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Wisconsin scientists grow critical nerve cells

After years of trial and error, scientists have coaxed human embryonic stem cells to become spinal motor neurons, critical nervous system pathways that relay messages from the brain to the rest of the body. The new findings, reported online today (Jan. 30, 2005) in the journal Nature Biotechnology by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are important because they provide c...

Jump-starting T Cells In Skin Cancer

Advanced melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, can be successfully treated in some cases by vaccinating patients with tumor proteins. How these vaccines work and why they are only effective in some patients remains unclear. Pierre Coulie and colleagues now show, in two articles in the January 17 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, that these vaccines work by increasing the num...

Spleen may be source of versatile stem cells

A year ago, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers discovered that the spleen might be a source of adult stem cells that could regenerate the insulin-producing islets of thepancreas. In a follow-up to that unexpected finding, members of thesame team now report that these potential adult stem cells produce aprotein previously believed to be present only during the embryonicdevelopmen...

Researchers discover way to make cells in the eye sensitive to light

Researchers have discovered a way to makelight sensitive cells in the eye by switching on a single gene.According to research published online today in Nature, the team fromImperial College London and the University of Manchester, havediscovered that activating the melanopsin gene in the nerve cellscauses them to become light responsive, or photoreceptive. Usingmouse cells, the resea...

Source of molecular triggers in cutaneous T cell lymphoma identified

In a study published in the journal Blood, Yale scientists identify the molecular triggers that stimulate Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma (CTCL) cells to clonally expand into large populations of malignant lymphocytes. CTCL is the most common adult malignancy of T lymphocytes, the white blood cells of the immune system. Finding CTCL triggering factors has been a major goal of Richard L. Edelson...

Priming embryonic stem cells to fulfill their promise

Bioengineering researchers at the Universityof California, San Diego have invented a process to help turn embryonicstem cells into the types of specialized cells being sought as possibletreatments for dozens of human diseases and health conditions. SangeetaBhatia and Shu Chien, UCSD bioengineering professors, and ChristopherJ. Flaim, a bioengineering graduate student, described the cell-cult...

Lack of enzyme turns fat cells into fat burners

Lack of the enzyme, acetyl CoA carboxylase 2or ACC2, appears to turn the adipose or fat cells of mice into fatburners, explaining in part why the animals can eat more and weigh lessthan their normal counterparts, said Baylor College of Medicineresearchers.The report that appears online today in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences. "Westudied the fat cells in these mic...

Poor prenatal nutrition permanently damages function of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered one reason why infants with low birth weight have a high potential of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. In studies of mice, the researchers found that poor prenatal nutrition impairs the pancreas's ability to later secrete enough insulin in response to blood glucose. "The bottom line is that if you don't have delivery of enough...

Emory Study Tests Bone Marrow Stem Cells to Improve Circulation in Legs

Physicians at Emory University School ofMedicine are conducting a clinical trial using stem cells generatedwithin the bone marrow to grow new blood vessels that could improvecirculation in patients with blockages in the arteries of their legs --a condition called (PVD). Individuals with PVD...

Current human embryonic stem cell lines contaminated UCSD/Salk team finds

Currently available lines of human embryonicstem cells have been contaminated with a non-human molecule thatcompromises their potential therapeutic use in human subjects,according to research by investigators at the University of California,San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Salk Institute in La Jolla,California.In a study published online January 23, 2005 in the journal NatureMed...

Elusive HIV shape change revealed; Key clue to how virus infects cells

Structural biologists at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have shown how a key part of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) changes shape, triggering other changes that allow the AIDS virus to enter and infect cells. Their findings, published in the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Nature, offer clues that will help guide vaccine and treatment approaches. Researchers led...

Mouse brain cells rapidly recover after Alzheimer's plaques are cleared

Brain cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer'sdisease have surprised scientists with their ability to recuperateafter the disorder's characteristic brain plaques are removed.Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louisinjected mice with an antibody for a key component of brain plaques,the amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide. In areas of the brain whereantibodies cleared plaque...

Newly-discovered class of genes determines ?and restricts ?stem cell fate

Research on adult stem cells found in the skin hints at a new class of genes, according to a study from investigators at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. These genes ?dubbed pangenes ?can both govern a stem cell's fate and put a hold on future differentiation until the time is right. Understanding the molecular control of these genes has implications for therapies that involve t...

