Treating Asthma with Stem Cells | Technology Networks – Technology Networks

A study led by scientists at Monash University has shown that a new therapy developed through stem cell technology holds promise as a treatment for chronic asthma.

The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) scientists provided the experimental expertise to test Cynata Therapeutics induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a model of experimental asthma. Induced pluripotent stem cells are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells; they have the ability to be differentiated into a variety of tissue types and, in this case, MSCs that can regenerate damaged lung tissue.

Lead researchers Associate Professor Chrishan Samuel and Dr Simon Royce tested the efficacy of the MSCs on three key components of asthma in a preclinical model of chronic allergic airways disease: inflammation; airway remodeling (structural changes that occur in lungs as a result of prolonged inflammation); and airway hyperresponsiveness (the clinical symptom of asthma).

The study, published in the FASEB Journal, found that the MSCs could effectively reduce inflammation, reversed signs of airway remodelling and completely normalised airway/lung fibrosis and airway hyperresponsiveness, particularly when delivered intranasally.

It concluded that they may provide a novel stand-alone therapy or an adjunct therapy for groups of asthma sufferers who do not respond to current (corticosteroid) therapy.

Most importantly, what we found was you can treat fibrosis (hardening or scarring of the lung) very effectively, said Associate Professor Samuel, who heads the Monash BDIs Fibrosis Laboratory.

When weve tested other types of stem cells they havent been able to fully reverse scarring and lung dysfunction associated with asthma weve had to combine them with anti-scarring drugs to achieve that. These cells were remarkable on their own as they were able to effectively reverse the scarring that contributes to lung dysfunction and difficulty in breathing, he said.

One in nine - or around 2.5 million- Australians have asthma.

Further research will be conducted to test the MSCs in combination with, or compared to a clinically-used corticosteroid. Clinical trials using the cells as a novel target for asthma are then envisaged.

Cynata Therapeutics Limited is an Australian clinical-stage stem cell and regenerative medicine company developing therapies based on its proprietary Cymerus stem cell technology platform.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by Monash University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Reference:

Royce, S. G., Rele, S., Broughton, B. R., Kelly, K., & Samuel, C. S. (2017). Intranasal administration of mesenchymoangioblast-derived mesenchymal stem cells abrogates airway fibrosis and airway hyperresponsiveness associated with chronic allergic airways disease. The FASEB Journal. doi:10.1096/fj.201700178r

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Evotec in neurology iPSC drug discovery collaboration with stem-cell specialist Censo – FierceBiotech

Evotec has reached a collaboration with Censo Biotechnologies, using the latters patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to expand its platform for drug discovery.

Scientists get iPSCs by reprograming human adult somatic cells to make them resemble embryonic stem cells, which can become any cell type of the body. For this alliance, Censo will use its donors sourcing and cell reprograming technologies to create a bespoke library of hundreds of patient-derived iPS cell lines, and Evotec will use them for target validation, drug screening, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics analyses.

These stem cell-like cells created from people suffering from a disease allow researchers to replicate or mimic the disease ex vivo under lab conditions. This approach is particularly helpful for understanding of the mechanism of diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. The current contract between Evotec and Censo, with an initial two-year term, will first focus on central nervous system diseases, an area that both companies excel in.

RELATED:Axiogenesis in stem cell collab with ion channel expert Metrion

The Hamburg, Germany-based Evotec has been involved in neurological research for over two decades, having taken part in the discovery process of about a dozen preclinical candidates. The CROs expertise spans some key target classes such as enzymes, GPCRs and ion channels, and in therapeutic areas of neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation, among others.

Censo is the product of a 2016 merger between Roslin Cellab and Roslin Cell Sciencestwo spinouts from the Roslin Institute both focused on using stem cells for drug discovery. Operating from its Edinburgh and Cambridge facilities in the U.K., Censo can generate iPSCs from large cohorts of samples for drug researches, and usually partner with other companies for assay development.

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Evotec in neurology iPSC drug discovery collaboration with stem-cell specialist Censo - FierceBiotech

The Stem Cell Revolution – Seeking Alpha

By Manisha Samy, ARK analyst

Discovered nearly thirty years ago in 1988[1], stem cell technology has failed to transform the field of regenerative medicine until now. After delivering only one treatment during three decades of development, stem cell technology could finally become the all-purpose tool for repairing the body, thanks to rapid and precise genome editing techniques such as CRISPR and TALENs. Several obstacles in stem cell technology- high costs, safety concerns, and bioethical considerations are beginning to fall away. In particular, the introduction of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) eliminated many of the initial bioethical concerns stirred by the the source of stem cells. Now, advances in genome-editing is accelerating the pace of progress.

Stem cells exist in a state of possibility. Two key markers of stem cells are 1) the ability to self-renew and 2). The ability to become any specialized cell. Broadly speaking, a stem cell can evolve into any of the ~200 specialized human cell types, as illustrated in Figure 1. Directing stem cells to become any one of the 200 cell types has proven challenging.

Moreover, before the introduction of iPSCs, which are derived from adult cells, most human stem cells were sourced from human embryos or cord blood. The political and ethical controversies surrounding embryonic research curtailed stem cell funding. As a result, after a quarter century of research, bone marrow transplantation is the only FDA-approved stem cell application in the United States.

Figure 1

Breakthroughs in cheap, rapid genome-editing have re-invogored momentum in stem cell research. As shown in Figure 2, the number of publications on PubMed mentioning both stem cells and gene-editing hit a tipping point upon the discovery of CRISPR in 2012, three years after the first instance of precise TALENs-based genome-editing in human cells. Based on the current trajectory, ARK estimates that the number of scientific publications including both genome-editing and stem cells will approach 300 this year, accounting for nearly 20% of the total number of publications.

Figure 2

As illustrated in Figure 3, while the discovery of iPSC cells in 2006 boosted stem cell research noticeably beginning in 2008, the introduction of CRISPR in 2012 has further catapulted the stem cell field, with combined gene-editing and stem cell publications taking share.

Figure 3

Why Is The Addition of Gene-Editing So Important to Stem Cell Research and Therapy?

Figure 4

Ultimately, CRISPR edited iPSCs should unlock the code to human disease at a cellular level. Three public CRISPR companies are in a good position for the impending stem cell revolution. Editas Medicine (EDIT) signed a stem cell pact with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Biogen (BIIB) for next-gen stem-cell therapies; CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) CRSP),+Casebia+Therapeutics+Sign+Commercial+License+Agreement+to+MaxCyte/12664463.html" rel="nofollow">licensed a CRISPR delivery mechanism for blood stem cells and has formed a CRISPR joint venture with Bayer (BAYZF); and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) has partnered with biotech giant Novartis NVS to focus on stem-cell based therapies. These companies, among others, finally might unleash the limitless possibilities that stem cells once promised in regenerative medicine, extending human life spans considerably.

Notes

[1] The Weissman Lab at Stanford University first isolated hematopoietic (blood) stem cells from mice bone marrow in 1988; it would be another decade before human stem cells were isolated.

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The Stem Cell Revolution - Seeking Alpha