Stem cell research reveals clues to brain disease

The development of new drugs for improving treatment of Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease is a step closer after recent research into how stem cells migrate and form circuits in the brain.

The results from a study by researchers at The University of Aucklands Centre for Brain Research may hold important clues into why there is less plasticity in brains affected by Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease, and links to insulin resistance and diabetes.

The major five-year project to understand how stem cells start and stop migrating in the brain has also helped to unlock the secrets of how stem cells migrate during development and in adulthood.

The study revealed new information on how connectivity between brain cells is improved or worsened, says senior study author, Dr Maurice Curtis who conceived and directed the research. The experiments were carried out at the Centre for Brain Research laboratories by Dr Hector Monzo. Collaborators included a director of the CBR, Distinguished Professor Richard Faull, Dr Thomas Park, Dr Birger Dieriks, Deidre Jansson and Professor Mike Dragunow.

We have begun testing new novel drug compounds that target how polysialic acid is removed from the cell in the hope of improving neuron connectivity, says Dr Curtis.

He explains that stem cells in the brain are immature brain cells that must migrate from their birthplace to a position in the brain where they will connect with other brain cells, turn into adult brain cells (neurons) and become part of the brains circuitry.

Even once the neuron has found its location, the neurons tentacles (or dendrites) need to forage to find other neurons to connect with to form circuits. This would be easy except that in the adult brain the cells are surrounded by a fairly rigid matrix (extracellular matrix) and so migration or foraging becomes almost impossible in this high friction environment.

The way the cell overcomes this friction is by placing large amounts of a special slippery molecule called polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule onto the cell surface, says Dr Curtis. This allows the cell to migrate or forage with only a fraction of the friction it once had and this also reduces the energy requirements of the cell.

Once the cell has migrated to its destination, the slippery coating is removed and the cell becomes locked in place ready to connect with other cells. In the case of the dendritic foraging, the polysialic acid must be removed in order for the dendrite to connect with another cell (synapse formation).

We have known for at least 20 years that this process occurs but despite extensive studies by a number of groups internationally we have been in the dark about what controls this process, he says. Studies in my laboratory have demonstrated what happens to the slippery molecules once the cell no longer needs them.

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Stem cell research reveals clues to brain disease

Stem cell advance in mice boosts prospects for retina treatment

PARIS: Blind mice have been able to see once more in a laboratory exploit that marks a further boost for the fast-moving field of retinal therapy, according to a study published on Sunday.

Scientists in Britain used stem cells -- early-stage, highly versatile cells -- taken from mice embryos, and cultured them in a lab dish so that they differentiated into immature photoreceptors, the light-catching cells in the retina.

Around 200,000 of these cells were then injected into the mice's retinas, some of which integrated smoothly with local cells to restore sight.

The rodents were put through their paces in a water maze and examined by optometry to confirm that they responded to light.

Embryonic stem cells "could in future provide a potentially unlimited supply of health photoreceptors for retinal transplantations to treat blindness in humans," Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) said in a press release.

Photoreceptor loss lies behind degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, also called AMD.

Stem cells have triggered a huge interest and investment on the back of hopes that they can become replacement tissue, grown in a lab dish, for cells damaged by disease or accident.

But the exciting field has to overcome big obstacles.

One is the ability to coax these immature cells into safely becoming the specialised cells that are needed, rather than turn cancerous.

This is where the new work marks a gain, according to lead researcher Robin Ali at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

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Stem cell advance in mice boosts prospects for retina treatment

Stem Cell Orthopedic Applauds Use of Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Injuries

(PRWEB) July 22, 2013

The Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics (IRMO), world-renowned stem cell therapy experts, applauds the use of stem cell therapy for treatment of spinal injuries. In recent times, stem cell therapy has been increasingly sought after to support treatments of various injuries, especially in the sports world. Its use in repairing spinal injuries comes as good news to the thousands of Americans currently living with spinal cord injuries who are seeking the latest in breakthrough medical solutions.

Stem cell therapy is of the most exciting and promising treatments in modern medicine. Inroads are made every day, as the many applications of stem cell treatments become better understood by medical professionals around the world. Experts, like Dr. Joseph Purita of the Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics, have been utilizing stem cell treatments for many years to treat sports injuries.

Recent scientific and technological advancements have made stem cell extraction relatively inexpensive and accessible. Today, medical professionals have unprecedented access to these remarkable cells and are increasingly applying them in new ways to better aid in the bodys repair process. This includes advances in platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP), a process that takes a concentration of a persons own plasma and injects it into areas in need of new growth and tissue repair.

The use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of spinal cord injuries presents probably the biggest challenge yet for proponents of the treatment. Researchers are increasingly using stem cells to hopefully better understand its capabilities. The hope for spinal cord injuries is that one day stem cells can be used to generate new passageways for nerve signals to connect to muscles. The more stem cells are used for treatment in spinal cord injuries, the closer the medical field will be to fulfilling this promise.

Headed by the world-renowned stem cell treatment pioneer, Dr. Purita, the Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics is continually advancing the world of stem cell therapy treatments. They are one of the few orthopedic practices in existence that utilizes stem cell therapy, and PRP therapy, with orthopedic surgery to maximize a patients recovery outcome. As more stem cell treatments are being used to treat spinal injuries, Dr. Purita and his group look forward to seeing what great strides are made in battling the crippling condition in the near future.

About Stem Cell Orthopedic: The Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics (IRMO) is a world-class orthopedic practice and stem cell facility staffed with seasoned board certified orthopedic surgeons. They differ from most orthopedic practices because they offer stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy in conjunction with surgery or as alternative to surgical procedures. They utilize state-of-the-art technology and the latest in stem cell research to best treat their patients. IRMO uses hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which are found circulating in blood, fat, and bone marrow, to help repair the body. They are headed by Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Purita, a world-renowned pioneer in laser orthopedic surgery and graduate of the esteemed Georgetown University Medical School. For more information, visit http://www.stemcellorthopedic.com/ or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

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Stem Cell Orthopedic Applauds Use of Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Injuries

Stem cell company ReNeuron relocates to Wales

Financial assistance from the Government in Wales and the promise of long-term support has played a key role in persuading ReNeuron, a leading clinical stage stem cell business, to make the move from Guildford. The aid forms part of a 33m financing package the company says will transforms its prospects.

The company is raising 25.35m through an over- subscribed placing of just over a billion shares at 2.5p, a 20pc discount on recent trading, to fund therapeutic programmes through trials and development.

Major new investors, including Invesco where chief investment officer Neil Woodford manages extensive medical funds and Abingworth have subscribed to the placing while directors are chipping in 110,000 for 4.4m shares.

Michael Hunt, ReNeuron chief executive, said the fund raising would transform the financial position of the business and its future prospects. The Welsh grant package would enable the company to take control over the manufacture of stem cell therapy candidates as they get closer to market.

Sir Chris Evans, Welsh born serial entrepreneur, a ReNeuron shareholder and chairman of Arthurian Life Sciences which arranged the Welsh funding, has played a key role in persuading ReNeuron to make the switch. He helped the company get off the ground out of his own pocket and is joining the board as a non-executive director.

ReNeuron i s the first company in the world to have been granted permission to run clinical trials of ground breaking technology to treat patients with a stroke. The company is also developing stem cell therapies for other conditions such as critical limb ischaemia, a serious and common side effect of diabetes and blindness causing diseases of the retina.

The investment boost accompanied the release of full year figures showing ReNeuron had revenues of just 17,000 in the year to March 31 and a pre-tax loss of just over 7m.

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Stem cell company ReNeuron relocates to Wales

Melatonin pre-treatment is a factor that impacts stem cell survival after transplantation

Public release date: 22-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. -- When melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, was used as a pre-treatment for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) prior to their transplantation into the brains of laboratory animals to repair damage from stroke, researchers in China found that the stem cells survived longer after transplantation. Previous studies had shown that 80 percent of transplanted MSCs died within 72 hours of transplantation. By contrast, the melatonin pre-treatment "greatly increased" cell survival, said the researchers.

