Archive for the ‘Skin Stem Cells’ Category

ScienceDaily (Feb. 6, 2012) — A University of Minnesota-led research team has proposed a mechanism for the control of whether embryonic stem cells continue to proliferate and stay stem cells, or differentiate into adult cells like brain, liver or skin.

The work has implications in two areas. In cancer treatment, it is desirable to inhibit cell proliferation. But to grow adult stem cells for transplantation to victims of injury or disease, it would be desirable to sustain proliferation until a sufficient number of cells have been produced to make a usable organ or tissue.

The study gives researchers a handle on how those two competing processes might be controlled. It was performed at the university's Hormel Institute in Austin, Minn., using mouse stem cells. The researchers, led by Hormel Institute Executive Director Zigang Dong and Associate Director Ann M. Bode, have published a report in the journal Nature: Structure and Molecular Biology.

"This is breakthrough research and provides the molecular basis for development of regenerative medicine," said Dong. "This research will aid in the development of the next generation of drugs that make repairs and regeneration within the body possible following damage by such factors as cancer, aging, heart disease, diabetes, or paralysis caused by traumatic injury."

The mechanism centers on a protein called Klf4, which is found in embryonic stem cells and whose activities include keeping those cells dividing and proliferating rather than differentiating. That is, Klf4 maintains the character of the stem cells; this process is called self-renewal. The researchers discovered that two enzymes, called ERK1 and ERK2, inactivate Klf; this allows the cells to begin differentiating into adult cells.

The two enzymes are part of a "bucket brigade" of signals that starts when a chemical messenger arrives from outside the embryonic stem cells. Chemical messages are passed to inside the cells, resulting in, among other things, the two enzymes swinging into action.

The researchers also discovered how the enzymes control Klf4. They attach a small molecule--phosphate, consisting of phosphorus and oxygen--to Klf4. This "tag" marks it for destruction by the cellular machinery that recycles proteins.

Further, they found that suppressing the activity of the two enzymes allows the stem cells to maintain their self-renewal and resist differentiation. Taken together, their findings paint a picture of the ERK1 and ERK2 enzymes as major players in deciding the future of embryonic stem cells--and potentially cancer cells, whose rapid growth mirrors the behavior of the stem cells.

Klf4 is one of several factors used to reprogram certain adult skin cells to become a form of stem cells called iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, which behave similarly to embryonic stem cells. Also, many studies have shown that Klf4 can either activate or repress the functioning of genes and, in certain contexts, act as either an oncogene (that promotes cancer) or a tumor suppressor. Given these and their own findings reported here, the Hormel Institute researchers suggest that the self-renewal program of cancer cells might resemble that of embryonic stem cells.

"Although the functions of Klf4 in cancer are controversial, several reports suggest Klf4 is involved in human cancer development," Bode said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Minnesota.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Myoung Ok Kim, Sung-Hyun Kim, Yong-Yeon Cho, Janos Nadas, Chul-Ho Jeong, Ke Yao, Dong Joon Kim, Dong-Hoon Yu, Young-Sam Keum, Kun-Yeong Lee, Zunnan Huang, Ann M Bode, Zigang Dong. ERK1 and ERK2 regulate embryonic stem cell self-renewal through phosphorylation of Klf4. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2217

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Key finding in stem cell self-renewal

SAN FRANCISCO, CA ( Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Stem cells, they could hold the key to the treatment and cure of more than 70 major diseases and conditions. A science  lab is taking stem cell technology another step into the future.

From broken hearts.

"One artery was completely blocked," Elmer Goodman, a heart disease patient, told Ivanhoe.

To severed spines.

"It was just like somebody took a tarp from the bottom of my neck and just peeled it back and took all the feeling from me," John Miksa, who is paralyzed, said.

To damaged brains.

"I was going to be drooling on a bib, in a wheelchair for the rest of my life," Erwin Velbis, a stroke survivor, said.

The answer to heal them all may be found inside a lab.

"We had a major breakthrough," Deepak Srivastava, M.D., from the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said.

Doctor Deepak Srivastava and doctor Sheng Ding are two of the many  minds at Gladstone Institute using not adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells, but your own skin cells to repair bodies from the inside out.

"It means in the future one might be able to create new heart cells, new lung cells, new spinal cord cells, starting with your own cells from your skin," Dr. Srivastava said.

Doctor Srivastava is taking adult skin cells, and turning them into beating heart cells.  It's called direct reprogramming.

"We've been able to create a beating heart cells that used to be on someone's skinwhich is really like science fiction," Dr. Srivastava said.

