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UCI launches effort to develop patient-specific stem cell lines
May 15, 2007UC Irvine neurobiologist Hans Keirstead and his research team today launched a project to develop stem cell lines that genetically match human patients. These lines would allow scientists to better study conditions ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease, and they would provide the basis for potential patient-specific stem cell treatments.
Keirstead will use a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in which a patient's DNA is transplanted into a donated unfertilized egg cell in order to generate stem cell lines with the same genetic makeup of the patient. These lines have tremendous therapy potential because the human immune system is less likely to attack genetically identical cells. Only a few laboratories in the world are attempting this technique in human stem cell research and, thus far, no human stem cell lines have been derived using this method.
"This technique holds tremendous promise to advance our knowledge of stem cells and their potential to cure disease," said Keirstead, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology and co-director of UCI's Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. "I am excited to embark on this line of research and look forward to the day when patient-specific stem cells are utilized to treat people suffering from debilitating injuries and health conditions."
This project received approval May 11 from UCI's Institutional Review Board, which under federal regulation reviews all proposed studies involving human tissue. The Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee at UCI also has reviewed the project and will ensure that experiments involving embryonic stem cells serve important research goals and are conducted according to the highest ethical standards.
UCI has built a cutting-edge workstation that is custom-designed for SCNT experiments. Designed by Gabriel Nistor, a scientist in Keirstead's laboratory, the quarter-million dollar system housed at the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center will allow scientists to dissect single cells using lasers, manipulate cells using robotic instruments, and control the climate in the work area. Nistor collaborated with scientists at West Coast Fertility Centers' Embryology Laboratory to design the system. From this Orange County medical practice, Keirstead plans to obtain donated egg cells for his SCNT research.
Stem cells are the "master" cells that give rise to each of the specialized cells within the human body. During organ and tissue development, these cells transform into a particular specialized cell, such as a heart cell or a liver cell, when prompted by their environment or by their internal genetic programming. If researchers can control the processes directing stem cell transformation, they may one day be able to use these cells as a source of healthy replacement cells for diseased or injured tissues.
Keirstead is a pioneer in the use of human embryonic stem cells in the study of spinal cord injuries. Keirstead's laboratory was the first in the world to develop a method to restrict human embryonic stem cells so they generate large amounts of only one cell type in high purity. That type of cell, an oligodendrocyte, insulates connections in the spinal cord, allowing them to conduct electricity.
University of California, Irvine
This project received approval May 11 from UCI's Institutional Review Board, which under federal regulation reviews all proposed studies involving human tissue. The Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee at UCI also has reviewed the project and will ensure that experiments involving embryonic stem cells serve important research goals and are conducted according to the highest ethical standards.
UCI has built a cutting-edge workstation that is custom-designed for SCNT experiments. Designed by Gabriel Nistor, a scientist in Keirstead's laboratory, the quarter-million dollar system housed at the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center will allow scientists to dissect single cells using lasers, manipulate cells using robotic instruments, and control the climate in the work area. Nistor collaborated with scientists at West Coast Fertility Centers' Embryology Laboratory to design the system. From this Orange County medical practice, Keirstead plans to obtain donated egg cells for his SCNT research.
Stem cells are the "master" cells that give rise to each of the specialized cells within the human body. During organ and tissue development, these cells transform into a particular specialized cell, such as a heart cell or a liver cell, when prompted by their environment or by their internal genetic programming. If researchers can control the processes directing stem cell transformation, they may one day be able to use these cells as a source of healthy replacement cells for diseased or injured tissues.
Keirstead is a pioneer in the use of human embryonic stem cells in the study of spinal cord injuries. Keirstead's laboratory was the first in the world to develop a method to restrict human embryonic stem cells so they generate large amounts of only one cell type in high purity. That type of cell, an oligodendrocyte, insulates connections in the spinal cord, allowing them to conduct electricity.
University of California, Irvine
Stem Cell Current Events and Stem Cell News RSSNew discovery about the formation of new brain cells
The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through the brain tissue, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy published in the journal Stem Cells.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
U of M researchers find 2 units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning.
Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.
Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug
Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed.
UCI embryonic stem cell therapy restores walking ability in rats with neck injuries
The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
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