provided instructions to the stem cells through biochemical signals called morphogens, which stimulated and enabled the stem cells to grow into specific complex tissues and organ-like assemblies.
The research was conducted with mouse embryonic stem cells, and the findings were published in Cell.
"We can use these synthetic organizers to push the stem cells toward making different parts of the early embryo or toward making a heart or other organs," said Ophir Klein, MD, Ph.D., co-corresponding author of the study, executive vice dean of Children's Health and executive director of Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's.
In one instance, scientists were able to induce the stem cells to begin to form a mouse body that stretched from head to tail, similar to regular embryonic development in the womb. In another instance, the scientists were able to spur the stem cells to generate a large heart-like structure complete with a central chamber and a regular beat, along with a network of early blood vessels.
"This type of synthetic organizer cell platform provides a new way to interface with stem cells and to program what they develop into," said Wendell Lim, Ph.D., co-corresponding author and professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF.
"By controlling and reshaping how stem cells differentiate and develop, it might allow us to grow better organs for transplantation or organoids for disease modeling and eventually utilize it to drive tissue regeneration in living patients."
To steer organizer cells and control stem cell development, the scientists uploaded genetic codes into the cells and engineered two key features in the cells.
First, they instructed the cells to stick to the stem cells in the form of a node or a shell clustering around the clump of stem cells. Second, the investigators engineered the organizer cells to produce specific biochemical signals crucial to inducing early embryonic development.
To effectively and precisely control the organizer cells, researchers developed a chemical switch within the cells, allowing scientists to turn the delivery of instructions to stem cells on or off. Additionally, they installed a "suicide" switch to eliminate the organizer cells when needed.
"These synthetic organizers show that we can provide more refined developmental instructions to stem cells by engineering where and when specific morphogen signals are provided," Lim said. "The organizer cells carry both spatial information and biochemical information, thus giving us an incredible amount of control that we have not had before."
Stem cells head to the clinic: treatments for cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease could soon be here
2024-12-20 - 2024-12
The study is one of more than 100 clinical trials exploring the potential of stem cells to replace or supplement tissues in debilitating or life-threatening diseases, including cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, heart failure and some eye diseases. It’s a different approach from the unapproved therapies peddled by many shady clinics, which use types of stem cell that do not turn into new tissue.
All the trials are small and focus mainly on safety. And there are still substantial challenges, including defining which cells will be most fit for which purposes and working out how to bypass the need for immunosuppressant drugs that stop the body from rejecting the cells but increase the risk of infections.
Still, the flurry of clinical studies marks a turning point for stem-cell therapies. Following decades of intense research that has at times triggered ethical and political controversy, the safety and potential of stem cells for tissue regeneration is now being widely tested. “The rate of progress has been remarkable,” says stem-cell specialist Martin Pera at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. “It’s just 26 years since we first learnt to culture human stem cells in flasks.”
Researchers expect some stem-cell therapies to enter the clinic soon. Treatments for some conditions, they say, could become part of general medicine in five to ten years.
Finding a source
Cassy’s symptoms began with a small, persistent tremor in his fingers when he was just 44. The characteristic motor symptoms of Parkinson’s are driven by the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons called A9 cells in the brain’s substantia nigra. Drugs that replace the missing dopamine are effective, but have side effects including uncontrolled movements and impulsive behaviors. And as the disease progresses, the drugs’ efficacy wanes and the side effects worsen.
The idea of replacing the degenerated dopaminergic cells has a long history. During development, pluripotent ES cells, which have the potential to become many cell types, turn into the specialized cells of the brain, heart, lungs and so on. Theoretically, transplanted stem cells could repair any damaged tissue.
Parkinson’s lent itself to testing that theory. The first transplant of such cells took place in Sweden in 1987 using neurons from the developing brains of fetuses from terminated pregnancies, the only source of immature, or progenitor, neural cells at the time. Since then, more than 400 people with Parkinson’s have received such a transplant — with mixed results. Many people saw no benefit at all, or had debilitating side effects. But others improved so much that they no longer needed to take dopaminergic drugs.
Black Group Investment Partners with Zenzic Oasis to Advance Stem Cell Therapy for Personalised Medicine
2024-12-27 - 2024-12
Black Group Investment Partners with Zenzic Oasis to Advance Stem Cell Therapy for Personalised Medicine
SINGAPORE - Media Outreach Newswire - 27 December 2024 - Black Group Investment Holding Pte Ltd (Black Group) and Zenzic Oasis Holding Pte Ltd (Zenzic Oasis) today announced that they have signed an investment and strategic partnership agreement with the goal of expanding the use of cell-based therapeutic solutions, including personalised treatments.
Under the terms of the agreement, Black Group Investment Holding will invest in the commercialisation of Zenzic Oasis’ stem cell technologies, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Dr. Lim Kah Meng, the founder of Zenzic Oasis, is widely recognised for his breakthrough research on placental stem cells, which has led to the development of highly sought-after commercial products in the field of regenerative medicine. The partnership will further advance the commercialisation of these stem cell therapies by leveraging Black Group’s regional distribution networks and hospitality expertise.
Both companies will work together to bring these innovative stem cell-based products to regional markets, with a focus on personalised treatments.
Black Group will oversee the scaling, manufacturing, and distribution of stem cell therapies, ensuring accessibility and quality control of the products through a broadly accessible channel. “We are excited to partner with Black Group to accelerate the commercialisation of our stem cell-based innovations,“ said Dr. Lim Kah Meng. “This partnership will allow us to bring life-changing therapies (via clinical or validation trials) or wellness solutions to patients suffering from some of the most challenging medical conditions, and improving lives through personalised medicine.”
