Stem cells in circulating blood affect cardiovascular health, study finds

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Apr-2014

Contact: Nicanor Moldovan Moldovan.6@osu.edu 614-247-7801 Ohio State University

COLUMBUS, Ohio New research suggests that attempts to isolate an elusive adult stem cell from blood to understand and potentially improve cardiovascular health a task considered possible but very difficult might not be necessary.

Instead, scientists have found that multiple types of cells with primitive characteristics circulating in the blood appear to provide the same benefits expected from a stem cell, including the endothelial progenitor cell that is the subject of hot pursuit.

"There are people who still dream that the prototypical progenitors for several components of the cardiovascular tree will be found and isolated. I decided to focus the analysis on the whole nonpurified cell population the blood as it is," said Nicanor Moldovan, senior author of the study and a research associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University.

"Our method determines the contributions of all blood cells that serve the same function that an endothelial progenitor cell is supposed to. We can detect the presence of those cells and their signatures in a clinical sample without the need to isolate them."

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Stem cells, including the still poorly understood endothelial progenitor cells, are sought-after because they have the potential to transform into many kinds of cells, suggesting that they could be used to replace damaged or missing cells as a treatment for multiple diseases.

By looking at gene activity patterns in blood, Moldovan and colleagues concluded that many cell types circulating throughout the body may protect and repair blood vessels a key to keeping the heart healthy.

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Stem cells in circulating blood affect cardiovascular health, study finds

Stem Cells in Circulating Blood Affect Cardiovascular Health

Released: 4/21/2014 8:55 AM EDT Embargo expired: 4/23/2014 5:00 PM EDT Source Newsroom: Ohio State University Contact Information

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Newswise COLUMBUS, Ohio New research suggests that attempts to isolate an elusive adult stem cell from blood to understand and potentially improve cardiovascular health a task considered possible but very difficult might not be necessary.

Instead, scientists have found that multiple types of cells with primitive characteristics circulating in the blood appear to provide the same benefits expected from a stem cell, including the endothelial progenitor cell that is the subject of hot pursuit.

There are people who still dream that the prototypical progenitors for several components of the cardiovascular tree will be found and isolated. I decided to focus the analysis on the whole nonpurified cell population the blood as it is, said Nicanor Moldovan, senior author of the study and a research associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University.

Our method determines the contributions of all blood cells that serve the same function that an endothelial progenitor cell is supposed to. We can detect the presence of those cells and their signatures in a clinical sample without the need to isolate them.

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Stem cells, including the still poorly understood endothelial progenitor cells, are sought-after because they have the potential to transform into many kinds of cells, suggesting that they could be used to replace damaged or missing cells as a treatment for multiple diseases.

By looking at gene activity patterns in blood, Moldovan and colleagues concluded that many cell types circulating throughout the body may protect and repair blood vessels a key to keeping the heart healthy.

The scientists also found that several types of blood cells retain so-called primitive properties. In this context, primitive is positive because these cells are the first line of defense against an injury and provide a continuous supply of repair tissue either directly or by telling local cells what to do.

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Stem Cells in Circulating Blood Affect Cardiovascular Health

Stem Cell Research – Stem Cell Treatments – Treatments …

COMPARE CORD BLOOD BANKS

Choosing the right stem cell bank for your family is rarely a quick decision. But when you review the facts, you may find it much easier than you expected. Keep Reading >

1. The collection of cord blood can only take place at the time of delivery, and advanced arrangements must be made.

Cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord immediately after a babys birth, but generally before the placenta has been delivered. The moment of delivery is the only opportunity to harvest a newborns stem cells.

2. There is no risk and no pain for the mother or the baby.

The cord blood is taken from the cord once it has been clamped and cut. Collection is safe for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. 3. The body often accepts cord blood stem cells better than those from bone marrow.

Cord blood stem cells have a high rate of engraftment, are more tolerant of HLA mismatches, result in a reduced rate of graft-versus-host disease, and are rarely contaminated with latent viruses.

4. Banked cord blood is readily accessible, and there when you need it.

Matched stem cells, which are necessary for transplant, are difficult to obtain due to strict matching requirements. If your childs cord blood is banked, no time is wasted in the search and matching process required when a transplant is needed. 5. Cells taken from your newborn are collected just once, and last for his or her lifetime.

For example, in the event your child contracts a disease, which must be treated with chemotherapy or radiation, there is a probability of a negative impact on the immune system. While an autologous (self) transplant may not be appropriate for every disease, there could be a benefit in using the preserved stem cells to bolster and repopulate your childs blood and immune system as a result of complications from other treatments.

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Stem Cell Research - Stem Cell Treatments - Treatments ...