The study appears as an early e-publication for the journal Cell Transplantation, and is now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/ct0998tang

The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland located in the center of the brain, but outside of the bloodbrain barrier. The melatonin it secretes acts as a signal and forms part of the system that regulates the sleepwake cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and lowering body temperature. Melatonin is also known to be a powerful antioxidant and has been used clinically to treat sleep disorders.

In this study, the researchers used a melatonin pre-treatment on MSCs they harvested from the laboratory animals that had been chemically modeled with ischemic brain injury (stroke). Previous studies had shown that MSCs "express" melatonin receptors M1 and M2.

"Mesenchymal cells can be harvested from self-donors (autologous) without ethical concerns," said study co-author Dr. Guo-Yuan Yang of the Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Center at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China. "Studies have shown that MSCs differentiate into various cells and can, upon transplantation, improve functional recovery after ischemic brain injury. In this study we used laboratory rats chemically modeled with stroke and tried to determine if pretreatment with melatonin would promote cell survival."

Researchers transplanted pre-treated MSCs into one group of brain injured rats and also used a control group of animals that received MSCs that were not pre-treated with melatonin.

Study results demonstrated that the melatonin pre-treated MSCs had "enhanced survival under oxidative stimulation by activating the Erk1/2 pathway" (extracellular signal-regulated kinases), a chain of proteins in the cell that communicates a signal from a receptor on the surface of the cell to the DNA in the nucleus of the cell.

"Our study demonstrated increased survival of transplanted MSCs and revealed that the pre-treated MSCs reduced infarct volume and improved neurobehavioral outcomes for at least 14 days," said Dr. Yang.

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Melatonin pre-treatment is a factor that impacts stem cell survival after transplantation

Stem cell advance boost prospects for retina treatment

July 23, 2013

Blind mice have been able to see once more in a laboratory exploit that marks a further boost for the fast-moving field of retinal therapy, according to a study published on Sunday.

Scientists in Britain used stem cells -- early-stage, highly versatile cells -- taken from mice embryos, and cultured them in a lab dish so that they differentiated into immature photoreceptors, the light-catching cells in the retina.

Around 200,000 of these cells were then injected into the mice's retinas, some of which integrated smoothly with local cells to restore sight.

The rodents were put through their paces in a water maze and examined by optometry to confirm that they responded to light.

Embryonic stem cells "could in future provide a potentially unlimited supply of health photoreceptors for retinal transplantations to treat blindness in humans," Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) said in a press release.

Photoreceptor loss lies behind degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, also called AMD.

Stem cells have triggered a huge interest and investment on the back of hopes that they can become replacement tissue, grown in a lab dish, for cells damaged by disease or accident.

But the exciting field has to overcome big obstacles.

One is the ability to coax these immature cells into safely becoming the specialised cells that are needed, rather than turn cancerous.

View post:
Stem cell advance boost prospects for retina treatment

Stem Cell Eye Cells Tested in Mice

Scientists turn embryonic stem cells into photoreceptors that can integrate into a live retina.

Transplanted photoreceptors derived from embryonic stem cells (green) integrate into the damaged retina of an adult mouse and touch the next neuron in the retinal circuit (red).

Scientists in the U.K. have produced rod-like photoreceptors from embryonic stem cells, and successfully transplanted them into the retinas of mice. The work suggests that embryonic stem cells could perhaps one day be used as a treatment for patients who have lost their vision to retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, or other degenerative conditions in which the light-detecting rods and cones of the retina die over time.

Currently, there are few treatment options for these conditions; electronic implanted devices are available for some patients in some countries, but their efficacy is limited (see A Second Artificial Retina Option for the E.U. and What Its Like to See Again with an Artificial Retina).The new work,reported in Nature Biotechnology on Sunday, offers hope for a more effective, comprehensive treatment.

The researchers used a new method for growing embryonic stem cells that enables them to turn into immature eye cells and self-organize into three-dimensional structures similar to those seen in a developing retina (see Growing Eyeballs). Immature light-detecting cells were harvested from this culture and transplanted into the retinas of night-blind mice. There, the cells integrated with the natural cells of the eye and formed synaptic connections. The work did not involve testing how well the mice could see after the cells were implanted.

