“Latest Stem Cells News”

In a landmark paper, researchers at Stanford University have described a new way to derive human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without the use of contaminating mouse feeder cells. Using adipose cells as the starting cell population and mTeSR1, a defined medium that allows the expansion of human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells without the use of feeders, the researchers were able to fully reprogram the cells to the pluripotent state.

mTeSR1 is a fully defined medium and is the most widely used feeder-independent method for culturing human pluripotent stem cells, with citations in more than 25 publications.

read more on http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS155006+14-Sep-2009+BW20090914

Incoming search terms:

At the base of the neck is located a reserve of stem cells that could revolutionize the fight against obesity and diabetes. These fat-burning stem cells are the mother cells of brown adipose tissue, and a study coordinated by Italian researcher Saverio Cinti of the Marches region Polytechnic Institute discovered them. The results of the study were presented at the European Obesity Congress in Amsterdam and published in Faseb Journal, the magazine of the Federation of American experimental biology societies.

“It is possible to cultivate these stem cells to grow brown adipose tissue that can be transplanted into individuals to treat serious cases of obesity or diabetes,” explained Cinti. We will be able to control excess weight gain with cold temperatures, in addition to diet and physical exercise: “cold temperatures stimulate brown adipose, and it is sufficient to maintain a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius in order to increase its function”.

- BROWN AND WHITE TISSUE: are the two components of adipose tissue, which is actually considered by scientists to be an organ. White fat accumulates fat cells and in the past has played a decisive role in helping humans tolerate long periods without food. Now it is mainly blamed for the dreaded ‘belly’. On the other hand, brown fat cells burn fat and consume glucose.

Brown fat is abundant in infants and until a short while ago, it was believed that this highly important reserve disappeared with age. Recent studies, some of which were conducted by Cinti’s group, have observed brown adipose reserves in adults. Now it has been discovered that there is a reserve of brown fat cells that exist in adults.

- FAT-BURNING STEM CELLS PRESENT IN ONE OUT OF THREE ADULTS: the discovery is based on tissue biopsies on 35 individuals who underwent thyroid operations. “We found brown adipose tissue stem cells in one-third of the patients. This result,” observed Cinti, “confirms statistical data showing that this tissue is highly present in young and thin individuals. Individuals who are not thin are probably born with less brown adipose tissue.”

- FAT-BURNING TISSUE FACTORIES: knowing where to find brown fat stem cells means being able to cultivate them in order to transplant them into patients affected by obesity or diabetes.

- ACTIVATING BROWN FAT STEM CELLS: is another strategy that is now becoming possible. Stimulating stem cells involves stimulating the growth of brown fat in order to activate a natural mechanism that burns fat.

- COLD TEMPERATURES BURN MORE FAT TISSUE: together with diet and physical exercise, cold temperatures are becoming an important ally to combat excess weight and obesity. Keeping a low temperature at home during the winter (around 18 degrees Celsius) or walking in the cold helps burn fat and glucose. Calculations show that 50 to 100 grams of brown fat tissue result in a loss of 4-5kg per year.

Incoming search terms:

Baldness is an undesirable condition that afflicts both men and women, many of which have family members with significant hair loss. According to Health Day News, a new study of stem cells in mice shows promise for future treatments for people who battle hair loss.

The study was conducted on the fatty skin layers of mice by researchers at Yale University. Specifically, adipose precursor cells were found to spur new hair growth in mice, according to Health Day News.

Stem cells are present in hair follicles, which help generate hair growth. Health Day News explains that these cells are still present in people with baldness, but the follicles no longer receive signals to grow new hair. At the same time, hair loss causes a decrease in natural fat cells within the scalp.

“If we can get these fat cells in the skin to talk to the dormant stem cells at the base of the hair follicles, we might be able to get hair to grow again,” said senior study author Valerie Horsley, as quoted by Health Day News.

Incoming search terms:

Stem cells extracted from body fat may pave the way for the development of new regenerative therapies including soft tissue reconstruction following tumor removal or breast mastectomy surgery, the development of tissue-engineered cartilage or bone, and the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

An interdisciplinary team of Queen’s University researchers led by Dr. Lauren Flynn, a professor in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Anatomy and Cell Biology, has been working with stem cells extracted from samples of human fat and is developing new methods in the lab to develop these cells into mature tissue substitutes.

While stem cells extracted from fat cannot be grown into as many different types of cells as embryonic stem cells, they do have a number of advantages.

“The advantages include less ethical controversy, abundant cell availability from discarded tissues from elective surgeries like breast reductions and tummy tucks, and a much reduced possibility for immune rejection when re-implanting cells extracted from a person’s own fat,” explains Dr. Juares Bianco, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Human Mobility Research Centre (HMRC) who is working in the Flynn lab group.

Incoming search terms: