BiomedNews

Scientists engineer new class of pluripotent stem cells

We’ve known for some time that pluripotent stem cells can become almost any type of cell in the human body. Working with these cells means scientists can experiment with drugs and study diseases on real human cells that are not attached to a real human being. They can learn so much without ever endangering or harming a person. These amazing cells are also responsible for the growing field of regenerative medicine in which researchers look for ways to restore lost or damaged organs and tissues.

Now scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell they have created in the lab from mouse cells and can engineer into any type of stem cell they want. They’re called F type (can you believe it? – they call them “F” because these cells tend to hang out in “fuzzy” colonies). It will take a lot more money and research to see what they can accomplish with  the F type, but this points the way to the potential for discovering other classes of stem cells.

Almost limitless. That’s what stem cell research begins now to look like in earnest.

 

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BiomedNews, stem cell research, stem cells

A new way to guide stem cells to become what’s needed

One of the toughest challenges to meeting the many exciting goals scientists have set is getting stem cells to grow into precisely the types of cells needed for the particular illness or condition. Now a researcher has discovered a way to do just that and is waiting for a patent to be granted.

This Rutgers professor Ki-Bum Lee and colleagues at Rutgers and Kyoto University in Japan have invented a platform they call NanoScript. It represents a breakthrough  in the area of gene expression. The way genes express themselves encodes information in a gene specifically to direct how a protein molecule gets assembled. That process is integral to developing tissue through stem cell therapeutics. Stem cells divide and replenish other cells, serving as an almost unlimited internal repair system.

Anything we can do to speed human knowledge along this extraordinary and exciting pathway to better healing and health is very welcome. Let’s hope – as often happens when a patent is involved – they don’t charge too much of an arm and a leg to get to the end-products.

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BiomedNews, health dangers

Sun exposure = nitric oxide = lower risk of obesity/diabetes

Well, I’m glad to read about this recent study saying sun exposure may play a role in preventing obesity and diabetes. They used mice, and those little guys are covered with fur and don’t spend a lot of time in the sun. But in many ways their bodies operate a lot like ours, so the study conclusions can reasonably be expected to apply to humans in some way. But a lot more study is needed to confirm the theory behind this experiment.

The mice were given a high-fat diet to trigger the beginnings of diabetes and obesity. One set of mice got vitamin D supplements, and the other set got a cream with nitric oxide rubbed on them. The vitamin D group did get fat and start developing diabetes, while the nitric oxide group did not.

Moderate sun exposure gives us a dose of good vitamin D, so maybe the sudden shortages of vitamin D everyone is having may be related to the no-sun policy. And vitamin D is also apparently not the only thing the sun does for us. It also gives us extra nitric oxide. By complying with the stern warnings about no sun, we might be denying ourselves – and our kids – the very real benefits of sunshine.

A little sun is good for you? Yep. Like that babies generally love sleeping on their stomachs – and aren’t meant to grow up with flat heads from sleeping on their backs all the time – this one just makes sense. I hope they’ll replicate these results soon and people can start throwing away those 35+ level sunscreens.

 

nitric oxide, stem cells

Heart failure, stem cell & nitric oxide news bytes

Doctors have discovered that one of the medicines routinely given to end-stage heart failure patients to block the kidneys from retaining water may also be blocking reception of vital signals that tell the heart to beat more strongly. A catch-22 they can now begin to study and hopefully remedy soon.

Mesenchymal stem cells are being used successfully to reduce muscuoskeletal pain in patients with arthritic knees, regardless of past-65 age or weight. It’s also being used for “such conditions as degenerative disc disease, desiccated discs, spinal stenosis (both central and foraminal), facet arthrosis, sacroiliac joint syndrome, osteoarthritis of any joint, and sports/overuse injuries.” Exciting news. Can’t wait ’til this approach becomes a best practice for every osteo doc.  Imagine potentially being able to skip that hip replacement!

