Hair Loss News

Newswise — A newly discovered small molecule called IQ-1 plays a key role in preventing embryonic stem cells from differentiating into one or more specific cell types, allowing them to instead continue growing and dividing indefinitely, according to research performed by a team of scientists who have recently joined the stem-cell research efforts at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Their findings are being published today in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This discovery takes scientists another step closer to being able to grow embryonic stem cells without the “feeder layer” of mouse fibroblast cells that is essential for maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, says the study’s primary investigator, Michael Kahn, Ph.D., who was recently named the first Provost’s Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at USC. Such a layer is needed because it is currently the only proven method to provide the stem cells with the necessary chemical signals that prompt them to stay undifferentiated and to continue dividing over and over.

Still, growing human embryonic stem cells on a layer of mouse fibroblasts has never made much sense to the scientists forced to do just that. “Stem cells that grow on feeders are contaminated with mouse glycoproteins markers,” Kahn says.

“If you use them into humans, you’d potentially have a horrible immune response.”

• Read more: Scientists Unlock Mystery of Embryonic Stem Cell Signaling Pathway

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The problem of efficiently delivering drugs, especially those that are hydrophobic or water-repellant, to tumors or other disease sites has long challenged scientists to develop innovative delivery systems that keep these drugs intact until reaching their targets.

Now scientists in the University at Buffalo’s Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics and Roswell Park Cancer Institute have developed an innovative solution in which the delivery system is the drug itself.

They describe for the first time, in Molecular Pharmaceutics, a drug delivery system that consists of nanocrystals of a hydrophobic drug.

The system involves the use of nanocrystals measuring about 100 nanometers of pure HPPH, (2-devinyl-2-(1′-hexyloxyethyl) pyropheophorbide), a photosensitizer currently in Phase I/II human clinical trials at RPCI for treating various types of cancer.

The UB researchers found that the nanocrystals of HPPH were taken up by tumors in vivo, with efficacy comparable to conventional, surfactant-based delivery systems.

A patent has been filed on this work.

• Read more: No Carrier Necessary: This Drug Delivers Itself

A scientist from San Diego has published some intriguing research suggesting that stem cells taken from hair follicles may someday be used to restore nerve damage.

Dr. Robert M. Hoffman of the San Diego-based AntiCancer, Inc discovered that a certain protein marker called Nestim, which is present in neural stem cells, is also present in hair follicle stem cells.   This suggests that stem cells from hair follicles have the same properties as stem cells from nerve cells.

Stem cells are a type of undifferentiated (generic) cell that can be turned into a number of specialized cells like muscle cells, neurons etc.   Stem cells can be used to replace damaged specialized cells that cannot be regenerated.   For example, stem cells can turn themselves into nerve cells and can be used to restore a damaged spinal cord and allow a paralyzed person to restore some or all of their previous function.

In the resulting studies done on mice, it was demonstrated that hair follicle stem cells can differentiate into blood vessels and neural tissue after being transplanted to a layer of skin in the mice.   Researchers also found that the hair follicle stem cells, when implanted into a region of a severed sciatic or tibial nerve in the mice’s leg, greatly enhanced the rate of nerve regeneration and the restoration of nerve function.  The improvement was so great that the mice even regained the ability to walk normally after treatment with the hair follicle stem cells.

Based on his research, Dr Hoffman concluded that hair follicle stem cells provide an effective and accessible source of stem cells for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury.

Reference: “Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy Journal” - March 2007, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 289-291

Newswise — For cells that hold so much promise, stem cells’ potential has so far gone largely untapped. But new research from Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists now shows that adult stem cells taken from skin can be used to clone mice using a procedure called nuclear transfer. The findings are reported in the Feb. 12 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Embryonic stem cells have received the most press for their potential to generate healthy cells and tissues that could replace damaged or diseased organs.

“Scientists are well-aware that tissue derived from someone else’s embryonic stem cells would be recognized as foreign and rejected by the patient,” says senior co-author Elaine Fuchs, the Rebecca Lancefield Professor at Rockefeller and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. “This is one of the reasons why scientists have focused so much attention toward using nuclear transfer, which would allow us to use adult stem cells from the same patient rather than those harvested from an unrelated embryo.”

Fuchs and her colleagues tested the method in adult stem cells taken from the skin of mice.

• Read more: Scientists Clone Mice from Adult Skin Stem Cells

Newswise — Scientists know that a better understanding of how proteins bond could lead to more effective treatments for genetic disorders and other life-threatening conditions.

Now, a pair of Florida State University researchers’ new theory has been proven to accurately predict the association rate for proteins. Their theory is outlined in the February issue of the scientific journal Structure.

