Researchers report on targeting stem cells, trials and translation, emerging drug targets in development and discovery, cutting edge research in stem cell and immune modulation, and adipose-derived stem cell plasticity for regenerative medicine
Putnam Valley, NY. (March 18, 2016) - Studies scheduled to be published in the May 2016 issue of Cell Transplantation (25(5)) were presented in 2015 at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cells and Cancer Research (PPSSC) held in in Hsinchu, Taiwan from April 11-13 of 2015.
The program focused on six research themes: frontier in iPS cells and epigenetics; targeting stem cells: trials and translation, emerging drug targets in development and discovery cutting edge stem cell research and immune modulation, adipose-derived stem cell plasticity for regenerative medicine, and stem cell technology for neurodegenerative diseases.
"This conference provided valuable learning and networking experiences for doctors, physicians, clinical investigators and professional researchers seeking the most up-to-date information, protocols, and products in this emerging field," said Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D.,
Chairman of the 8th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cells and Cancer Research and professor at the Graduate Institute of Immunology and Center for Neuropsychiatry, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. "The conference also provided opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work by oral presentations and poster sessions and exchange ideas with experts in the related field."
Prairie vole iPSCs generated by six factors used to analyze social behaviors
"The prairie vole is a unique animal model for analyzing molecular mechanism of social behavior," said study co-author Dr. Tomokazu Fukada of the Graduate School of Agricultural Science at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. "We attempted to establish high-quality prairie vole-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to determine if they could be useful tools for the genetic analysis of social behavior."
The researchers noted that many of the social behaviors of prairie voles were similar to those of many primates, including humans. They also stated that the generation of high quality iPSCs could aid in creating knock-out and knock-in models based on the pluripotency of the iPSCs. They determined that their newly established prairie vole-derived iPSCs could be "expected to be a useful tool for the analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior patterns."
This study, scheduled to be published in the 25(5) special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation, is freely available on-line as an unedited, early epub, at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-2561_Katayama_et_al
Contact: Dr. Tomokazu Fukuda, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Tsutsumidori Amamaiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 981-8555 Japan
Email: tomofukuda@bio.tohoku.ac.jp
Ph: +81 22-717-8770
Fax: +81 22-717-8773
Citation: Katayama M, Hirayama T, Horie K, Tohru K, Donai K, Takeda S, Nishimori K, Fukuda T. Induced pluripotent stem cells with sex reprogramming factors from Prairie Vole, which is an animal model for social behaviors. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: January 15, 2016.
Melanoma immunotherapy using genetically engineered stem cells
This research reports on the success of genetically engineering induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in vitro to adopt T cell properties. The researchers found that these engineered cells can efficiently suppress melanoma growth. The study results suggest that genetically modified stem cells may be used for immunotherapy or serve as potential "vaccines."
"iPSC-derived cells could serve as an effective alternative to the use of hematopoietic (blood-derived) stem cells since they possess greater differentiation capabilities. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are currently the gold standard as far as pluripotent stem cells are concerned, but iPSC-derived cells may surpass them and overcome the logistical and potential ethical debates associated with ESCs," explained Dr. Jianxun Song of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. "In contrast with ESCs, iPSCs can be easily generated from an adult patient's own somatic cells by transduction of various transcription factors, expanded, and induced to exhibit characteristics nearly identical to those of ESCs."
According to the researchers, mouse iPSC-derived cells were transferred to recipient mice along with several factors and, two weeks later, the test mice were "resistant to melanoma induction."
This study is scheduled to be published in the 25(5) special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation, and is freely available on-line as an unedited, early epub, at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-2562_Haque_et_al
Contact: Jianxun Song, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
Email: jus35@psu.edu
Ph: +1-717-531-0003, ext. 287768
Fax: +1-717-531-4600
Citation: Haque M, Song J, Fino K, Sandhu P, Wang Y, Ni B, Fang D, Song J. Melanoma immunotherapy in mice using genetically engineered pluripotent stem cells. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: January 15, 2016.
Modulated Schwann cells proliferate and migrate, targeting Astn1 to regulate peripheral nerve regeneration
The peripheral nervous system, which is comprised of nerve cells and fibers in the body, has the capacity for self-repair and regeneration, but severe injuries may be beyond that self-repair capability. Clinical intervention for peripheral nerve repair is being carried out and this study seeks a better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying self-repair and regeneration.