We all know that breathing in traffic pollution can damage lungs. Now, in a study with rats, researchers have found the effect of breathing in smoke from combustion increased iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) and other factors and resulted in damage to the olfactory bulb – inflammation, permeability and swelling. Hmmm. Wonder if this relates to why so many baby boomers have what seems like permanent excess mucus in their sinuses. Snort of fluticasone, anyone?

BiomedNews

New DNA test detects colorectal cancer earlier

Have you had one? Worse yet, two or more colonoscopies? Although most doctors will put you out for the procedure itself, the test carries its own risks – anesthesia reaction, bleeding from biopsy, perforation of the colon. And the preliminary cleansing ritual is a test of one’s capacity to endure the humiliation of deliberating imbibing nasty-tasting substances for the express purpose of irritating your stomach and bowels.

Now a new DNA test can detect potential colorectal cancers earlier than fecal occult tests alone – and I hope that with negative results, perhaps make some colonoscopies unnecessary. Called the Cologuard test, it detects hemoglobin and mutant DNA in cells sloughed into stool by cancers and adenomatous polyps. The test is so well-thought-of that it achieved a first: approved by the FDA and proposed as a test to be covered by Medicare on the same day.

“…DNA test detected 92% of colon cancers and 42% of advanced adenomas, as compared with 74% and 24% for FIT. The fecal occult blood test did have a higher specificity, correctly ruling out colon lesions 95% of the time versus 87% for the DNA test.

“The CMS proposal calls for coverage of the DNA test once every 3 years for beneficiaries who meet specific criteria: ages 50 to 85, asymptomatic (including negative FIT or guaiac fecal occult blood test), and average risk of colorectal cancer.”

Talk to your doctor about whether this test might be useful for you.

stem cell research, stem cells

Stem cells made from human cells used for eye surgery

A scheme of the generation of induced pluripotent stern (iPS) cells. (1)Isolate and culture donor cells. (2)Transfect stern cell-associated genes into the cells by viral vectors. Red cells indicate the cells expressing the exogenous genes. (3)Harvest and culture the cells according to ES cell culture, using mitotically inactivated feeder cells (lightgray). (4)A small subset of the transfected cells become iPS cells and generate ES-like colonies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 70-year-old Japanese woman with a debilitating eye disease (macular degeneration) has just received the first implant of stem cells created from her own cells. Called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), these can become any type of cell in the body, obviating the moral debate about embryonic stem cells and promising to help the body just as effectively to regenerate tissue – without fear of rejection.

This pilot study that will be done with six patients and include regular monitoring for a year after each procedure. Safety testing for rejection and possible tumor formation was conducted with mice and monkeys before the human pilot.

At last, a decisive step in breaking the stem cell research field wide open.

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BiomedNews

Poor, non-white, less-educated tend not to get full HPV vaccine protection

Even though the HPV vaccine is said to be extremely effective, almost 40% of young women who start the three-dose inoculation program never complete the series, according to results published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (HV&I).

The study found that minority backgrounds, low income, and low education were associated with non-completion. Why? A team of researchers, led by Dr. Abbey Berenson from the University of Texas Medical Branch, studied the possible reasons using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a cross-sectional telephone health survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Based on data from 2008-2010, about 25% of the 2,700 respondents, who ranged in age from 18-26, initiated HPV vaccination. While being poor, less-educated and non-white were strong negative influences, a predictor for higher vaccine series completion was whether the woman had had a routine medical check-up during the previous year.

HPV vaccine is said to be a highly effective vaccines, and one of only two vaccines (along with hepatitis B) that have been shown to prevent an infection that can result in cancer, as well as morbidity and mortality. HPV vaccines Cervarix (types 16 and 18) and Gardasil (types 6, 11, 16 and 18) are recommended for girls 11-12 years of age and may be given from age 9-26. Some evidence says they are effective in protecting against precancerous lesions and genital warts and are even effective for men.

The hope is that knowing why the vaccine series is not being completed will help health authorities address the issues and increase the rate of completed vaccinations. And this study’s findings may have applicability for many other preventive health measures.

