For the first time, researchers have developed a way to coax pluripotent stem cells into a specific type of mature lung cell called “alveolar epithelial type II cells” (AEC2s) and to correct a mutant gene whose dysfunction in these cells is known to cause respiratory distress in infants. The findings, which appear in Cell Stem Cell,...
Category: <span>Stem Cell Therapy</span>
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Stem cells could offer hope for patients with lung damage from COPD and asthma
Stem cell therapy could treat damaged lung cells (bottom right). Early stage trials have shown promise for a cell-based therapy for treating lung tissue damaged by respiratory diseases. In a collaboration between Imperial College London and Hong Kong University (HKU), scientists have shown that the stem cells can reduce some of the damage seen in human lung...
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A new role for insulin as a vital factor in maintaining stem cells
New research conducted at the stem cell centre, DanStem, at the University of Copenhagen shows that insulin is a key determinant of embryonic stem cell potency in mammals New research conducted at the stem cell centre, DanStem, at the University of Copenhagen shows that insulin is a key determinant of embryonic stem cell potency in...
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Production of key diabetes cells can be improved
Beta cells release insulin in your blood, but when you suffer from Type 1 diabetes, you hardly have any of them left in your body. This is because the immune system attacks the beta cells. The role of insulin is to reduce and regulate the blood sugar level when it is too high. People with...
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A ‘social control’ system guarantees embryonic stem cell purity
The CNIC research team has devised a novel image analysis tool that allows groups of pluripotent cells to be tracked according to the level of Myc in each cell A sophisticated system of ‘social control’ operating between neighboring cells allows embryos to protect the purity of their pluripotent cell population, which is able to generate...
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Antibodies prove better at reprogramming skin cells into stem cells
Stem cells are the blank slate on which all the specialized cells in our bodies are built, and finding ways to revert adult cells back to that stage can help fight a whole range of illnesses. A breakthrough came about 10 years ago when researchers discovered that skin cells could be “reprogrammed” into stem cells...
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Magnetic cellular Legos for the regenerative medicine of the future
By incorporating magnetic nanoparticles in cells and developing a system using miniaturized magnets, researchers at the Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (CNRS/Université Paris Diderot) and collaborators have created cellular magnetic Legos. They were able to aggregate cells using only magnets and without an external supporting matrix. The cells then formed a tissue that can be...
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Does brain tissue regeneration depend on maturity of stem cells used for transplantation?
New research has shown that the success of transplanting stem cells into the brain to regenerate tissue damaged by stroke may depend on the maturity of the neuronal precursor cells used for transplantation. A study demonstrating the significant impact of human neuronal precursor cell maturity on cell survival after transplantation into stroke-injured rate brains is...
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Researchers point way to improved stem cell transplantation therapies
Researchers in Germany have demonstrated that hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants can be improved by treatments that temporarily prevent the stem cells from dying. The approach, which is described in a paper to be published September 7 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, could allow those in need of such transplants, including leukemia and lymphoma patients,...
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The protein TAZ sends ‘mixed signals’ to stem cells
IMAGE: THE PROTEIN TAZ (GREEN) IN THE CYTOPLASM (THE REGION OUTSIDE OF THE NUCLEI, BLUE) PROMOTES THE SELF-RENEWAL OF HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS. Just as beauty exists in the eye of the beholder, a signal depends upon the interpretation of the receiver. According to new USC research published in Stem Cell Reports, a protein called TAZ...