The same approach could be used to repair spinal cord injuries and practically any other part of the body.

"We've been working on new methods that can convert cells from the skin to brain cells," Sheng Ding, Ph.D., at the Gladstone institute, said.

Doctor Ding has transformed the adult skin cells into neurons that are capable of transmitting brain signals. They hope this could reverse the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and stroke.

"It's the ultimate in personalized medicine," Dr. Srivastava said.

Doctors say because they're using a patient's own skin cells, there's little to no chance of rejection. These skin cells could also be used to test new drugs and each patient's possible response to those drugs.  Allowing doctors to better personalize medicine. MORE

More Information

Click here for additional research on Skin Cells as Stem Cells! Medicine's Next Big Thing

Click here for Ivanhoe's full-length interview with Dr. Deepak Srivastava

If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marsha Hitchcock at mhitchcock@ivanhoe.com

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Skin Cells as Stem Cells! Medicine's Next Big Thing

Washington, Feb 1 (IANS) Scientists have successfully converted mouse skin cells directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, bypassing the stem cell stage, throwing up many new possibilities in the medical world.

This new study is a substantial advance over the previous paper in that it transforms the skin cells into neural precursor cells, as opposed to neurons.

While neural precursor cells can differentiate into neurons, they can also become the two other main cell types in the nervous system: astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group from the Stanford University School of Medicine, showing that mouse and human skin cells can be turned into functional neurons or brain cells.

The multiple successes of the direct conversion method overrides the idea that pluripotency (the ability of stem cells to become nearly any cell) is necessary for a cell to transform from one type to another, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

"We are thrilled about the prospects for potential medical use of these cells," said Marius Wernig, study co-author and assistant professor of pathology and member, Stanford's Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, according to a Stanford statement.

Beside their greater versatility, the newly derived neural precursor cells offer another advantage over neurons because they can be cultivated in large numbers in the lab, a feature critical for their long-term usefulness in transplantation or drug screening.

"We've shown the cells can integrate into a mouse brain and produce a missing protein important for the conduction of electrical signal by the neurons," said Wernig, who co-authored the study with graduate student Ernesto Lujan.

-Indo-Asian News Service

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Some nerve! Now bypass stem cells

Bypassing stem cells, mouse skin cells have been converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the animal's nervous system, according to new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The startling success of this method seems to refute the idea that "pluripotency" -- the ability of stem cells to become nearly any cell in the body -- is necessary for a cell to transform from one cell type to another.

It raises the possibility that embryonic stem cell research, as well as a related technique called "induced pluripotency," could be supplanted by a more direct way of generating cells for therapy or research.

"Not only do these cells appear functional in the laboratory, they also seem to be able to integrate ... in an animal model," said lead author and graduate student Ernesto Lujan.

The study was published online Jan. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The finding implies that it may one day be possible to generate a variety of neural-system cells for transplantation that would perfectly match a human patient.

While much research has been devoted to harnessing the potential of embryonic stem cells, taking those cells from an embryo and then implanting them in a patient could prove difficult because they would not match genetically.

The Stanford team is working to replicate the work with skin cells from adult mice and humans.

But Lujan emphasized that

much more research is needed before any human transplantation experiments could be conducted.

In the meantime, however, the ability to quickly and efficiently generate cells -- grown in mass quantities in the laboratory, and maintained over time -- will be valuable in disease and drug-targeting studies.

Contact Lisa M. Krieger at 408-920-5565.

See the original post here:
Stanford scientists bypass stem cells to create nervous system cells

Sangeeta Bhatia, MIT professor of health sciences and technology and electrical engineering and computer science

Researchers at MIT and their colleagues said they have devised a way to produce liver-like cells from stem cells, a key step in studying why people respond differently to Hepatitis C.        
     
An infectious disease that can cause inflammation and organ failure, Hepatitis C has different effects on different people, but no one is sure why, the researchers said in a press release from MIT. Some people are very susceptible to the infection, while others are resistant.

The researchers said that by studying liver cells from different people in the lab, they may determine how genetic differences produce these varying responses. However, liver cells are hard to get and very difficult to grow in a lab dish because they tend to lose their normal structure and function when removed from the body.

The researchers, from MIT, Rockefeller University and the Medical College of Wisconsin, have come up with a way to produce liver-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are made from body tissues rather than embryos. Those liver-like cells can then be infected with Hepatitis C and help scientists study the varying responses to the infection.