But the evidence is not universally favorable for the efficacy and safety of HPV vaccinations. So do your own research before deciding.

* Read the full OPEN ACCESS article online:
https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/vaccines/article/29633/?nocache=1453069716 *Note: Landes Bioscience is now part of the Taylor & Francis Group, pubishers of this information.

 

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atrial fibrillation, stem cells

Sex hormones may predict sudden cardiac arrest (not heart attack)

A "street defibrillator". Having a c...
A “street defibrillator”. Having a cardiac arrest in the “heart of Monaco” could be less problematic. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There appears to be a relationship between levels of sex hormones in the blood, for both men and women, may be related to occurrence of the nearly-always-fatal sudden cardiac arrest – which is different from myocardial infarction (“heart attack”) in people who have blockages in their arteries. Sudden cardiac arrest has to do with faulty electrical signals in the heart. Think about it. Your heart beats about 100,000 times in one day and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. The heart is a muscle that has to have stimulation to do its work, and that’s where the electrical signals come in. In atrial fibrillation the signals come irregularly and often too fast. But meds can do a good job of controlling this condition and thus lowering the risk of stroke. In sudden cardiac arrest they go out of whack so suddenly and severely that immediate death nearly always occurs. A recent study measured levels of male sex hormone testosterone in men and female sex hormone extradiol in both women and men who died of sudden cardiac arrest versus those who didn’t. The levels were strikingly higher in the deceased. This study promises potential for earlier detection – a much-desired goal that will allow docs to begin devising ways to treat this random-seeming fatal condition.

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nanotechnology

Scanning for nanoprobes may cut brain tumor recurrence

English: Histology specimen of a glioblastoma ...
English: Histology specimen of a glioblastoma showing abundant mitotic activity of the tumor cells (HE stain) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A new nanotech laser-like solution may help surgeons  more completely remove brain tumors, especially those called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Instead of guessing which cells are cancerous, this new scanner can identify them for sure so that only and hopefully all the tumor cells are surgically removed.

The method, reported in the journal ACS Nano, has been developed using mouse brains and could one day vastly improve the outlook for human patients.

The day before surgery was to take place, researchers injected “Raman nanoprobes” into a  in a mouse model that mimics human GBM. The nanoprobes headed right to tumor cells and avoided ordinary brain cells. Then the researchers used a handheld device similar to a laser pointer that allows them to identify and remove all malignant cells in the rodents’ brains.

Some steps of this procedure have already made it to human testing for other purposes. So researchers hope this process will move quickly into clinical trials. And they hope eventually to use the device to treat other types of brain cancer.

gene therapy, stem cell research

Stem cells repair older muscle, gene changes cells to restore heart rate

Mouse embryonic stem cells. More lab photos
Mouse embryonic stem cells. More lab photos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Can’t keep up with all the exciting research going on with stem cells and gene therapy. I imagine many of the researchers might feel a little like a kid who just discovered clay – and found you can do almost anything with it.

First up is a project in which researchers identified why older creatures can take so long to recover from muscle injuries. They found that muscle stem cells in mice were not dividing and renewing themselves the way younger stem cells do.

So they found a way to reinvigorate the murine stem cells by blocking a substance known as p38 MAP kinase that appears to be critical in slowing stem cell division. The growing medium, soft hydrogel, is critical to the newly invigorated cells maintaining their “stemness.” They then injected the revunated stem cells into damaged muscles of elderly (two years old – about the same as 80 in humans) mice and found the muscles began substantially repairing themselves.

Next up, pigs who were suffering from heart block (their heart rate was too slow) were injected with a human gene into a tiny area of the pumping heart that allowed researchers to reprogram “heart muscle cells into a type of cell that emits electrical impulses to drive the beating heart.” The pigs’ heart rates were restored to normal for two weeks.

The hope is that these “biological pacemaker” cells will one day replace the devices we now insert into bodies that must have batteries replaced every 8 to 10 years. Read more about pacemaker gene therapy here.

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