A protein required for integrity of induced pluripotent stem cells

Cell reprogramming converts specialised cells such as nerve cells or skin cells towards an embryonic stem cell state. This reversal in the evolutionary development of cells also requires a reversal in the biology of telomeres, the structures that protect the ends of chromosomes; whilst under normal conditions telomeres shorten over time, during cell reprogramming they follow the opposite strategy and increase in length.

A study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports, from the Cell Publishing Group, reveals that the SIRT1 protein is needed to lengthen and maintain telomeres during cell reprogramming. SIRT1 also guarantees the integrity of the genome of stem cells that come out of the cell reprogramming process; these cells are known as iPS cells (induced Pluripotent Stem cells).

The study has been carried out by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre's Telomeres and Telomerase Group, in collaboration with the CNIO's Transgenic Mice Core Unit.

Since the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka first obtained iPS cells from adult tissue in 2006, regenerative medicine has become one of the most exciting and rapidly developing fields in biomedicine. There is a very ambitious aim, given the ability to differentiate iPS cells into any type of cell; this would allow for the regeneration of organs damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.

The nature of iPS cells however is causing intense debate. The latest research shows that chromosome aberrations and DNA damage can accumulate in these cells. "The problem is that we don't know if these cells are really safe," says Mara Luigia De Bonis, a postdoctoral researcher of the Telomeres and Telomerase Group who has done a large part of the work.

In 2009, the same CNIO laboratory discovered that telomeres increase in length during cell reprogramming (Marion et al., Cell Stem Cell, 2009); this increase is important as it allows stem cells to acquire the immortality that characterises them.

One year later, it was demonstrated that the levels of SIRT1 -- a protein belonging to the sirtuin family and that is involved in the maintenance of telomeres, genomic stability and DNA damage response -- are increased in embryonic stem cells. The question CNIO researchers asked was: is SIRT1 involved in cell reprogramming?

SAFER STEM CELLS

Employing mouse models and cell cultures as research tools in which SIRT1 had been removed, the team has discovered that this protein is necessary for reprogramming to occur correctly and safely."We observed cell reprogramming in the absence of SIRT1, but over time the produced iPS cells lengthen telomeres less efficiently and suffer from chromosome aberrations and DNA damage," says De Bonis. "SIRT1 helps iPS cells to remain healthy," she concludes.

The authors describe how this protective effect on iPS cells is, in part, mediated by the cMYC regulator. SIRT1 slows the degradationof cMYC, which results in an increase in telomerase (the enzyme that increases telomere length) in cells.

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A protein required for integrity of induced pluripotent stem cells

Stem Cells: Get Facts on Uses, Types, and Therapies

Stem cell facts Stem cells are primitive cells that have the potential to differentiate, or develop into, a variety of specific cell types. There are different types of stem cells based upon their origin and ability to differentiate. Bone marrow transplantation is an example of a stem cell therapy that is in widespread use. Research is underway to determine whether stem cell therapy may be useful in treating a wide variety of conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury. What are stem cells?

Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into many different or specialized cell types. Stem cells can be thought of as primitive, "unspecialized" cells that are able to divide and become specialized cells of the body such as liver cells, muscle cells, blood cells, and other cells with specific functions. Stem cells are referred to as "undifferentiated" cells because they have not yet committed to a developmental path that will form a specific tissue or organ. The process of changing into a specific cell type is known as differentiation. In some areas of the body, stem cells divide regularly to renew and repair the existing tissue. The bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract are examples areas in which stem cells function to renew and repair tissue.

The best and most readily understood example of a stem cell in humans is that of the fertilized egg, or zygote. A zygote is a single cell that is formed by the union of a sperm and ovum. The sperm and the ovum each carry half of the genetic material required to form a new individual. Once that single cell or zygote starts dividing, it is known as an embryo. One cell becomes two, two become four, four become eight, eight to sixteen, and so on; doubling rapidly until it ultimately creates the entire sophisticated organism. That organism, a person, is an immensely complicated structure consisting of many, many, billions of cells with functions as diverse as those of your eyes, your heart, your immune system, the color of your skin, your brain, etc. All of the specialized cells that make up these body systems are descendants of the original zygote, a stem cell with the potential to ultimately develop into all kinds of body cells. The cells of a zygote are totipotent, meaning that they have the capacity to develop into any type of cell in the body.

The process by which stem cells commit to become differentiated, or specialized, cells is complex and involves the regulation of gene expression. Research is ongoing to further understand the molecular events and controls necessary for stem cells to become specialized cell types.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 1/23/2014

Stem Cells - Experience Question: Please describe your experience with stem cells.

Stem Cells - Umbilical Cord Question: Have you had your child's umbilical cord blood banked? Please share your experience.

Stem Cells - Available Therapies Question: Did you or someone you know have stem cell therapy? Please discuss your experience.

Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Stem Cells: Get Facts on Uses, Types, and Therapies

Lost stem cells are replaced by non-stem cells: Study

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Washington, Apr 18 : A new study has found that when a certain kind of stem cell is killed off experimentally, another group of non-stem cells can come out of retirement to replace them.

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the unexpected phenomenon in the organs that produce sperm in fruit flies.

The discovery sheds light on the tiny "environments" that stem cells occupy in animal bodies and may help explain how stem cells in tumors replenish themselves, the researchers said.

Damage of the kind duplicated in the laboratory occurs naturally after exposure to radiation and perhaps also after ingestion of toxic chemicals such as those used in chemotherapy.

The research group, led by Erika Matunis, Ph.D., a professor of cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been using the fruit fly as a model living system in which to study stem cells in their natural state.

Most stem cell research is done on cells grown in the laboratory, but in real life, stem cells reside in tissues, where they are sequestered in tiny spaces known as niches.

Adult stem cells keep dividing throughout life to make various kinds of cells, like new blood cells and germ cells.

Matunis' group studies such niches in fruit fly testes, the sperm-producing organs shaped like a coiled tube whose end houses a niche. In the niche are three kinds of cells: germ line stem cells, which divide to produce sperm; somatic cyst stem cells, which make a kind of cell that helps the sperm-producing cells out; and hub cells, which make signals that keep the other two kinds of cells going.

The hub cells are not stem cells; they have settled on their final form, incapable of dividing further or changing their function or so everyone thought.

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Lost stem cells are replaced by non-stem cells: Study

Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine | UNMC

Regenerative Medicine encompasses many fields of science and medicine. The image below effectively portrays the scope of Regenerative Medicine; as the umbrella, it covers many fields of research and clinical practice. Stem cell research and therapies continue to enhance the field of Regenerative Medicine and what it offers patients and scientists. Stem cells have and will continue to play a critical role in scientific discoveries through developmental biology and therapeutic applications, however, we should be mindful to not limit our descriptions or thoughts regarding Regenerative Medicine and its capabilities to stem cell research alone. The only constraints placed around it are the ones we set, as those in the field seek to uncover the intricacies of our biological systems.

STEM CELLS

Typically, when the term Regenerative Medicine arises people automatically think about stem cells, particularly, embryonic stem cells. Being that embryonic stem cell research is currently a highly debated topic in both the scientific and political field, the assumption that Regenerative Medicine Research only involves embryonic stem cell research can be narrowing to the field and does not allow one to understand its full potential. While all stem cell work is vital to the advancement of Regenerative Medicine research and therapies, we cannot interchange the two terms as equals. As we learn more about Regenerative Medicine, we must broaden our minds, so as not to limit the vast possibilities that Regenerative Medicine researchers seek to find in the inherent mysteries of our biological systems.

How are stem cells and Regenerative Medicine linked?

As discussed in other portions of this site, Regenerative Medicine is a comprehensive term used to describe the current methods and research employed to revive and/or replace dead or damaged tissue. A portion of Regenerative Medicine research revolves around the use of stem cells, including embryonic, adult, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), however there are many other resources that are utilized in order to carry out the mission of Regenerative Medicine research. These include transplants, biomaterials, scaffolds, machines and electronics, stimulation pathways, drug therapy, and many others. This is thoroughly discussed on the What is Regenerative Medicine? page.

Stem cells have a very important role in Regenerative Medicine Research and have many potential applications. First, because of their role in development and their potential to develop into many different cells types, stem cells are vital to the field of developmental biology. Developmental biologists seek to uncover what genes and pathways are involved in cell differentiation (how cells develop into specific cell types such as liver, skin, or muscle cells) and how these can be manipulated to create new healthy tissues. Second, stem cells can be applied to drug testing and development. New drugs that are developed in Pharma could be safely and effectively tested using differentiated stem cells. As scientists learn more about how stem cells develop to form new tissue they will be able to apply their knowledge in maintaining differentiated cell types that can be used to test particular drugs. This method is already underway in the cancer therapy world, where cancer cells and grown in the laboratory for the purpose of testing anti-tumor and chemotherapeutic drugs. Finally, and of most interest to patients and scientists is the role stem cells will play in Cell-Based Therapy. These therapies will apply the understanding of stem cell development, differentiation, and maintenance to generate new, healthy tissue for diseases needing transplant or replacement of damaged tissue, such as arthritis, Parkinson's disease, type 1 diabetes, and coronary disease. Cell therapies may one day be able to replace organ donation and eliminate the issues that accompany it such as rejection and tissue insufficiency. Although there are still many difficulties surrounding the field of stem cell research and therapy, over the coming decades scientists hope to continue to make discoveries that will enable the potentials of cell-based therapy to become a reality.