Transplantation Of Monkey Embryonic Stem Cells Reverses Parkinson Disease In Primates

The replenishment of missing neurons in thebrain as a treatment for Parkinson disease reached the stage of humantrials over 15 years ago, however the field is still in its infancy.Researchers from Kyoto University have now shown thatdopamine-producing neurons (DA neurons) generated from monkey embryonicstem cells and transplanted into areas of the brain where these neuronshave degenerated i...

Combination therapy boosts effectiveness of telomere-directed cancer cell death

Sometimes apotential target for a drug seems very promising on paper; things areoften very different in reality. Its the case of telomerase inhibitorsto treat cancer; they are supposed to strip the "immortal" (able todivide indefinitely) aspect of cancer cells. Yet, something in the cellseems to block their function, preventing them to inhibit completelythe...

Sea skate experiment sheds light on human cell transport

Along with Mark Musch, a longtime University of Chicago collaborator, Goldstein conducted an experiment with the red blood cells of skates to understand how these skinny, graceful fish can swim from salt water to fresh water. For humans, such a drastic environmental change would prompt an equally drastic physiological change: Our cells would take in too much water, diluting blood and other body f...

Clam embryo study shows pollutant mixture adversely affects nerve cell development

A scientist at the Marine BiologicalLaboratory (MBL) has published the results of an EPA-funded clam embryostudy that supports her hypothesis that, when combined, the pollutantsbromoform, chloroform, and tetrachloroethylene--a chemical cocktailknown as BCE--can act synergistically to alter a key regulator in nervecell development. While scientists have previously studied the effectsof these...

Enzyme allows B cells to resist death, leading to leukemia

B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL)is the most common leukemia in adults and is characterized by theprogressive accumulation of mature B lymphocytes in the blood, bonemarrow, and lymphatic tissues. It is believed that in the early stagesof disease, B-CLL is the result of an undefined defect in theprogrammed signals that trigger normal B cell death (apoptosis). LivioTrentin and colle...

Needling Chromosomes Reveals Cell Division Secret

By impaling individual chromosomes with glassneedles one thousandth the diameter of a human hair, a Duke Universitygraduate student has tested their "stickiness" to one another duringcell division. Her uncanny surgical skills have added a piece to thelarge and intricate puzzle of how one cell divides into two -- aprocess fundamental to all organisms.In the Dec. 14, 2004, issue of Current Bi...

Scientists discover the cellular roots of graying hair

Few things about growing older are asinevitable and obvious as “going gray,?yet scientists have been unableto explain the precise cause of this usually unwelcome transformation.In a report posted today on the Web site of the journal Science,researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s HospitalBoston say they have found the cellular cause of graying hair whileinvestigating th...

Fundamental Finding Yields Insight into Stem Cells, Cancer; Opens Door to Drug Discovery

Few things about growing older are asinevitable and obvious as “going gray,?yet scientists have been unableto explain the precise cause of this usually unwelcome transformation.In a report posted today on the Web site of the journal Science,researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s HospitalBoston say they have found the cellular cause of graying hair whileinvestigating th...

Scientists rid stem cell culture of key animal cells

Tackling a pressing and controversial technical barrier in stem cell biology, scientists at the WiCell Research Institute and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have crafted a recipe that allows researchers to grow human embryonic stem cells in the absence of mouse-derived "feeder" cells, long thought to be a source of potential contamination for the therapeutically promising cells. The...

Vital step in cellular migration described by UCSD medical researchers

A vital molecular step in cell migration, the movement of cells within the body during growth, tissue repair and the body's immune response to invading pathogens, has been demonstrated by researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Published in the March 27 online edition of Nature Cell Biology and the journal's upcoming April print edition, the study describ...

Weill Cornell Research Reveals Secrets Of Trafficking Within Cells

As you read this, cells in your eye are transmitting information to your brain, while cells in your heart and arteries work just as hard to keep that brain alive. Every one of these cells -- and others throughout the body -- depends on an internal process called endocytosis to keep the flow of cellular nutrients and information healthy and strong. It's an incredibly important life process,...

First-ever Compounds To Target Only Metastatic Cells Are Highly Effective Against Breast, Prostate, And Colon Cancers

Two compounds that zero in on cancer cells spreading throughout the body, while ignoring primary tumor cells, could someday give doctors a whole new weapon in the fight against tough-to-treat metastatic disease, according to Weill Medical College of Cornell University researchers. The compounds, called synthetic migrastatin analogues, prevented 91 to 99 percent of metastatic breast cancer...

