(Press-News.org) (TORONTO, Canada – Sept. 26, 2013) – Stem cell scientists have moved one step closer to producing blood-forming stem cells in a Petri dish by identifying a key regulator controlling their formation in the early embryo, shows research published online today in Cell.
The work was reported by Dr. Gordon Keller, Director of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, and Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, both at University Health Network. Dr. Keller is also Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto and holds a Canada Research Chair in stem cell biology.
Using mouse models to study the process of blood cell development, Dr. Keller and his team demonstrated that the retinoic acid signalling pathway is required for formation of blood-forming stem cells. Retinoic acid is produced from vitamin A and is essential for many areas of human growth and development.
When the researchers genetically disrupted the pathway that produces retinoic acid in mice, no blood-forming stem cells were produced. When they activated the pathway at the precise stage when stem cells develop, they observed a large increase in the number of blood-forming stem cells.
"Understanding how different cells and tissues are made in the embryo provides important clues for producing human cell types from pluripotent stem cells in a Petri dish," says Dr. Keller. Pluripotent stem cells are master stem cells that are able to generate many different cell types including heart, blood, pancreas and liver. To make a specific cell type from pluripotent stem cells, one must direct them down the appropriate developmental path in the Petri dish.
Dr. Keller adds: "Our findings have identified a critical regulator for directing pluripotent stem cells to make blood-forming stem cells, bringing us one step closer to our goal of developing a new and unlimited source of these stem cells for transplantation for the treatment of different blood cell diseases."
INFORMATION:
This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the U.S.-based National Institutes of Health. Dr. Keller's research is also supported by the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
About McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine was founded by Rob and Cheryl McEwen in 2003 and opened its doors in 2006. The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, part of Toronto-based University Health Network, is a world leading centre for stem cell research, facilitating collaboration between renowned scientists from 5 major hospitals in Toronto, the University of Toronto and around the world. Supported by philanthropic contributions and research grants, McEwen Centre scientists strive to introduce novel regenerative therapies for debilitating and life threatening illnesses including heart disease, spinal cord injury, diabetes, diseases of the blood, liver and arthritis. http://www.mcewencentre.com
About University Health Network
University Health Network includes Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. http://www.uhn.ca
Media contact:
Jane Finlayson
Senior Public Affairs Advisor
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
University Health Network
(416) 946-2846
jane.finlayson@uhn.ca
Stem cell scientists identify key regulator controlling formation of blood-forming stem cells
2013-09-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Made to order at the synapse: Dynamics of protein synthesis at neuron tip
2013-09-26
PHILADELPHIA - Protein synthesis in the extensions of nerve cells, called dendrites, underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. "Thousands of messenger RNAs reside in dendrites, yet the dynamics of how multiple dendrite messenger RNAs translate into their final proteins remain elusive," says James Eberwine, PhD, professor of Pharmacology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and co-director of the Penn Genome Frontiers Institute.
Dendrites, which branch from the cell body of the neuron, play a key role in the communication ...
'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein offers a new route to cancer drugs
2013-09-26
The mood changes of a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein, which sometimes boosts tumour cell growth and at other times suppresses it, have been explained in a new study led by Oxford University researchers.
The researchers in Britain, with collaborators in Singapore and the USA, carried out a comprehensive biological study of the protein E2F, which is abnormal in the vast majority of cancers. They were able to explain the dual natures it can take up in cells in the body, and indicate how it could be a potent target for developing new cancer drugs.
The Oxford University scientists ...
Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren
2013-09-26
Folic acid deficiency can cause severe health problems in offspring, including spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities. A study out today reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations. The new research, which also sheds light on the molecular mechanism of folic acid (also known as folate) during development, was published today in the journal Cell.
"Although our research focused on genetic mutations which ...
Colonizing songbirds lost sense of syntax
2013-09-26
DURHAM, N.C. -- As one species of European songbird island-hopped to colonize mid-Atlantic archipelagoes over the course of a half million years, their songs lost their sense of syntax.
Chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) on the furthest island of their dispersal, Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, still sing the same notes, but with a much less structured pattern from one bird to the next, sort of like an island of Charlie Parkers.
"A chaffinch from mainland Europe always sounds like a chaffinch from mainland Europe," said biologist Robert F. Lachlan who completed the ...
European and Brazilian cardiology societies team up to tackle cardiovascular disease
2013-09-26
Rio de Janeiro, 28 September 2013 – As the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (BSC) team up to deliver key cardio messages at the 68th BSC Congress in Rio de Janeiro (28 September to 1 October 2013), new research underscores the essential role of cardiology specialists in Brazil.
Cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) remains the leading cause of death in Rio de Janeiro, with poverty, poor fitness and education levels, and increasing rates of obesity contributing to these deaths annually, said Dr. Regina Fonseca from the Federal University ...
European law could be unbearable for Croatia's brown bears
2013-09-26
Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July and conservation scientists fear that the EU's rules could cause problems for its brown bear population.
The country has been managing its brown bears as game animals, meaning they can be hunted; but under EU legislation, bears are a protected species and can only be shot if they are deemed to be problem animals.
This might seem to be a positive outcome for the bears. However, it could lead to reduced tolerance for bears among local people, because the local economy will lose valuable revenue from hunting, according to a ...
An analgesic molecule discovered in its natural state in Africa
2013-09-26
Even more surprising, analysis show that the molecule is identical to Tramadol, a wholly synthetic medication that is used world-wide as a painkiller. According to the research team, this is the first time ever that a synthetic medication produced by the pharmaceutical industry has been discovered in strong concentrations in a natural source. This unexpected discovery had just been published in the chemical journal' "Angewandte Chemie"
Nauclea latifolia (also know as the pin cushion tree) is a small shrub that is widely abundant throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In traditional ...
Singing mice protect their turf with high-pitched tunes
2013-09-26
Two species of tawny brown singing mice that live deep in the mountain cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama set their boundaries by emitting high-pitched trills, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.
Although males of both the Alston's singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) and Chiriqui singing mouse (S. xerampelinus) sing to attract mates and repel rivals within their respective species, the findings show for the first time that communication is being used to create geographic boundaries between species.
In this case, the smaller Alston's ...
New dwarfism mutation identified in dogs
2013-09-26
Professor Hannes Lohi's research group at the University of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center has identified a mutation in ITGA10 gene, causing chondrodysplasia in two dog breeds, the Norwegian Elkhound and the Karelian Bear Dog. The research revealed a new chondrodysplasia gene in dogs, and a candidate gene for human chondrodysplasias. The finding has implications on bone biology as well as canine health. A genetic test can now be used to identify mutation carriers in the two affected dog breeds. The study was published on the scientific journal PLOS ONE on 25 September ...
Debt linked to mental health problems
2013-09-26
New research, led by the University of Southampton, has shown that people in debt are three times more likely to have a mental health problem than those not in debt.
There is currently around £156 billion in unsecured debt such as credit cards in the UK, of which the average family owes more than £11,000. Levels of debt have increased in recent years due to the economic recession and are predicted to increase further.
Researchers from the University of Southampton, along with a researcher from Kingston University, carried out a systematic review on all previous research ...