December Research Highlights
Cedars-SinaiA roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai.
A roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai.
BACKGROUNDIschemic stroke is a condition in which an occluded blood vessel interrupts blood flow to the brain and causes irreversible neuronal cell death. Transplantation of regenerative stem cells has been proposed as a novel therapy to restor
BACKGROUNDSpermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the origin of male spermatogenesis, which can reconstruct germ cell lineage in mice. However, the application of SSCs for male fertility restoration is hindered due to the unclear mechanisms of pro
BACKGROUNDThere is still no consensus on which concentration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to use for promoting fracture healing in a rat model of long bone fracture. AIMTo assess the optimal concentration of MSCs for promoting fracture hea
Intervertebral disc degeneration is the main cause of low back pain. In the past 20 years, the injection of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) into the nucleus pulposus of the degenerative disc has become the main approach for the treatment of lo
Scientists used patient stem cells and 3D bioprinting to produce eye tissue that will advance understanding of the mechanisms of blinding diseases. The research team from the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, printed a combination of cells that form the outer blood-retina barrier—eye tissue that supports the retina's light-sensing photoreceptors. The technique provides a theoretically unlimited supply of patient-derived tissue to study degenerative retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
In people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), hematopoietic stem cell transplants may delay disability longer than some other MS medications, according to a study published in the December 21, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants, which use healthy blood stem cells from a person’s own body to replace diseased cells.
New data show the University of Chicago Medicine's David and Etta Jonas Center for Cellular Therapy has the highest one-year survival rate in Illinois for adults undergoing blood and bone marrow stem cell transplants. UChicago Medicine had an 80% one-year survival rate among adult stem cell patients, according to the latest statistics released in mid-December by the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).
Less than three years after joining the Cedars-Sinai Cancer faculty, hematologist-oncologists Justin Darrah, MD, and Akil Merchant, MD, are pioneering new research and bringing a new, comprehensive set of treatment options to patients in the recently established Lymphoma Program.
For the first time in Thailand, a research team from Chula’s Faculty of Veterinary Science (CUVET) is the first to have successfully developed a method to culture dog pancreatic cells from stem cells and cell transplantation technology. They aim to test the method in the lab and sick animals suffering from diabetes.
Researchers funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) at the University of Bristol have developed ‘stem cell plasters’ to revolutionise the way surgeons treat children living with congenital heart disease, so they don’t need as many open-heart operations.
Jessica Thaxton’s group at the UNC School of Medicine found that T cells exposed to the environment of solid cancers undergo a natural response to stress that shuts off their function, limiting T cell ability to kill tumors.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include a cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor with potential therapeutic effects in an ovarian cancer subtype, a telementoring program for French-speaking oncology providers in Africa, insights into the relationship between obesity and immunotherapy side effects, updates to the world’s largest cancer drug discovery knowledgebase, improvements to treatment response by blocking the EGFR pathway, and a novel noninvasive diagnostic test for immunotherapy-related kidney injury.
Cleveland Clinic was awarded $5.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop a stem cell treatment for complex regional pain syndrome, a disease that causes debilitating chronic pain. The research shows long-term potential for providing patients suffering from chronic pain an alternative to addictive treatments like opioids.
A new report on the ethics of crossing species boundaries by inserting human cells into nonhuman animals – research surrounded by debate – makes recommendations clarifying the ethical issues and calling for improved oversight of this work.
A new therapy that makes the immune system kill bone marrow cancer cells was successful in as many as 73 percent of patients in two clinical trials, according to researchers from The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center presented preliminary results of an ongoing Phase I clinical trial demonstrating successful re-treatment with CAR T cell therapy for patients whose cancers relapsed after previous CAR T therapy at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting (Abstract 2016).
Clive Svendsen, PhD, a pioneer in regenerative medicine, has been awarded the Drs. Ayeez and Shelena Lalji & Family ALS Endowed Award for Innovative Healing, from the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, for his impactful scientific work being done in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
This special edition features presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting on innovative targeted therapies, new combination approaches and novel targets to improve outcomes for patients with leukemias, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma and other hematologic cancers.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and School of Dentistry found that certain drugs can change the fundamental makeup of cancer stem cells in mouse models of mucoepidermoid carcinoma – a lethal form of salivary gland cancer that currently has no treatment options. These results appeared in Clinical Cancer Research.
Physician-scientists from Cedars-Sinai Cancer will present research and are available for comment on breaking news throughout the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition taking place Dec. 10-13 in New Orleans.
Investigators at Cedars-Sinai conduct more than 2,500 research projects annually, and many of these studies have resulted in new treatments or have opened the door to future innovations.
Low-intensity ultrasound therapies may one day rebuild stronger knees following injury or surgery, thanks to research by Dr. Anu Subramanian at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) that’s being supported by the National institutes of Health.