Black Group Investment Partners with Zenzic Oasis to Advance Stem Cell Therapy for Personalised Medicine
'It was so easy to give people more years of life'
2024-12-28 - 2024-12
A man has given his stem cells twice in the space of a decade to help save the lives of two people.Brad Green, from Sheffield, was inspired to sign the Anthony Nolan stem cell register at the age of 20 after a school friend's dad was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Mr Green said he did not expect being called to donate just two weeks later and was even more surprised when he was told he was a match for a second person earlier this year.
He is now one of 0.7% of donors to have given his stem cells twice.
Speaking of his first experience, Mr Green, now 31, said he remembered thinking: "God, how easy was that?""Because it's anonymous and because you don't really see the impact it's having first hand, you're sitting there thinking, 'well, I've done my bit, now I can go home'," the father-of-one said.
"But actually, at that point, it's that patient's start of his journey to recovery."
Mr Green initially did not know who had received his stem cells but later learned the patient was John Herries, who had been diagnosed with an aggressive type of blood cancer.
The pair eventually went on to meet and to this day keep in touch via email.Mr Herries, who is 59 and a beach lifeguard from north Devon, said: "It was a real pleasure to meet Brad and his parents."We're genetic twins so it was interesting to see if we looked the same – we didn't."The Anthony Nolan charity supports people with blood cancer and blood disorders. The register was established in 1974.Earlier this year, nearly a decade after his first donation, Mr Green received another call from the charity telling him he was a match for a second person.
Donors in the UK can only give stem cells twice to two different patients, though Mr Green said if he could, he would continue to donate."For me, it was just so easy for what you're actually getting in return, which is potentially giving somebody a load more years of life with family and friends," he said."I can't do it a third time, but I would do it three, four, five times over if it was possible."Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
Indian American Doctors Organisation Spearheads Stem Cell Registration Drive
2024-12-30 - 2024-12
He American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), a non-profit organization that represents over 35,000 Indian American physicians, has started an initiative for bone marrow and stem cell registration across the US. AAPI has partnered with America’s National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to increase the Indian donor pool.
“Patients with leukaemia and lymphoma need bone marrow or blood stem cell transplant to survive. Finding matching donors for cancer patients are difficult, especially for those of Indian and South Asian ethnicity. This drive, in which dozens of local AAPI chapter leaders, members and volunteers across the US have participated, is to increase the limited pool of donors and create awareness among more youth and adults to enrol,” Dr Satheesh Kathula, an oncologist based in Dayton, Ohio and the president of AAPI for the 2024-2025 term, told the Times of India.
“In the US, about 25% of the doctors are immigrants and of that number the majority are Indian Americans. Indian American physicians hold key positions not just in healthcare but also in research, academia and administration. Many serve in critical positions in underserved areas,” Dr Kathula, who has is a recipient of the US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023-2024, said.
Started over four decades back, to fight discrimination against foreign doctors, in granting licences, by some US states, AAPI has emerged a prominent professional organisation working as a social, educational, political and advocacy platform for Indian American doctors, Dr Kathula said. The AAPI Young Physicians section and AAPI Medical Students, Residents and Fellows section are focussed on Indian American medical and dental students, residents and fellows, and physicians-in-training. “We support and encourage the younger generation of Indian American doctors in many ways including communication, legislation, collaboration and education. Addressing the increasing shortage of physicians, we are trying to increase recruitment and encouraging more younger generation members to join our organisation. We provide opportunities for students, including those coming from India, to present research papers and have also been advocating for legislative reforms to ease the residency pathway for international medical graduates,” Dr Kathula said.
While AAPI is committed to promoting medical education and supporting young physicians’ knowledge base through continuing medical education, enhancing their careers, and empowering them to play a key role in healthcare advocacy and community service; the organisation also plays an important role in providing a channel between US law makers and its members. “AAPI advocates for policies that expedite green card processes for doctors on H1 visas,” Dr Kathula said.
He was at the helm in conceptualising and organising the AAPI Global Healthcare Summit in New Delhi last October and feels that the topics that were covered, including prevention strategies f
Stem Cell Donation: Woman's emotion at making 'one-in-800' match
2025-01-01 - 2025-01
When Kilkeel woman Alana Campbell signed up to become a potential stem cell donor she knew the odds of being matched with someone in need were against her.But after her nephew Robin was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder almost 15 years ago and needed a life saving stem cell transplant, she felt she had to do something.Remarkably, within six months of registering, she was informed she was a "perfect match" for a woman in France.
"I have to say I actually cried. I try not to cry now," she said.
Robin's parents feel very lucky they were able to find a stem cell donor for him when he was three years old and incredibly sick.No-one in the family was a match but they were able to find one a bit further afield."It was an Italian donor, that's all we know. We don't know anything more," said Robin's dad Geoffrey Calvert."We would love to know who he was or anything like that."
But regardless of who he was, they know if he hadn't signed up to be a donor Robin might not be around today. Currently the odds of becoming a match for someone who needs a stem cell donation is about one-in-800.
Michael Gallagher, from the Blood Cancer Charity DKMS, said it needed more people to register as donors to give others a higher chance of survival."Back in 2019, we saw close to 100,000 people register with us and now we're getting half of that," she said.He said each year there were hundreds of people across the UK who were told there was no match for them. Now that Alana has seen stem cell donation from both sides she is passionate about getting others to sign up.She remembers the day she made her donation and there was someone waiting "with one of those little suitcases you take on the plane".She said it was like something out of a film.All she ever knew was that the woman she helped was in her 50s and very ill.She got a phone call the following year telling her she was still alive."It was a very emotional journey. I would do it again tomorrow," she said.
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