The scientists claim this is the first time an infection has been made in cells derived from iPSCs. Their new technique is described in the Jan. 30 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The development, they said, may also eventually enable personalized medicine, in which doctors could test the effect of different drugs on tissues derived from the patient being treated and then customize therapy for that patient.

The new study is a collaboration between Sangeeta Bhatia, professor of health sciences and technology and electrical engineering and computer science at MIT; Charles Rice, professor of virology at Rockefeller; and Stephen Duncan, professor of human and molecular genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The iPSCs are derived from normal body cells, often skin cells. By turning on certain genes in those cells, the scientists can revert them to an immature state that is identical to embryonic stem cells, which can turn into any cell type. Once the cells become pluripotent, they can be directed to become liver-like cells by turning on genes that control liver development.

The researchers’ goal is to take cells from patients who have unusual reactions to hepatitis C infection, transform them into liver cells and study their genetics to see why people respond as they do. “Hepatitis C virus causes an unusually robust infection in some people, while others are very good at clearing it. It’s not yet known why those differences exist,” Bhatia said in a statement.

Bhatia is a 2009 Mass High Tech Women to Watch honoree.
 

More:
Stem cells may shed light on hepatitis, MIT researchers find

Sixteen years after Dolly the sheep was cloned in Edinburgh, scientists in Scotland have made another startling medical breakthrough.

Researchers at Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine have created brain tissue from patients suffering mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression.

"A patient's neurones can tell us a great deal about the psychological conditions that affect them, but you cannot stick a needle in someone's brain and take out its cells," the center's director, Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, told the Guardian.

"However, we have found a way round that. We can take a skin sample, make stem cells from it and then direct these stem cells to grow into brain cells. Essentially, we are turning a person's skin cells into brain."

The scientists hope that studying these manufactured brain cells will reveal clues to the conditions of patients with mental illnesses—a task that had been challenging in the past.

"It is very difficult to get primary tissue to study until after a patient has died," said the Royal Edinburgh Hospital's Professor Andrew McIntosh, who is collaborating with the center on the project.

"Even then, that tissue is affected by whatever killed them and by the impact of the medication they had been taking for their condition, possibly for several decades. So having access to living brain cells is a significant development for the development of drugs for these conditions," McIntosh said.

If successful, the same methods could be used for other organs, including the liver and heart.

Click here to read more. 

Read the original:
Scientists use skin samples to create human brain cells

30 January 2012 Last updated at 19:13 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Skin cells have been converted directly into cells which develop into the main components of the brain, by researchers studying mice in California.

The experiment, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, skipped the middle "stem cell" stage in the process.

The researchers said they were "thrilled" at the potential medical uses.

Far more tests are needed before the technique could be used on human skin.

Stem cells, which can become any other specialist type of cell from brain to bone, are thought to have huge promise in a range of treatments. Many trials are taking place, such as in stroke patients or specific forms of blindness.

One of the big questions for the field is where to get the cells from. There are ethical concerns around embryonic stem cells and patients would need to take immunosuppressant drugs as any stem cell tissue would not match their own.

An alternative method has been to take skin cells and reprogram them into "induced" stem cells. These could be made from a patient's own cells and then turned into the cell type required, however, the process results in cancer-causing genes being activated.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

We are thrilled about the prospects for potential medical use of these cells”

End Quote Prof Marius Wernig Stanford University School of Medicine Direct approach

The research group, at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, is looking at another option - converting a person's own skin cells into specialist cells, without creating "induced" stem cells. It has already transformed skin cells directly into neurons.

This study created "neural precursor" cells, which can develop into three types of brain cell: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

These precursor cells have the advantage that, once created, they can be grown in a laboratory into very large numbers. This could be critical if the cells were to be used in any therapy.

Brain cells and skin cells contain the same genetic information, however, the genetic code is interpreted differently in each. This is controlled by "transcription factors".

The scientists used a virus to infect skin cells with three transcription factors known to be at high levels in neural precursor cells.

After three weeks about one in 10 of the cells became neural precursor cells.

Lead researcher Prof Marius Wernig said: "We are thrilled about the prospects for potential medical use of these cells.

"We've shown the cells can integrate into a mouse brain and produce a missing protein important for the conduction of electrical signal by the neurons.

"More work needs to be done to generate similar cells from human skin cells and assess their safety and efficacy."

Dr Deepak Srivastava, who has researched converting cells into heart muscle, said the study: "Opens the door to consider new ways to regenerate damaged neurons using cells surrounding the area of injury."