Learn more about Stem Cells on UNMC's Stem Cell site.

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Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine | UNMC

Cell Surgical Network Opening in Australia

(PRWEB) April 08, 2014

CELL SURGICAL NETWORK

Originating in California, CSN is the worlds largest cell surgical network and first multidisciplinary Regenerative Medicine group. CSN is collaborating with the Australian Adult Stem Cell Foundation to bring the research network to Australia.

CSN HAS OVER 40 LOCATIONS within the United States and several more worldwide. CSN has recently been launched in Australia with hand selected approved board certified Physicians. The ASCF has played an important role to identifying physicians who are passionate about regenerative and integrated medicine with a strong interest in SVF cell transplants.

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIAN GROUP- Physicians belonging to the CSN network join an international network of Board certified Physicians, creating a multidisciplinary team where they receive training, technology and IP transfer, education and support for physicians and staff, access to IRB approved research protocols, the opportunity to submit their own protocols for IRB approval, website presence, and access to a university quality research database that collects outcomes from all sites.

SVF PROCUREMENT- The CSN SVF isolation system is a completely closed sterile surgical procedure. There are no laboratory requirements (e.g. laminar flow hood or otherwise) avoiding issues of GMP maintenance or possible cross contamination from laboratory handling. Further, the unique double filtration system avoids any risks of Pulmonary Emboli (PE) or problems due to particulate matter. The CSN has over the last 4 years researched and designed equipment that supports new requirements supported by the FDA/TGA. As the CSN system is a closed sterile surgical system it can be done in a doctors office and adheres to FDA/TGA regulations.

IRB STUDIES- Areas of study by the Cell Surgical Network include Orthopedics, Urology, Neurology, Cardiac/Pulmonary, Auto-Immune Diseases, Lichen Sclerosis, Ophthalmology. See http://www.stemcellrevolution.com

JOINING CELL SURGICAL NETWORK - Physicians interested in participating in the Cell Surgical Network please contact Chris Lindholm for more information by emailing clindholm(at)cellsurgicalnetwork(dot)com or phone 800-231-0407.

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Cell Surgical Network Opening in Australia

VIDEO | Ateneo graduate dies after undergoing stem cell therapy

By: Ina Zara, News5 April 7, 2014 9:05 PM

Contributed file photo of Katherine Grace Tan.

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines A cum laude graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University, who was suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma, died last year after undergoing embryonic stem cell therapy that was allegedly administered by Antonia Park, the alternative medicine doctor of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Bernard Tan claimed that Park had promised that within three months, his 23-year-old daughter, Katherine Grace Tan, would be cured of her disease, which according to the doctor was not cancer but just hormonal imbalance.

But after undergoing treatment and strictly following a juice diet, Katherine got weaker and died.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Park, of the Green & Young Health & Wellness Center,admitted that she wasnt licensed to practice in the Philippines.

Records from the theProfessional Regulatory Commission as of August 2013 showed that Park was not on the list of physicians authorized to practice medicine in the country.

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VIDEO | Ateneo graduate dies after undergoing stem cell therapy

Stem cell research in Alabama gets anonymous $1 million boost

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A new organization looking to stimulate stem cell research got a shot in the arm last month with an anonymous $1 million donation.

The Alabama Institute of Medicine wants to use the money to help fund four to five pilot studies which typically cost about $100,000 to $300,000 a piece, said Tory Williams co-founder of the private, nonprofit organization.

On Monday AIM will ask Alabama scientists to begin submitting their applications for funding, a process called a Request For Application (RFA). The applications will be reviewed on a double-blind basis -- meaning the grantee not knowing the reviewer and vice versa.

"We want to raise money for pilot studies aimed at treating such diseases as cancer, diabetes, cardiac, sports injury and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," she said.

She said she feels good about raising their goal of $10 million this year. A longer term goal is to develop a hospital where regenerative medical treatments can be administered.

She said 90 percent of the funds will go toward research. All donations are placed in AIMs scientific trust fund and are recognized as tax- deductible donations.

In 2012 she worked to help pass a law for spinal cord injury research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During that time she saw how scientists were not being encouraged to engage in advanced stem cell research like hESCs -- human embryonic stem cells.

She acknowledged that Alabama has a segment of the population that is opposed to such research on religious grounds but she said she has been amazed by the support.

"Research involving embryos has been controversial," she said. "But over 500,000 embryos are thrown away every year from fertility clinics. It almost like recycling. Take something that is being thrown away every year and treat people dying of these diseases."

Williams was recently featured in a Q&A in the Knoepfer Lab Blog at the University of California-Davis School of Medicine.

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Stem cell research in Alabama gets anonymous $1 million boost