SEATTLE — Dec. 1, 2022 — The 64th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) will take place virtually and in person Dec. 10-13 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded UC San Diego researchers $4.8 million to advance a gene therapy to treat Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare but devastating neuromuscular disorder.
Fang and colleagues provide a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of the cell types occupying the interface between tendon and bone, the enthesis. They establish a framework for understanding enthesis maturation and identify a potent Gli1-lineage p
Repair of the tendon enthesis (e.g., after a rotator cuff tear) is a clinical challenge. To motivate novel cell-based treatment strategies for enthesis repair, Fang et al. define enthesis cell transcriptomes and differentiation trajectories. A uniqu
The extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment is emerging as a player in early human development. Cesare et al. demonstrate that naive hiPSCs exhibit a self-organized ECM-rich microenvironment in vitro, which sustains their identity. They develop
A life well lived inspires others to aspire. Our friend and mentor Susan L. Solomon crammed several lifetimes of exploration into her 71 years. Susan’s early life was filled with music: her mother was a pianist and her father the co-founder of Vang
In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Porpiglia et al.1 report on alterations in CD47 and THBS1 expression and function in aged muscle stem cells that disrupt their regeneration capacity. Targeting THBS1-CD47 cross-signaling is sufficient to reverse sarc
As the stem cell community mourns the loss of New York Stem Cell Foundation founder Susan Solomon, we also look to celebrate her legacy. In this Voices, members of the 2022 class of NYSCF Roberston Investigators share how NYSCF community support will
Herdy et al. identify an enriched population of senescent neurons in the Alzheimer’s brain, which can be modeled in vitro using induced neurons (iNs) and eliminated with senotherapeutics. Alzheimer’s iNs present molecular and genetic markers of
Pera and colleagues discuss the nature of recurrent genetic and epigenetic variants in hPSC culture, the methods for their detection, and what is known about their effects on cell behavior in vitro or in vivo. They highlight the key challenges faci
Human cortical organoids transplanted into the somatosensory cortex of rats integrate into the host neural circuits, receive inputs from host cells, and can produce behavioral responses. In a publication in Nature, Revah et al.1 highlight the potent
A roundup of the latest research discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai.
Molecular biologist Yu Xin (Will) Wang, Ph.D., has joined Sanford Burnham Prebys as an assistant professor in the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program to uncover the ways muscle, nerve and immune cells work together to overcome disease.
BACKGROUNDCartilage tissue engineering is a promising strategy for treating cartilage damage. Matrix formation by adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), which are one type of seed cell used for cartilage tissue engineering, decreases in the late s
Corneal stem/progenitor cells are typical adult stem/progenitor cells. The human cornea covers the front of the eyeball, which protects the eye from the outside environment while allowing vision. The location and function demand the cornea to m
Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in cancer and stem cell biology, has been named the chair of the department of cell biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Steidl assumes his new position as Arthur Skoultchi, Ph.D., who has led the department with distinction for 24 years, steps down from departmental leadership. Dr. Steidl is currently professor of cell biology, of oncology, and of medicine; interim director of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine; and the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professor for Myelodysplastic Syndromes at Einstein; and deputy director of Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) and co-director of MECC’s Blood Cancer Institute.
The UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute leads its first space launch, sending stem cells into space aboard the International Space Station. The NASA-partnered study will take advantage of the microgravity environment of space to study accelerated aging in stem cells.
UC San Diego Alpha Stem Cell Clinic awarded $8M to expand clinical trials of novel stem cell therapies. The CIRM award will advance partnerships between academic and industry experts in San Diego to expedite clinical trials for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases.
Maud D'Aveni-Piney, Claire Michel, Marie Robin, Stephane Morisset, Didier Blaise, Johan Maertens, Patrice Chevalier, Cristina Castilla-Llorente, Edouard Forcade, Patrice Ceballos, Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, Xavier Poiré, Martin Carre,
Feng Wang, Ashmita Chander, Yeonsoo Yoon, Mary Wallingford, Carmen Espejo-Serrano, Francisco Bustos, Greg Michael Findlay, Jesse Mager, Ingolf Bach
Wen Wang, Xiao Zhang, Ning Zhao, Ze-Hua Xu, Kangxin Jin, Zi-Bing Jin
Every day, one person in Switzerland is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the myelin sheath of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Ifedolapo Adejumo, Muyiwa Fageyinbo, Precious Obiekwe, Fortune Ibe-Uba, Ibrahim Oreagba, Esther Agbaje
Ruolin Zhang, Weibing Mao, Lumeng Niu, Wendai Bao, Yiqi Wang, Zhihao Yang, Yasha Zhu, Haikun Song, Jincao Chen, Guangqiang Li, Meng Cai, Zilong Yuan, Jiawen Dong, Min Zhang,
Kevin Dzobo, Fatemeh Tavakoli Foroushani
Audrey Grain, Jocelyn Ollier, Thierry Guillaume, Patrice Chevallier, Baptiste Le Calvez, Marion Eveillard, Béatrice Clémenceau