Go here to see the original:
Skin transformed into brain cells

Melbourne, Jan 30 (ANI): In a startling medical breakthrough,
scientists in Scotland have created brain tissue from skin samples of
patients who are suffering from mental illnesses such as
schizophrenia and depression.

The latest achievement was made by researchers at
Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative
Medicine.

"A patient's neurones can tell us a great deal about the
psychological conditions that affect them, but you cannot
stick a needle in someone's brain and take out its cells,"
the Daily Telegraph quoted Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, the
center's director, as telling the Guardian.

"However, we have found a way round that. We can take a skin
sample, make stem cells from it and then direct
these stem cells to grow into brain cells. Essentially, we are
turning a person's skin cells into brain," he stated.

The scientists hope that studying these manufactured brain
cells will reveal clues to the conditions of patients with
mental illnesses - a task that had been challenging in the
past.

"It is very difficult to get primary tissue to study until
after a patient has died," said the Royal Edinburgh Hospital's
Professor Andrew McIntosh, who is collaborating with the
center on the project.

"Even then, that tissue is affected by whatever killed them
and by the impact of the medication they had been taking for
their condition, possibly for several decades. So having
access to living brain cells is a significant development for
the development of drugs for these conditions," McIntosh
added.

If successful, the same methods could be used for other
organs, including the liver and heart. (ANI)

See the rest here:
Human brain cells created from skin samples

Sixteen years after Dolly the sheep was cloned in Edinburgh,
scientists in Scotland have made another startling medical
breakthrough.

Researchers at Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine
have created brain tissue from patients suffering mental
illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression.

"A patient's neurones can tell us a great deal about the
psychological conditions that affect them, but you cannot stick
a needle in someone's brain and take out its cells," the
center's director, Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, told the
Guardian.

"However, we have found a way round that. We can take a skin
sample, make stem cells from it and then direct these stem
cells to grow into brain cells. Essentially, we are turning a
person's skin cells into brain."

The scientists hope that studying these manufactured brain
cells will reveal clues to the conditions of patients with
mental illnesses—a task that had been challenging in the past.

"It is very difficult to get primary tissue to study until
after a patient has died," said the Royal Edinburgh Hospital's
Professor Andrew McIntosh, who is collaborating with the center
on the project.

"Even then, that tissue is affected by whatever killed them and
by the impact of the medication they had been taking for their
condition, possibly for several decades. So having access to
living brain cells is a significant development for the
development of drugs for these conditions," McIntosh said.

If successful, the same methods could be used for other organs,
including the liver and heart.

Click here to read more. 

Read more from the original source:
Scientists use skin samples to create human brain cells

EDINBURGH - Sixteen years after Dolly the sheep was cloned
in Edinburgh, scientists in Scotland have made another
startling medical breakthrough.

Researchers at Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine
have created brain tissue from patients suffering mental
illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression.

"A patient's neurones can tell us a great deal about the
psychological conditions that affect them, but you cannot
stick a needle in someone's brain and take out its cells,"
the center's director, Professor Charles ffrench-Constant,
told the Guardian.

"However, we have found a way round that. We can take a skin
sample, make stem cells from it and then direct these stem
cells to grow into brain cells. Essentially, we are turning a
person's skin cells into brain."

The scientists hope that studying these manufactured brain
cells will reveal clues to the conditions of patients with
mental illnesses - a task that had been challenging in the
past.

"It is very difficult to get primary tissue to study until
after a patient has died," said the Royal Edinburgh
Hospital's Professor Andrew McIntosh, who is collaborating
with the center on the project.

"Even then, that tissue is affected by whatever killed them
and by the impact of the medication they had been taking for
their condition, possibly for several decades. So having
access to living brain cells is a significant development for
the development of drugs for these conditions," McIntosh
said.

If successful, the same methods could be used for other
organs, including the liver and heart.

Continue reading here:
Skin samples to create human brain cells

Celebrated adult stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka will
deliver a lecture, ‘New era of medicine with iPS cells', here
on Monday as part of a three-city lecture series. Prof.
Yamanaka's scientific breakthrough was the creation of
embryonic-like stem cells from adult skin cells.

The lecture by this Japanese physician is the third edition of
The Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series. He
will also deliver it in Chennai on February 1 and New Delhi on
February 3. The lecture series is co-sponsored by Cell Press
and TNQ Books and Journals.

Quantum leap

The stated goal of Prof. Yamanaka's laboratory has been to
generate pluripotent stem cells from human somatic cells. The
ability to re-programme adult cells back into an earlier,
undifferentiated state has helped to reshape the ethical debate
over stem cell research by providing an approach to obtain
pluripotent stem cells that need not be harvested from an
embryo.