Critical role in programmed cell death identified

Dartmouth Medical School geneticists have found links in the cell death machinery of worms and mammals, opening new avenues for studying and targeting a process vital to development and implicated in cancer and autoimmune diseases. The work, reported in the February 17 issue of Nature, demonstrates the role of mitochondria, the cellular power plant, in prompting worm cells to self destruc...

Genetically modified natural killer immune cells attack, kill leukemia cells

Natural killer (NK) immune system cells can be genetically modified to brandish a powerful "on-switch" that prompts them to aggressively attack and kill leukemic cells. This finding, from researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, suggests a way to improve the outcome of children who receive treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or other blood cancers. Results of the...

UCSD researchers maintain stem cells without contaminated animal feeder layers

The growth and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells in the absence of contaminated animal products has been demonstrated by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine researchers in the Whittier Institute, La Jolla, California. Published in the April 2005 issue of the journal Stem Cells, the study shows that laboratory culture media enriched by a human protein calle...

Placenta Is A Rich Source Of Blood Stem Cells

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report a surprising finding about embryonic development: the blood system begins to form not only in the embryo itself, but also in the placenta, the organ that nurtures the baby in utero. Meticulous experiments in mice revealed that the placenta harbors a large supply of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells...

New SARS Protein Linked To Important Cell Doorway

As public health officials in China brace for a potential resurgence in SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in connection with Chinese New Year on February 9, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have published insights into a new protein that could be an important contributor to the SARS virus' ability to cause disease and death. When the SARS virus first jumped from it...

MSI releases 'moleculizer' - a new approach to simulation of intracellular biochemical networks

Dr. Roger Brent, President and Director of Research at the the release of a new approach to simulation of intracellularbiochemical networks in the January 2005 edition of NatureBiotechnology.The research article, entit...

UCSD Discovery Shows How Embryonic Stem Cells Perform 'Quality Control' Inspections

A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists hasfound the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immunesystem's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a milliondifferent proteins might have originated from a family of genes whoseonly apparent function is to jump around in genetic material. essentially cut...

Nano-Probes Allow an Inside Look at Cell Nuclei

Nanotechnology may be in its infancy, but biologists may soon use it to watch the inner workings of a living cell like never before. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a way to sneak nano-sized probes inside cell nuclei where they can track life's fundamental processes, such a...

Zebrafish may hold key to understanding human nerve cell development

Glia appear essential for 'hair cells'responsible for hearing and balance. Traditionally viewed as supportingactors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal developmentof nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to newUniversity of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6,2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the Universityof Was...

Circles Of DNA Might Help Predict Success Of Stem Cell Transplantation

Measuring the quantity of a certain type of immune cell DNA in the blood could help physicians predict whether a bone marrow stem cell transplant will successfully restore a population of infection-fighting cells called T lymphocytes in a child. This research, by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the journal Blood. This finding could help physicians p...

Scientists identify molecular events that drive cell senescence

UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallasresearchers have found a way of stimulating the immune systems of miceto fight against amyloid proteins that cause the devastating plaquesthat are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.For years scientists have examined the possibility of using aprotein-based vaccine to slow the progression of the disease in itsearly stages. UT Southwestern researcher...

Estrogen-like Component of Plastic Stimulates Growth of Certain Prostate Cancer Cells

An estrogen-like chemicalcommonly used to synthesize plastic food containers has been shown toencourage the growth of a specific category of prostate cancer cell,potentially affecting the treatment efficacy for a subset of prostatecancers.According to a study published in the January 1 issue of CancerResearch, such prostate cancer cells proved to be vulnerable toexposure to the chemical BP...

Novel ultrafast laser detection of cancer cells also may improve understanding of stem cells

To investigate tumors, pathologists currently rely on labor-intensive microscopic examination, using century-old cell-staining methods that can take days to complete and may give false readings. A lightning-fast laser technique, led by Sandia National Laboratories researcher Paul Gourley, has provided laboratory demonstrations of accurate, real-time, high-throughput identification of live...

Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells

Researchers here have used a new microscopic, three-dimensional scaffolding to coax mouse stem cells to transform themselves into fat cells, and then to function identical to how fat cells naturally do in the body. While other studies have previously grown fat cells, or adipocytes, in the laboratory, those cells never completely functioned in the same way they do in normal tissue. They fai...

Scientists identify new model Of NK cell development

Scientists here have made a major discovery that sheds new light upon the growth and development of human natural killer (NK) cells, powerful but somewhat mysterious components of the body's immune system that are the first line of defense against cancer and infectious diseases. Scientists have believed for years that human NK cells are generated in bone marrow, but Michael Caligiuri, dire...