Using a next generation sequencing analysis to examine human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) integration sites, researchers from Kumamoto University, the National Institute of Genetics (Japan), and the University of Michigan (USA) have discovered that these ancient retroviruses can undergo retrotransposition (DNA sequence insertion with RNA mediation) into iPS cells.
Tag: Stem Cell

Internationally renowned cancer researcher joins cancer center’s leadership team
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has a new chief science officer and associate director for basic science. Xiao-Jing Wang comes from the University of Colorado Anshutz Medical Campus where she focused on skin as well as head and neck cancers
Double agents: How stomach stem cells change allegiance upon injury
A stomach adult stem cell population can fulfill two distinct functions: either help with digestion under normal conditions or take the lead on injury response.
New link between diet, intestinal stem cells and disease discovered
The intestine is essential for maintaining our energy balance and is a master at reacting quickly to changes in nutrition and nutrient balance.
Businesses selling non-FDA-approved stem cell products grew four-fold in five years, UCI study says
More than four times as many businesses and clinics than were identified in 2016 are selling stem cell products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and lack convincing evidence of safety and efficacy, according to a five-year study conducted by University of California, Irvine Program in Public Health professor of health, society and behavior Leigh Turner. The analysis appears online in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Strict lineage tracing crucial to nerve cell regeneration research, study says
UT Southwestern stem cell scientists find that stringent lineage tracing is crucial for studies of nerve cell regeneration. Their results, which are published in Cell, show that this tracing is far from routine in the field and suggest that earlier studies reporting “striking” regeneration results must be reexamined.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre researchers discover key stem cell dormancy mechanism which could help unlock future cancer treatments
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre researchers have made new findings which provide a broader understanding of how dormant hematopoietic stem cells are activated and could pave the way towards therapeutic treatments for a number of cancers.
Research provides a roadmap to HIV eradication via stem cell therapy
A groundbreaking study found that stem cells reduce the amount of virus causing AIDS, boost the body’s antiviral immunity, and restore the gut’s lymphoid follicles damaged by HIV. It provided a roadmap for multi-pronged HIV eradication strategies.
First time in Thailand – Chula Successfully Uses Stem-cell Transplantation to Treat Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis
April 8, 2021 – The Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine (CU Medi), Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, the Thai Red Cross Society (Chulalongkorn Hospital), in collaboration with the Departments of Hematology, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and Infectious diseases, held a press conference on “Thailand’s first successful treatment of systemic sclerosis patients with pulmonary fibrosis by stem cell transplantation“.
National Eye Institute launches data portal for macular degeneration research
The National Eye Institute (NEI) Data Commons now enables researchers to access data from patients with macular degeneration who participated in the Age-related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2). The database complements newly available stem cell lines created by the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute (NYSCF) from blood cells of AREDS2 study participants.
Potential Target for Treating Many Cancers Found Within GLI1 Gene
Scientists from the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago found that a region within the DNA of the cancer-promoting GLI1 gene is directly responsible for regulating this gene’s expression. These findings, published in the journal Stem Cells, imply that this region within GLI1 could potentially be targeted as cancer treatment, since turning off GLI1 would interrupt excessive cell division characteristic of cancer.

Rush University Medical Center to Hold Screening for Documentary, Feb. 24
Rush University Medical Center will hold a virtual screening and panel discussion of a new documentary about regenerative research that features surgeon and researcher Richard Fessler, MD, PhD.
Scientists Take Important Step Toward Using Retinal Cell Transplants to Treat Blindness
Retinal cells derived from a cadaver human eye survived when transplanted into the eyes of primate models, an important advance in the development of cell therapy to treat blindness, according to a study published on January 14 in Stem Cell Reports.

Girl gets her smile back – and a new jaw – thanks to innovative tissue engineering procedure
Nine-year-old Grace Moss of Laredo, Texas, was facing a daunting prospect. A tumor that had invaded her jaw had been removed, but now the plastic surgeon wanted to remove her fibula – the smaller of the two bones in her lower leg – to use as a graft.

New Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center to Spur Cell Therapies
Cedars-Sinai has launched a center to manufacture the next generation of stem cell and gene therapies that will enable biomedical researchers, government medical programs, commercial entities and others to develop new biologic drugs and propel novel disease discoveries.
Satellite Stem Cells Required for Normal Muscle Response to Exercise
A new study in mice published in the journal Function finds that a lack of satellite cells—stem cells that become muscle cells—alters gene networks needed for muscle adaptation to exercise. Researchers performed RNA sequencing on mice that were exercised by…

Study reveals how smoking worsens COVID-19 infection in the airways
UCLA researchers using a model of airway tissue created from human stem cells have pinpointed how smoking cigarettes causes more severe infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the airways of the lungs.

New research reveals why low oxygen damages the brain
Brain cell dysfunction in low oxygen is, surprisingly, caused by the very same responder system that is intended to be protective, according to a new published study by a team of researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Agricultural Toxicity, Hepatic Effects of Phenobarbital, and More Featured in October 2020 Toxicological Sciences
Toxicological Sciences features leading research biotransformation, toxicokinetics, and pharmacokinetics; computational toxicology and databases; mixtures toxicology; and more in the October 2020 issue.
Researchers Discover Stem Cells in Optic Nerve that Preserve Vision
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have for the first time identified stem cells in the region of the optic nerve, which transmits signals from the eye to the brain. The finding presents a new theory on why the most common form of glaucoma may develop and potential for new therapies.

A simpler way to make sensory hearing cells
USC Stem Cell scientists have pioneered a simpler way to generate the sensory cells of the inner ear. The study was published in the journal eLife.
Discovery in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Could Provide Novel Pathway for New Treatments
Researchers at Mount Sinai have discovered that human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stem cells are dependent on a transcription factor known as RUNX1, potentially providing a new therapeutic target to achieve lasting remissions or even cures for a disease in which medical advances have been limited.

Lab-Grown Miniature Human Livers Successfully Transplanted in Rats
Using skin cells from human volunteers, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have created fully functional mini livers, which they then transplanted into rats. In this proof-of-concept experiment, the lab-made organs survived for four days inside their animal hosts.
Stem Cell Treatments ‘Go Deep’ to Regenerate Sun-Damaged Skin
For a while now, some plastic surgeons have been using stem cells to treat aging, sun-damaged skin. But while they’ve been getting good results, it’s been unclear exactly how these treatments – using adult stem cells harvested from the patient’s own body – work to rejuvenate “photoaged” facial skin.

Image Analysis Technique Provides Better Understanding of Heart Cell Defects
Many patients with heart disease face limited treatment options. Fortunately, stem cell biology has enabled researchers to produce large numbers of cardiomyocytes, which may be used in advanced drug screens and cell-based therapies. However, current image analysis techniques don’t allow researchers to analyze heterogeneous, multidirectional, striated myofibrils typical of immature cells. In the Journal of Applied Physics, researchers showcase an algorithm that combines gradient methods with fast Fourier transforms to quantify myofibril structures in heart cells with considerable accuracy.

UCLA scientists create first roadmap of human skeletal muscle development
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA has developed a first-of-its-kind roadmap of how human skeletal muscle develops, including the formation of muscle stem cells.

University of Miami Treats COVID-19 Patients with MSC Stem Cells
For COVID-19 patients in severe respiratory distress, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine now offers access to mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treatments that may help fight the characteristic inflammation that accompanies the viral infection. On April 5, the…

UCLA scientists receive grants for COVID-19 research from California’s stem cell agency
Three researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received awards to pursue treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency.
Coriell Institute for Medical Research Awarded $8.6 Million Biobanking Contract from National Institute on Aging
The newly awarded $8.6 million funding keeps Coriell in place as the trusted steward of this collection and includes the addition of new innovative products to expand the collection. The NIA Aging Cell Repository was established at Coriell in 1974 and Coriell has continuously managed this unique resource ever since.
Inhalation Therapy Shows Promise Against Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice, Rats
A new study shows that lung stem cell secretions – specifically exosomes and secretomes – delivered via nebulizer, can help repair lung injuries due to multiple types of pulmonary fibrosis in mice and rats.
Mount Sinai Researchers Discover New Approach for Use of Stem Cells to Improve Bone Marrow Transplantation
Mount Sinai researchers have discovered a way to enhance the potency of blood-forming stem cells, potentially opening the door to a new approach for bone marrow transplantation.