Prof. Yamanaka, who was awarded the Albert Lasker Prize in 2009
and the Wolf Prize in 2011, is the director of the Centre for
iPS Cell Research and Application and professor at the
Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University. He
is also a senior investigator at the UCSF-affiliated J. David
Gladstone Institutes and a professor of Anatomy at the
University of California in San Francisco.

Previous lectures

The inaugural speaker of the lecture series was American
biologist David Baltimore, who won the 1975 Nobel. The second
speaker was Australia-born American biological researcher
Elizabeth Blackburn, awarded the 2009 Nobel.

The lecture in Bangalore will commence at 4.30 p.m. at J.N.
Tata Auditorium, National Science Seminar Complex, Indian
Institute of Science, C.V. Raman Road.

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Lecture by stem cell researcher tomorrow

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SECRETS TO PERFECT SKIN for Valentine's Day I Naturesknockout - Video

03-01-2012 20:39 perfectmyskin.com - We often hear this "Build your own dreams before someone else HIRES you to build their dreams!". "Jeunesse", is once again in the forefront of this exploration for youth-enhancing solutions.

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Luminesce Stem Cell Skin Care - Rediscover Your Skin | Rediscover Yourself! - Video

03-01-2012 16:06 Read More @ http://www.BuyTvOffer.com Stem Cell Therapy is a new advanced anti aging skin care cream, that prevents and treats wrinkles. This anti wrinkle cream is specially designed to treat your skin, making fine lines disappear before your very eyes. Similar to the products that are selling for hundreds of dollars or more on some internet auction sites, this smooth revitalizing cream works by using the latest advancements in Dermatology.

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Stem Cell Therapy Cream - Video

15-01-2012 12:18 http://www.SCRxPlasma.Com Welcome to the 21st Century of Modern Medicine. Recent discovery reveals that it is the umbilical cord lining that is the body's greatest source of undifferentiated stem cells. In a single cord skin, billions of ETHICAL epithelial and mesencymal stems cells can be harvested

Excerpt from:
SCRx Skin System. - Video

15-01-2012 00:02 http://www.SCRxPlasma.Com Welcome to the 21st Century of Modern Medicine. Recent discovery reveals that it is the umbilical cord lining that is the body's greatest source of undifferentiated stem cells.

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SCRx Skin Systems.m4v - Video

02-12-2011 14:46 Amazing youthful results using a skin serum derived from Adult Stem Cells

Read the rest here:
Rolling Back the Effects of Aging - Video

30-11-2011 11:56 Results after 4 months on Adult Stem Cell growth factors skin serum

More here:
Looking Younger With Jeunesse - Video

26-11-2011 11:13 Stem cells are the body's repair cells. They have the ability to divide and differentiate into many different types of cells based on where they are needed throughout the body. Stem cells can divide and turn into tissues such as skin, fat, muscle, bone, cartilage, and nerve to name a few.

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Medivet's Stem Cell Therapy Featured on Animal Planets Dogs 101 - Video

26-09-2011 18:57 Lean back and learn in just 3 minutes all benefits of our unique biological health care measure.

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TICEBA presents - Back-up Your Life! - Video

02-12-2011 14:46 Amazing youthful results using a skin serum derived from Adult Stem Cells

Visit link:
Rolling Back the Effects of Aging - Video

30-11-2011 11:56 Results after 4 months on Adult Stem Cell growth factors skin serum

Originally posted here:
Looking Younger With Jeunesse - Video

26-11-2011 11:13 Stem cells are the body's repair cells. They have the ability to divide and differentiate into many different types of cells based on where they are needed throughout the body. Stem cells can divide and turn into tissues such as skin, fat, muscle, bone, cartilage, and nerve to name a few

View post:
Medivet's Stem Cell Therapy Featured on Animal Planets Dogs 101 - Video

26-09-2011 18:57 Lean back and learn in just 3 minutes all benefits of our unique biological health care measure.

See the rest here:
TICEBA presents - Back-up Your Life! - Video

13-08-2011 19:49 In a unique formulation including PhytoCellTec ™ Malus Domestica, Alpha-Hydroxy Acid and ATP Pure Bio-Optimised Hylauronic Acid, these vital ingredients combine to rejuvenate aging skin by activating your skin's own stem cells to promote a healthier, radiant complexion. PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica is a liposomal preparation based on the stem cells of the rare Swiss Uttwiler Spätlauber Apple.

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ATP Skin Firming Serum - Video