“Latest Stem Cells News”

Gerhard Bauer, an American researcher and expert on ‘mother’ stem cells, during the 50th congress of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Francisco, announced that human testing for an AIDS treatment based on genetically modified stem cells could begin within 5 years. Bauer has been working for the past 10 years on modified stem cells that could repair strongly compromised immune systems in HIV patients. “For this reason the apparent success obtained by German researchers on an American patient with AIDS and leukemia reinforces the idea that we are on the right path.”

Last month the German researchers announced that their patient underwent a bone marrow transplant, introducing stem cells taken from a donor with a natural immunity to HIV, and after the operation he lived for 20 months with no sign of the AIDS virus. “The result does not surprise me,” added Bauer, the next director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures in Sacramento while presenting preliminary results obtained from mice at the American Society of Hematology announcing that ‘the first tests on human beings could begin within five years.’

Researchers have discovered that umbilical cord stem cells, found in the blood of the umbilical cord, and able to differentiate into various types of tissue, represent a valid treatment alternative for leukemia patients that cannot find a compatible donor for a bone marrow transplant. American hematologists meeting in San Francisco for the 50th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Congress are now focusing their research on these types of stem cells to fight blood borne tumors.

An American study has recently called attention to the possible applications of umbilical cord stem cells for leukemia treatments. For years, stem cells transplants have been considered the standard treatment for this form of cancer, but oncologists normally perform autologous transplants using the patient’s own cells or find a compatible stem cell donor, before treating with chemotherapy.

Resorting to incompatible donor cells is considered an extreme measure and creates major problems with rejection and mortality.

“Umbilical cord stem cells, thanks to their immaturity, become a valid alternative if there is too little time, as in cases of acute leukemia,” according to Mary Eapen of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation, working in collaboration with the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and the New York Blood Center.

Gerhard Bauer & Jan A. Nolta

A new experimental technique in the future will remove skin cells from HIV patients, manipulate the cells bringing them to a state similar to that of stem cells, and then re-implant them in the same patient to eliminate the virus. The technique is still in the experimental phase in mice, but according to Gerhard Bauer, presenting the initial results of his study today at the 50th American Society of Hematology Congress in San Francisco, it’s a possibility. Bauer has been working for more than 10 years on this technique together with colleague Joseph Anderson.

The objective is to identify anti-HIV genes and insert them into stem cells produced by the skin. His UC Davis-Sacramento research team will also be present at the conference, and together they will present their study, which will lead to clinical genetic experimentation to demonstrate the safety of their method. Bauer hopes to be able perform clinical experimentation on human beings within five years. “The transformed cells, called pluripotent stem cells, are able to differentiate into different types of cells, which include hematopoietic stem cells found in the bone marrow, which produce various types of immune cells. “The next step is a test on human beings,” said Bauer.

Oncologists are now faced with the challenge of understanding how specialized drugs can strike tumor stem cells and impair their ability to replicate and spread. This is one of the most important questions that researchers will have to answer in upcoming years according to Regina Elena Institute hematologist Michele Milella. In San Francisco at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Congress Milella spoke about future hematology issues, including fighting blood borne tumors with stem cell transplants over the past years.

“The ASH in this sense is an excellent indicator for where research is going, and represents an obligatory stop for hematologists and oncologists who study blood borne tumors. Each year, researchers meet here and outline the direction for future research until the next conference.” The research discussed here is being performed by numerous Italian scientists, assured Milella. “Italian hematology is among the best in the world, among the top in Europe, and even compared to the USA. Here at the ASH numerous high quality results have been presented by Italian research groups.”

From a hematology-oncology perspective, stem cells are considered a target in therapy; on the other hand, totipotent cancer stem cells are considered a possible key in curing cancer. “Here at the ASH we are entering into a new frontier using these types of cells to transplant preventatively treated mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, to transport therapeutic molecules to diseased cells. Numerous studies are ongoing.”