While this particular technique is probably years away from human trials, embryonic stem cells are already being tested in clinical trials for macular degeneration and Stargardts macular dystrophy. Last week, in fact, Japanese authorities announced that an alternative source of stem cells will soon move into human trials as a treatment for eye disease.The BBC reported that Japan has approved the first clinical trial of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These stem cells are made by reprogramming normal adult cells so that they return to a more embryonic-like state so that they can then be converted into other cell types, such as retinal cells. In the clinical trial, doctors will collect a patients own cells, which will then be used in an experimental treatment for age-related macular degeneration. The trial will start with around six patients.

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Stem Cell Eye Cells Tested in Mice

Stem Cell Treatment for Eye Disease

Scientists turn embryonic stem cells into photoreceptors that can integrate into a live retina.

Transplanted photoreceptors derived from embryonic stem cells (green) integrate into the damaged retina of an adult mouse and touch the next neuron in the retinal circuit (red).

Scientists in the U.K. have produced rod-like photoreceptors from embryonic stem cells, and successfully transplanted them into the retinas of mice. The work suggests that embryonic stem cells could perhaps one day be used as a treatment for patients who have lost their vision to retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, or other degenerative conditions in which the light-detecting rods and cones of the retina die over time.

Currently, there are few treatment options for these conditions; electronic implanted devices are available for some patients in some countries, but their efficacy is limited (see A Second Artificial Retina Option for the E.U. and What Its Like to See Again with an Artificial Retina).The new work,reported in Nature Biotechnology on Sunday, offers hope for a more effective, comprehensive treatment.

The researchers used a new method for growing embryonic stem cells that enables them to turn into immature eye cells and self-organize into three-dimensional structures similar to those seen in a developing retina (see Growing Eyeballs). Immature light-detecting cells were harvested from this culture and transplanted into the retinas of night-blind mice. There, the cells integrated with the natural cells of the eye and formed synaptic connections. The work did not involve testing how well the mice could see after the cells were implanted.

While this particular technique is probably years away from human trials, embryonic stem cells are already being tested in clinical trials for macular degeneration and Stargardts macular dystrophy. Last week, in fact, Japanese authorities announced that an alternative source of stem cells will soon move into human trials as a treatment for eye disease.The BBC reported that Japan has approved the first clinical trial of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These stem cells are made by reprogramming normal adult cells so that they return to a more embryonic-like state so that they can then be converted into other cell types, such as retinal cells. In the clinical trial, doctors will collect a patients own cells, which will then be used in an experimental treatment for age-related macular degeneration. The trial will start with around six patients.

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Stem Cell Treatment for Eye Disease

Stem cell advance boosts prospects for retina treatment

Blind mice have been able to see once more in a laboratory exploit that marks a further boost for the fast-moving field of retinal therapy, according to a study published on Sunday.

Scientists in Britain used stem cells -- early-stage, highly versatile cells -- taken from mice embryos, and cultured them in a lab dish so that they differentiated into immature photoreceptors, the light-catching cells in the retina.

Around 200,000 of these cells were then injected into the mice's retinas, some of which integrated smoothly with local cells to restore sight.

The rodents were put through their paces in a water maze and examined by optometry to confirm that they responded to light.

Embryonic stem cells "could in future provide a potentially unlimited supply of health photoreceptors for retinal transplantations to treat blindness in humans," Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) said in a press release.

Photoreceptor loss lies behind degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, also called AMD.

Stem cells have triggered a huge interest and investment on the back of hopes that they can become replacement tissue, grown in a lab dish, for cells damaged by disease or accident.

But the exciting field has to overcome big obstacles.

One is the ability to coax these immature cells into safely becoming the specialised cells that are needed, rather than turn cancerous.

This is where the new work marks a gain, according to lead researcher Robin Ali at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Read more:
Stem cell advance boosts prospects for retina treatment