Comments for All Things Stem Cell

Comment on Cancer Vaccines: Using Embryonic Tissues and Stem Cells to Vaccinate Against Cancer by W.

W. — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:50:46 +0000

Cool. This was interesting.

Comment on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A New Stem Cell Line with a Long History by All Things Stem Cell » Cancer Vaccines: Using Embryonic Tissues and Stem Cells to Vaccinate Against Cancer

Tue, 04 May 2010 07:03:42 +0000

[...] stem cells (hESCs) (which are stem cells isolated from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) (which are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to be hESC-like). These similarities [...]

Comment on Human Embryonic Stem Cells: A Decade of Discovery, Controversy, and Potential by All Things Stem Cell » Cancer Vaccines: Using Embryonic Tissues and Stem Cells to Vaccinate Against Cancer

Tue, 04 May 2010 07:03:14 +0000

[...] recently published paper showed that mice with colon cancer can be “vaccinated” with human embryonic stem cells and have a significant immune response against the cancer (Li et al., 2009). This study relates to [...]

Comment on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A New Stem Cell Line with a Long History by admin

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Hi Aditi,
Thank you for your comment! The original 2007 iPSC papers referenced above have that information. See:

Takahashi, K., Tanabe, K., Ohnuki, M., Narita, M., Ichisaka, T., Tomoda, K., and Yamanaka, S. Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Human Fibroblasts. Cell. 2007. 131: 1-12.

Yu, J., Vodyanik, M. A., Smuga-Otto, K., Antosiewicz-Bourget, J., Frane, J. L., Tian, S., Nie, J., Jonsdottir, G. A., Ruotti, V., Stewart, R., Slukvin, I. I., and Thomson, J. A. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Somatic Cells. Science. 2007. 318(5858): 1917-1920.

The factors were actually added to, not deleted from, the original adult cells that were reprogrammed into iPSCs. In Thomson’s paper, they list nearly 100 factors that they made vectors for originally to test (this is in supplemental table 1). But, they then tested 14 of these genes in subsets and this is how they found the core 4 that worked best to reprogram the cells. I hope this helps explain it! The original papers are the best source to look at, though sometimes they can be confusing or leave out details.

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Comment on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A New Stem Cell Line with a Long History by Aditi

Aditi — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:30:23 +0000

Hi….
Great article!
Do you know where i can find info about how they really came down to using these 4 factors? because i remember reading somewhere (and correct me if im wrong) that there are some 24 factors that need to be deleted to get the same effect and then they somehow narrowed it down to 4….
if anyone has a reference or link for these, kindly let me know!
thanks in advance

Comment on Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Diverse Family, Large and Still Growing by Neha Aggarwal

Neha Aggarwal — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:48:50 +0000

Umbilical cord blood from newborn babies can be used to produce embryonic-like cells that can potentially treat diseases and debilitating conditions.
Now it is possible to differentiate cord blood cells into a type of lung cell. These cells help to repair the airway in lungs after injury. This is a significant discovery because until now the use of brain stem cells was the only way to conduct viable research of this type. In the future, researchers might be able to examine cord blood from babies with lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and develop better treatments. They will be able to work with umbilical cord blood cells to better understand lung development and to test new drugs.
Mesenchymal stem cells obtained from full-term umbilical cord blood can potentially be used to repair tissue and develop bone and cartilage. As a result, patients can recover faster, thus preventing kidney complications arising from tissue damage. These findings bring new hope to those who suffer from acute kidney failure, a life threatening condition. Acute renal failure occurs when the kidneys are unable to get rid of waste and urine.
Lupus is a disease that affects more than 1.5 million Americans. It is an inflammatory disease that affects the skin, joints and kidneys. Lupus can be life threatening when it attacks major organs such as the kidneys. Stem cell transplant is used to treat patients with severe lupus. In a study of 50 patients who underwent stem cell transplant at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, 50 percent were free from the disease after five years. The overall survival rate is 84%. Stem cell transplantation offers a ray of hope to lupus sufferers who have failed conventional treatments.
Cord blood stem cell overcomes most of the problems associated with embryonic stem cell research. The latter comes under much scrutiny and debate. It is hard to obtain sufficient stem cells from embryos and the right tissue type for a patient. Cord blood stem cells can be produced and there is more likelihood of finding the right tissue type given a birth rate of 100 million babies a year worldwide.
Cord blood stem cell transplant is becoming increasingly important for treatment of life-threatening diseases and debilitating conditions. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are less prone to rejection than bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells.

Comment on Visual Stem Cell Glossary by All Things Stem Cell » Trophoblast Stem Cells: Another stem cell type isolated from the early embryo

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:57:51 +0000

[...] all the tissues of the future adult organism; these layers are the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm [see Figure 2].) Figure 2: After the blastocyst is implanted in the uterine wall, it rapidly and [...]

Comment on Human Embryonic Stem Cells: A Decade of Discovery, Controversy, and Potential by All Things Stem Cell » Trophoblast Stem Cells: Another stem cell type isolated from the early embryo

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:57:34 +0000

[...] that will later become the adult organism; human embryonic stem cells can be derived from the ICM, as was previously discussed. Lastly, the trophoblast is a monolayer of cells, specifically polarized epithelial cells, which [...]

Comment on Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Diverse Family, Large and Still Growing by admin

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:08:15 +0000

Thank you for such a thorough, informative comment! I’m honored to have an expert, professor of mesenchymal stem cells give feedback on these cells and their recent, cutting-edge clinical applications. Thank you!

Comment on Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Diverse Family, Large and Still Growing by Donald Phinney

Donald Phinney — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:36:26 +0000

Human MSCs are being evaluated in a large number of clinical trials for a variety of indications. Initially, the cells were used to treat brittle bone diseases with reasonable success. Most recenlty, their ability to block inflammation and modulate immune cell function is being specifically exploited in clincial trials. Several phase I and II trials have demonstrated real efficacy in treating graft versus host disease and acute kidney failure. Most recenlty, several phase I trails have evaluated MSCs for treatment of stroke. The next few years should see a wealth of new clincial data forthcoming, which may lead to real advances in stem cell-based therapeis. @stefan @stefan