NextVolume 13.23 June 18, 2012Previous

Transplantation of an Allogeneic Vein Bioengineered with Autologous Stem Cells: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Investigators report the clinical transplantation of a deceased donor iliac vein graft repopulated with recipient autologous stem cells in a patient with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction. [Lancet]
Abstract | Press Release

Embryonic Stem Cell Potency Fluctuates with Endogenous Retrovirus Activity
Researchers identified a rare transient cell population within mouse embryonic stem and induced pluripotent stem cell cultures that expresses high levels of transcripts found in two-cell embryos in which the blastomeres are totipotent. [Nature]
Abstract | Press Release

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Adult AML Patients with Granulocytic Sarcoma
Investigators assessed the efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the management of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with granulocytic sarcoma. [Leukemia]
Abstract

Specification of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons from Primate Pluripotent Stem Cells
By sequentially applying sonic hedgehog and CHIR99021 to induce the midbrain floor plate progenitors and fibroblast growth factor 8 to promote dopaminergic differentiation in a chemically defined medium, researchers have established a robust system for generation of midbrain dopamine neurons from human and rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. [Stem Cells]
Abstract

ROCK Inhibitor Converts Corneal Endothelial Cells into a Phenotype Capable of Regenerating In Vivo Endothelial Tissue
Using a rabbit corneal endothelial dysfunction model, the transplantation of corneal endothelial cells (CECs) in combination with Y-27632 successfully achieved the recovery of corneal transparency. These results suggest that the selective ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 enables cultivated CEC-based therapy and that the modulation of Rho-ROCK signaling activity serves to enhance cell engraftment for cell-based regenerative medicine. [Am J Pathol]
Abstract | Press Release

Transendocardial Cell Injection Is Not Superior to Intracoronary Infusion in a Porcine Model of Ischemic Cardiomyopathy: A Study on Delivery Efficiency
This randomized study was designed to assess cell delivery efficiency of three clinical relevant strategies: intracoronary and transendocardial using electromechanical mapping guidance compared to surgical delivery in a chronic pig model of ischemic cardiomyopathy. [J Cell Mol Med]
Abstract

Cell Therapy Modulates Expression of Tax1-Binding Protein 1 and Synaptotagmin IV in a Model of Optic Nerve Lesion
Tax1-binding protein 1 (Tax1BP1) and Synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV) transcription and/or expression are differently modulated by optic nerve crush and bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) treatment, and might be related to neuronal damage and cell-therapy effects in the retina. The increased expression of Tax1BP1 in the treated eyes could be involved in the neuroprotective effects of BMMC. [Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci]
Abstract

Smad8/BMP2-Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induce Accelerated Recovery of the Biomechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon
Researchers evaluated whether implantation of Smad8/BMP2-engineered mesenchymal stem cells in a full-thickness defect of the Achilles tendon would induce regeneration of tissue with improved biomechanical properties. [J Orthop Res]
Abstract

PRESS RELEASES

The Myelin Repair Foundation Achieves Phase I Myelin Repair Clinical Trial
The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) announced the achievement of a myelin repair Phase I clinical trial for multiple sclerosis earlier than the foundation’s goal set for 2014. This Phase I clinical trial conducted at Cleveland Clinic will examine the efficacy of a new myelin repair therapeutic pathway with mesenchymal stem cells. [Myelin Repair Foundation]
Press Release

Interim Data from Clinical Trial of ReNeuron’s Stem Cell Therapy for Stroke
ReNeuron announced the presentation of interim data from the PISCES (Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke) clinical trial of its ReN001 stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients. [Press release from ReNeuron Group plc discussing research presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), Yokohama]
Press Release

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Senate Panel Approves $100 Million Boost for NIH in 2013
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $100 million raise for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 2013 fiscal year which begins on 1 October. [Senate Appropriations Committee, United States]
Press Release

Budget Cuts Threaten Japanese Scientists’ Pay
Scientists in Japan are concerned about proposed belt-tightening measures that would decrease many public-sector salaries by up to 10% overnight and, some worry, have a long-term effect on the country’s efforts to maintain an internationally competitive research environment. [Japanese Government, Japan]
Press Release

