Biology News Net - Stem Cell Research

Exercise triggers stem cells in muscle

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:29:21 -0500

Mesenchymal stem cells (green) accumulate in skeletal muscle following exercise and release growth factors to spur regeneration. University of Illinois researchers determined that an adult stem cell present in muscle is responsive to exercise, a discovery that may provide a link between exercise and muscle health. The findings could lead to new therapeutic techniques using these cells to rehabilitate injured muscle and prevent or restore muscle loss with age.

Saving the snow leopard with stem cells

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:22:02 -0500

The survival of the endangered snow leopard is looking promising thanks to Monash University scientists who have, for the first time, produced embryonic stem-like cells from the tissue of an adult leopard.

Pig-induced pluripotent stem cells may be safer than previously thought

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:48:21 -0500

Pig stem cell research conducted by two animal scientists at the University of Georgia reveals a better way to determine the safety of future stem cell therapies than rodent-based models.

Bush embryonic stem cell lines different from newly derived cell lines

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:47:59 -0500

Established human embryonic cell lines, including those approved for federal research funding under former President George W. Bush, are different than newly derived human embryonic stem cell lines, according to a study by UCLA stem cell researchers.

Novel surface triples stem-cell growth in culture

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:18:10 -0500

FINDINGS: By irradiating typical polystyrene lab plates with ultraviolet (UV) waves, Whitehead Institute and MIT scientists have created a surface capable of tripling the number of human embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that can be grown in culture by current methods. Moreover, use of this novel surface eliminates the need for layers of mouse "feeder cells" to support ES- and iPS-cell growth.

Steps towards the use of adult stem cells for gene therapy

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:21:40 -0500

This research, published on Oct. 12 on the Nature review website, provides evidence of a major concept could pave the way for the future use of these stem cells to treat humans, through perspective gene therapies. For several years now, scientists have been able to produce cells with stem cell properties, by using specialized and mature cells from our body, such as skin cells. These 'iPS' stem cells are said to be "pluripotent': they can provide specialized cells, upon demand, with the same gene pool as the original cells. iPS cells represent a potential basis for the exploration of several therapeutic areas, particularly transplants or gene therapy. However, to date research conducted on these cells had not provided proof of their potential in vivo efficiency for the aforementioned types of use.

Stem cells, signaling pathways identified in lung repair

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:27:35 -0500

Researchers at National Jewish Health have identified cells and signaling molecules that trigger the repair of injured lungs. Stijn De Langhe, PhD, and his colleagues report October 10, 2011, online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, that destruction of lung tissue in mice induces smooth muscle cells surrounding the airways to secrete a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10), which induces surviving epithelial cells in the airways to revert to a stem-cell state, proliferate, repair and repopulate the lining of the lungs.

Seeking superior stem cells

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:38:19 -0500

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have today (07/10/2011) announced a new technique to reprogramme human cells, such as skin cells, into stem cells. Their process increases the efficiency of cell reprogramming by one hundred-fold and generates cells of a higher quality at a faster rate.

Stem cells, potential source of cancer-fighting T cells

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:49:07 -0500

Adult stem cells from mice converted to antigen-specific T cells -- the immune cells that fight cancer tumor cells -- show promise in cancer immunotherapy and may lead to a simpler, more efficient way to use the body's immune system to fight cancer, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

Epigenetic changes don't last

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:49:06 -0500

Special enzymes transfer methyl groups to the cytosine building blocks of DNA. A methyl group consists of one carbon atom combined with three associated atoms of hydrogen (CH3). Jean-Baptiste Lamarck would have been delighted: geneticists no longer dismiss out of hand his belief that acquired traits can be passed on to offspring. When Darwin published his book on evolution, Lamarck's theory of transformation went onto the ash heap of history. But in the last decade, we have learned that the environment can after all leave traces in the genomes of animals and plants, in form of so-called epigenetic modifications. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology in Germany have now produced the first comprehensive inventory of spontaneous epigenetic changes. Using Arabidopsis, the workhorse of modern plant genetics, the researchers determined how often and where in the genome epigenetic modifications occur – and how often they disappear again. They found that epigenetic changes are many orders of magnitude more frequent than conventional DNA mutations, but also often short lived. They are therefore probably much less important for long-term evolution than previously thought.