“A protein can have multiple targets or can be targeted by multiple molecules,” said Professor Huan-Xiang Zhou, who serves on the faculty of FSU’s School of Computational Science and department of physics. “Rapid association between proteins is crucial in a wide array of biological processes, such as the utilization of and defense against toxins; the activation of receptor proteins on cell membranes by growth hormones; and the regulation of actin polymerization, which influences the physical structure of living cells. The association rate thus plays a critical role in the overall health of the organism.”

Mutations are one factor that can disrupt quick association between proteins and lead to disease, he said.

“For example, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a pediatric genetic disorder characterized by eczema, immune deficiencies and low blood-platelet counts, can be traced to mutations on the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein,” Zhou said. “Normally, fast association of the protein with other biomolecules is critical for the creation of proper cell structures. The failure of the protein to associate quickly, then, is the root cause of the condition.”

In their Structure paper, Zhou and graduate student Razmi Alsallaq put forth a new theory that has been proven to accurately predict the association rate for proteins by developing a theoretical model for the association process. A central component of the model is the transition state, a phase that two associating proteins go through before finally becoming a specific complex. The rate prediction is broken into two parts: how much the rate would be if the proteins find each other purely through random motion, and how much electrical attraction increases the rate.

“This theory opens numerous opportunities for further study,” Zhou said.

“For example, we now can begin to uncover the molecular bases of large variations in association rate among proteins. It also might be possible to design proteins with the desired association rate.”

Attila Szabo, chief of the Theoretical Biophysical Chemistry section of the National Institutes of Health, described the Structure paper as “the most comprehensive investigation yet conducted of protein-protein association rate. It provides convincing evidence that the remarkable simplification of the calculation of association rates between proteins, proposed by Zhou and coworkers, really works.”

The Structure paper can be viewed online at http://www.structure.org/.

Tissue Engineered Products Could be on the Market in as Little as Five Years
 
SAN DIEGO — Gene therapy and tissue engineering conjure up thoughts of futuristic science fiction. But this biotechnology is developing rapidly and could be at your nearby orthopaedic surgeon’s surgical suite before you know it, according to Regis O’Keefe, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Orthopaedics with the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York State and spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. “Gene therapy using stem cells is a lot closer to clinical use in orthopaedics than most people think,” said Dr. O’Keefe. “These tissue engineered products could be on the market in five to ten years.”

The goal of tissue engineering is to create living tissue to replace or repair diseased tissue. Tissue engineered products for orthopaedics, may facilitate repair or serve as a “functional replacement.” There are countless applications in orthopaedics — replacement for bone, cartilage, muscle and ligament loss and to increase or promote bone formation in spinal fusions and with some fractures. Biological approaches are being used to improve muscle healing for sports injuries including menisci and ligament injuries.

Researchers have found that muscle stem cells are more plentiful than bone marrow stem cells, for example. “Muscle cells have emerged as promising vehicles for gene therapy and tissue engineering in the musculoskeletal system,” said Johnny Huard, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Bioengineering, and Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and is also the Director of the Stem Cell Research Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. One study showed that 95% of muscle stem cells were incorporated into the bone.

O’Keefe points out that the #1 reason that people go to the doctor is for issues with the musculoskeletal system. In a society where many “baby boomers” expect to stay active longer with a high quality of life, physical fitness has become a priority. “A person cannot be fit from a cardiovascular and pulmonary standpoint without having a musculoskeletal system that is healthy and can support increased activity,” added Dr. O’Keefe. “There is a tremendous opportunity to use tissue engineering for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and bone repair to help keep that musculoskeletal system in good condition.”

Philadelphia – In recent years, scientists have discovered that a family of enzymes called sirtuins can dramatically extend life in organisms as diverse as yeast, worms, and flies. They may also be able to control age-associated metabolic disorders, including obesity and type II diabetes.

Naturally occurring substances have been shown to activate sirtuins, including a constituent of red wine called resveratrol – although an individual would need to drink about two cases of wine a day to derive a clinically effective dose of resveratrol. Still, the findings have energized a number of scientific groups and biotechnology companies, all of which are now eagerly searching for drug candidates able to boost sirtuin activity. The public-health benefits of such an “anti-aging” drug would be substantial – as would the economic returns.

Now, a new study from scientists at The Wistar Institute points to another strategy for activating sirtuins to unleash their anti-aging powers. A report on the research appears in the February 9 edition of Molecular Cell, and a podcast interview with the study’s senior author, Ronen Marmorstein, Ph.D., a professor in the Gene Expression and Regulation Program at Wistar, is available on the Institute’s web site (http://www.wistar.org/podcast/pr/DrRonenMarmorstein/CreatingAntiAgingDrugs.mp4).

• Read more: Does a Component of Niacin Point the Way to Anti-Aging Drugs?