"Our data indicated that peripheral nerve injury induced increased expression of miR-sc3, a novel identified microRNA (miRNA)," said study co-author Dr. Xiaosong Gu, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, China. "Overexpression and silencing of miR-sc3 promoted and inhibited Schwann cell proliferation and migration by targeting astrotactin 1 (Astn1), a documented receptor for neuronal migration. This knowledge can contribute to a better understanding of the biological processes that occur following peripheral nerve injury."
This study is scheduled to be published in the 25(5) special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation, and is freely available on-line as an unedited, early epub, at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-2565_Yi_et_al
Contact: Prof. Xiaosong Gu, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, 19 Qixiu Road, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
Email: nervegu@ntu.edu.cn
Ph: +086-513-85051801
Fax: +086-513-8551 1585
Citation: Yi S, Wang S, Zhao Q, Yao C, Gu Y, Liu J, Gu X, Li S. miR-sc3, a novel miRNA, promoted Schwann cell proliferation and migration by targeting Astn1. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: January 18, 2016.
Rodent sciatic nerve defects repaired by mononuclear cells from bone marrow
With the therapeutic benefits of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) well established, the researchers developed a new design of tissue engineered nerve grafts (TENGs) comprised of a scaffold to support BM-MNCs in creating a grafted bridge 10 millimeters long to repair a sciatic nerve defect in rats.
"Severe peripheral nerve injuries require interpositional nerve grafting to bridge the nerve defect," said Dr. Xiaosong Gu, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, China. "TENGs are a promising alternative to autographs, the commonly accepted gold standard for nerve grafting. They can function as well as Schwann cells (SCs) in peripheral nerve repair and also overcome the limitations associated with clinical use of SCs."
The researchers noted that BM-MNCs are more readily available than other cells and present fewer potential ethical concerns. They concluded that the transplanted BM-MNCs survived for at least two weeks after their transplantation and assessments suggested that TENGs may hold promise for future therapies for peripheral nerve injury.
This study is scheduled to be published in the 25(5) special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation, and is freely available on-line as an unedited, early epub, at:
Contact: Jianhui Gu, Department of Hand Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 20 Xisi Road, Nantong, JS 226001, China
Email: 13809081785@163.com
Ph: + 86-513-85052066
Fax: + 86-513-85519820
Citation: Yao M, Zhou Y, Xue C, Ren H, Wang S, Zhu H, Gu X, Gu X, Gu J. Repair of rat sciatic nerve defect by using allogeneic bone marrow mononuclear cells combined with chitosan/silk fibroin scaffold. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: January 15, 2016.
Traumatic Brain Injury-induced neuropsychiatric conditions in juvenile rats improved after cell transplantation
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a cause of mortality and long-term morbidity. In children and adolescents, TBI may induce or contribute to development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other neuropsychiatric conditions. There are few therapeutic strategies to treat these disorders. In this study using juvenile rats with induced TBI, the test animals were treated with intracranial injections of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural progenitor cells cultured under normal conditions or the same kind of cells treated with hypoxic pre-conditioning. Animals treated by the latter strategy showed improved performance in tests of social interaction, social novelty and social transmission of food preference.
"This study provided new evidence to support the idea that hypoxic preconditioning of cells can increase the expression of genes that influence social behavior and may improve symptoms observed in TBI animals," concluded the researchers. "It is possible that these factors may contribute to the advancement of cell therapy for TBI."
This study is scheduled to be published in the 25(5) special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation, and is freely available on-line as an unedited, early epub, at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-1544_Liu_et_al
Contact: Shan Ping Yu, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine
101 Woodruff Circle WMRB Suite 620Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Email: spyu@emory.edu
Phone/Fax: 404-727-6300
Citation: Wei ZZ, Lee JH, Zhang Y, Zhu YB, Deveau TC, Gu X, Winter MM, Li J, Wei L, Yu SP. Intracranial transplantation of hypoxia-preconditioned iPS cell-derived neural progenitor cells alleviates neuropsychiatric defects after traumatic brain injury in juvenile rats. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: January 13, 2016.
"This special PPSSC issue of Cell Transplantation highlights important topics in the field of stem cell and cancer research, and we hope that the articles serve to propel researchers forward," said Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin. "The studies contain data that is valuable and applicable across disciplines. We look forward to another successful special issue of Cell Transplantation and the 9th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cells and Cancer Research in May of 2016."
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Coeditor-in-chief for CELL TRANSPLANTATION, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, is at the Center for Neuropsychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, TaiChung, Taiwan. Contact Shinn-Zong Lin, MD, PhD at shinnzong@yahoo.com.tw or Samantha Portis, MS, at celltransplantation@gmail.com
News release by Florida Science Communications http://www.sciencescribe.net
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