UCLA researchers discover new compound that promotes lung health
A molecule identified by UCLA researchers helps maintain a healthy balance of cells in airway and lung tissue. If the compound, so far only studied in isolated human and mouse cells, has the same effect in people, it may lead to new drugs to treat or prevent lung cancer.
Proper heart development all about timing
The University of Chicago Medicine’s Ivan Moskowitz, MD, PhD, and his team are studying why some cells develop into their adult forms more quickly than others, and how issues with that timing can lead to congenital heart disease.

CDI Lab Explores Pathway to Open up Blood Cancer Treatments
The CDI team’s findings could ultimately improve cancer treatments for people of advanced age, like that of adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

Allen Institute for Cell Science Extends Agreement with Coriell Institute for Medical Research
The Allen Institute has extended its contract with the Coriell Institute for Medical Research for the storage and distribution of its Allen Cell Collection, a cutting-edge collection of gene-edited human induced pluripotent stem cell lines. This collection was launched in 2016 with five cell lines, and since has grown to include more than 40 lines. The new agreement will continue this relationship for an additional three years.

Six patients with rare blood disease are doing well after gene therapy clinical trial
UCLA researchers are part of an international team that reported the use of a stem cell gene therapy to treat nine people with the rare, inherited blood disease known as X-linked chronic granulomatous disease, or X-CGD. Six of those patients are now in remission and have stopped other treatments. Before now, people with X-CGD – which causes recurrent infections, prolonged hospitalizations for treatment, and a shortened lifespan – had to rely on bone marrow donations for a chance at remission.

Researchers create accurate model of organ scarring using stem cells in a lab
A team led by Dr. Brigitte Gomperts at UCLA has developed a “scar in a dish” model that uses multiple types of cells derived from human stem cells to closely mimic the progressive scarring that occurs in human organs. The researchers used this model to identify a drug candidate that stopped the progression of and even reversed fibrosis in animal models.
New Mayo Clinic studies to be presented at American Society of Hematology meeting
Mayo Clinic researchers will present findings at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting Dec. 7–10 in Orlando.
New Mayo Clinic studies to be presented include:
DNA analysis identifies elevated risk factor for myeloma in individuals of African ancestry
Study identifies more precise assessment measures for patients newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Researchers develop method to assess cancer-fighting cell therapy’s effectiveness

Researchers identify protein that governs human blood stem cell self-renewal
UCLA scientists have discovered a link between a protein and the ability of human blood stem cells to self-renew. In a study published today in the journal Nature, the team reports that activating the protein causes blood stem cells to self-renew at least twelvefold in laboratory conditions

Stem Cells Don’t Take the Day Off on Thanksgiving
While most of us are enjoying the traditional turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day, employees at Cedars-Sinai will be hand-feeding stem cells their special daily formula, carefully monitoring the incubator temperatures and caring for the cells that may become part of important research that could one day lead to treatments for diseases that have plagued humans for years.
Guarding against a devastating tropical disease
Schistosomiasis is one of the most devastating tropical diseases in the world, second only to malaria in its prevalence. The only treatment currently used is extremely limited in its effectiveness and in who it can help. The Newmark Lab wants to develop something that protects people from being infected in the first place.

‘It’s not about just surviving. It’s about seeing my patients living normally’
Dr. Eugene Chang was 25, recently engaged and halfway through a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency in Vancouver when he started feeling sick. Fatigue, dizziness and nausea took over his normally active lifestyle. Suddenly his bike to work was not so easy.

Three UCLA scientists receive grants totaling more than $18 million
Three researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received awards totaling more than $18 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency.

Tapeworms need to keep their head to regenerate
Scientists show that the location of stem cells is essential in determining tapeworms’ ability to regenerate.

Stem Cells With ‘Dual Identity’ Linked to Loss of Smell From Sinus Inflammation
In experiments with mice and human tissue samples, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that neuronal stem cells in the part of the nose responsible for the sense of smell transform themselves to perpetuate the long-term inflammation in chronic sinusitis.
A Snapshot in Time: Study Captures Fleeting Cell Differences That Can Alter Disease Risk
In cinema and science fiction, one small change in the past can have major, sometimes life-changing effects in the future. Using a series of snapshots, researchers recently captured such so-called “butterfly effects” in heart muscle cell development, and say this…