New Open Access Journal Lets Scientists Publish 'til They Perish
An unusual new open access scientific journal is offering researchers the ultimate publishing flat rate: Pay $259 once and publish as many papers as you want for the rest of your life. The founders of PeerJ, a peer-reviewed biomedical journal unveiled, are aiming to start accepting submissions in August and to publish their first articles in December. [ScienceInsider]
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Osiris Receives Second Approval for Life-Saving Stem Cell Drug; Prochymal Granted Marketing Consent by New Zealand
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced it has received consent from New Zealand to market its first-in-class stem cell therapy Prochymal® (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease in children. With this decision New Zealand joins Canada, which last month became the world’s first internationally recognized regulatory authority to grant approval to a stem cell drug. [Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.]
Press Release

Six New U-M Stem Cell Lines Now Publicly Available to Help Researchers Find Treatments for Disease
Six new human embryonic stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan (U-M) have just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. [University of Michigan Health System]
Press Release

New Company Will Commercialize Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Pioneering Research on Microthread Technology
Called VitaThreads LLC, the new company will build on the pioneering research of founders George Pins and Glenn Gaudette. VitaThreads will produce biopolymer threads and sutures for tissue regeneration, wound healing, and cell therapy applications. [Worcester Polytechnic Institute]
Press Release

BGI, GE Healthcare Team Up on Pioneering Stem Cell Science Projects
General Electric (GE) Healthcare and BGI jointly announced a pioneering multi-year research collaboration in stem cell science. [BGI]
Press Release

SpherIngenics: Georgia Tech Startup Secures Department of Defense Funding for Development of Cell Delivery Technology
Using microbead technology developed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, SpherIngenics is producing protective capsules for the delivery of cell-based therapies. Supported by a broad range of Georgia Tech initiatives, the company recently received a two-year $730,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to continue development of the technology. [Georgia Institute of Technology]
Press Release

JDRF and Novo Nordisk Establish R&D Collaboration in Type 1 Diabetes
To address the underlying autoimmune process that is central to type 1 diabetes, JDRF and Novo Nordisk are partnering to discover and develop novel immunotherapies to prevent, treat, and help cure the disease. [Novo Nordisk A/S]
Press Release

LSU Researchers Receive $370,000 NIH Grant to Pursue Novel Paradigm in Stem Cell Preservation
Louisiana State University (LSU) researchers received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant of $370,000 to pursue a novel line of research in adipose-derived stem cell cryopreservation. This research focuses on the investigation of new protocols and protein expression states that would help stem cell therapy products such as engineered bone implants survive the freezing process required to store and ship these products. [Louisiana State University]
Press Release

$10 Million for Medical Application of Nanotechnology
A $10 million gift from the Querrey Simpson Charitable Foundation will establish a center that will enhance Northwestern University’s global leadership position in regenerative nanomedicine. [Northwestern University]
Press Release

Gladstone Investigator Shinya Yamanaka Receives Millennium Technology Award
This award recognizes Dr. Yamanaka's discovery of a way to turn adult skin cells into cells that act like embryonic stem cells. This discovery has since altered the fields of cell biology and stem cell research, offering new hope for the future of both personalized and regenerative medicine. [The J. David Gladstone Institutes]
Press Release

Shire’s Advanced BioHealing Commits to Developing Regenerative Medicine Campus
Shire plc announced that its Regenerative Medicine business, Advanced BioHealing, Inc., has entered into a lease agreement with BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. which will allow the company to further expand its operational footprint and presence in the San Diego area over the next several years. [Shire plc]
Press Release

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Research Resource for Human Organs and Tissues (U42) (RFA-OD-12-002)
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Notice of Impending Change in Peer Review Criteria and Submission Requirements for NIH Applications Involving Human Embryonic Stem Cells (NOT-OD-12-111)
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Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc No: 2012-14433)
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Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc No: 2012-14434)
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National Cancer Institute; Notice of Meeting (FR Doc No: 2012-14463)
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Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing (FR Doc No: 2012-14703)
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Food and Drug Administration (United States)

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Public Health Service Guideline on Infectious Disease Issues in Xenotransplantation (FR Doc No: 2012-14483)
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Guidance on Informed Consent for In Vitro Diagnostic Device Studies Using Leftover Human Specimens that Are Not Individually Identifiable (FR Doc No: 2012-14228)
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Draft Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors: Considerations when Transferring Clinical Investigation Oversight to Another Institutional Review Board; Availability (FR Doc No: 2012-14295)
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Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

Presentations About the Regulation of Biologicals
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