Stem Cells in the News - April 2017

We have captured this month's most interesting, innovative, and maybe some of the strangest examples of stem cells in the news from around the world.

New Blood Stem Cells Identified in Mice Lungs - Nature
Scientists at UCSF have identified a previously unknown pool of blood stem cells in the lungs. These cells are capable of restoring blood production when stem cells in the bone marrow are depleted. This study was conducted in mice but has potential human application in lung transplantation success and thrombocytopenia.

Plants Lend a Hand and Reduce Costs in Stem Cell Scaffolding - University of Wisconsin - Madison
Researchers at the UW - Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center have utilized plants as an inexpensive technology to create structure for stem cell scaffolds. This new cellulose-dependent method is cheap, pliable, renewable, and easy to mass produce. The researchers use the porosity and ridged cellulose to provide the cells strength, surface area, and communication. To make this story even cooler, the plants they have used can be found in your backyard, including: parsley, spinach, summer lilac, and bamboo!

Unapproved Stem Cell Treatment Leaves Women Blind - National Public Radio
Three elderly women were blinded from participating in an unapproved stem cell treatment for macular degeneration. This incident is triggering a renewed call for the FDA to clamp down on the hundreds of clinics selling unapproved stem cell treatments.

Identification of an Immature Embryonic Stem Cell - Cell Stem Cell
A new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell has identified markers for a more immature embryonic stem cell (ESC) phenotype. These immature ESCs may make it easier to create cells that have traditionally been difficult to differentiate using 'classical' stem cells.

Biodegradable Spinal Scaffold Study Expands for Acute Injury - InVivo Therapeutics
InVivo Therapeutics have announced expanded enrollment in their INSPIRE Study. This study focuses on the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold^™, their biodegradable implant for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury. The study has already shown success in 13 patients. Learn more about the implant and technology from their latest press release.

Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapy for Breast Cancers - EMBO Molecular Medicine
Researchers from Milan, Italy recently published a paper in EMBO Molecular Medicine demonstrating the inhibitor, Nutlin-3, can inhibit the expansion of numb-deficient breast cancer stem cells (CSCs). This proof-of-concept paper paves the way for future research using this inhibitor as a therapy.

iPSC Suicide Switch Success Study - The Scientist
Researchers in Japan have successfully removed undifferentiated cells using a lentiviral-integrated suicide gene, iCaspase9, after administration in a mouse model. These results have extreme importance in the safety of regenerative or transplant therapies.

iPSC Study Uncovering Similarities and Differences in Children Suffering from Neurological Disease – GEN News
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have successfully created iPSCs from children suffering from Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD). These cells will be used as a new platform for researchers and clinicians to screen medications and guide treatments for this disease.

Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease Moves Forward – PR Newswire
Longeveron, a stem cell research company, has completed enrollment for the first phase of their clinical trial that claims to reduce neuroinflammation using allogenic mesenchymal stem cells (they coined the term LMSCs). They suggest this treatment can halt disease progression and may improve the condition.

A Preview of ISSCR 2017: A Focus on Research to the Clinic - ISSCR
The ISSCR President, Sally Temple, has penned an open letter addressing the focus of this year's upcoming ISSCR Annual Meeting in Boston. A push to the clinic has been a large topic in the past few years and this year's meeting will have an even stronger message teaching and analyzing the race to the clinic for numerous stem cell therapies. Find out which sessions she is most excited about in her short letter.