PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Easy recipe to make bone and cartilage

2014-10-07
(Press-News.org) Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Monash University and RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology have used a combination of small molecules to generate mouse cells that can form bone and cartilage. This new method is easily scalable, and hence is a promising approach for the repair of human bone and cartilage defects. The research has just been published at http://dev.biologists.org/ in the scientific journal Development.

Current strategies to regenerate bone and cartilage use adult stem cells that are committed to forming these tissues, but such strategies have shown limited success. The team led by Naoki Nakayama, Ph.D., holder of the Jerold B. Katz Distinguished Professorship in Stem Cell Research at the UTHealth Medical School, took a different approach, choosing to work with pluripotent stem cells from the early mouse embryo, which have the potential to become any cell type. To persuade these embryonic stem cells to become cells that can form cartilage (chondrocytes) and then bone, the team chose to use small molecules.

"Current cell generation strategies generally use proteins to direct the stem cells to give rise to functional cells of interest. Such proteins act on the target cells through multiple mechanisms, not all of which necessarily help to achieve the overall goal [of generating chondrocytes]. In addition, proteins are unstable and expensive to make, and the cost is one of the hurdles that limits the ability of scientists to make the amounts necessary for clinical purposes", said Nakayama, whose laboratory is housed in the Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine in the UTHealth Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases.

"In contrast, small molecules are generally longer-lasting than proteins in culture and also inexpensive to produce to a large scale. They can also allow a particular mechanism to be more precisely activated. Such strategies have already been used to replace protein factors with such small molecules to establish a better culture method for maintaining pluripotent embryonic stem cells and for induction of early neural precursor cells from them," he said.

Using embryonic stem cells and small molecules, the team was able to generate cells that look and behave like chondrocyte precursor cells e.g. paraxial mesoderm and sclerotome that are destined to form cartilage for the formation of backbone and disc. When such cartilage was transplanted into mice, they were able to form bone-like structures.

This team's strategy offers great potential in the repair of bone defects through cartilage or potentially of damaged cartilage itself in humans in the future, "because it can easily be scaled up to reproducibly produce large numbers of cartilage-forming chondrocyte precursors," he said. INFORMATION: If reporting this story, please mention Development as the source and, if reporting online, please carry a link to: http://dev.biologists.org/content/141/20/3848 Reference Zhao, J., Li, S., Trilok, S., Tanaka, M., Jokubaitis-Jameson, V., Wang, B., Niwa, H. and Nakayama, N. (2014). Small molecule-directed specification of sclerotome-like chondroprogenitors and induction of a somatic chondrogenesis program from embryonic stem cells. Development, 20, 3848-3858.

This article is posted on this site to give advance access to other authorised media who may wish to report on this story. Full attribution is required, and if reporting online a link to jeb.biologists.com is also required. The story posted here is copyrighted. Therefore advance permission is required before any and every reproduction of each article in full. Please contact permissions@biologists.com



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A new pathway discovered regulating autoimmune diseases

2014-10-07
Boston, MA – The main function of the immune system is to protect against diseases and infections. For unknown reasons our immune system attacks healthy cells, tissues and organs in a process called autoimmunity, which can result in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. There are currently no existing cures for these diseases. Now, in a new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a potential treatment maybe on the horizon. Researchers found that NAD+, a natural molecule found in living cells, plants ...

New genetic variants associated with coffee drinking

2014-10-07
Boston, MA — A new, large-scale study has identified six new genetic variants associated with habitual coffee drinking. The genome-wide meta-analysis, led by Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers, helps explain why a given amount of coffee or caffeine has different effects on different people and provides a genetic basis for future research exploring the links between coffee and health. "Coffee and caffeine have been linked to beneficial and adverse health effects. Our findings may allow us to identify subgroups of people most ...

MRI technique detects evidence of cognitive decline before symptoms appear

MRI technique detects evidence of cognitive decline before symptoms appear
2014-10-07
OAK BROOK, Ill. – A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique can detect signs of cognitive decline in the brain even before symptoms appear, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The technique has the potential to serve as a biomarker in very early diagnosis of preclinical dementia. The World Health Organization estimates that dementia affects more than 35 million people worldwide, a number expected to more than double by 2030. Problems in the brain related to dementia, such as reduced blood flow, might be present for years but are ...

Rural hospitals replicate experiences of big city stroke care

2014-10-07
A new model for stroke care is being studied in rural Alberta to reduce inequities in health across communities. This model, presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress, shows how hospitals in rural areas can mimic the type of care that's often only available in larger centres. In geographically diverse Canada, stroke care can seem like tale of two cities – or more like a city and a small town. The ideal is stroke unit care, where a multidisciplinary staff of doctors, nurses and therapists collaborate on treatment and the road to recovery. In Alberta, that type of ...

Stroke patients past the 90-day danger period remain at high risk for repeat event

2014-10-07
People who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini-stroke) are at high risk for a second similar event or other serious medical problems for at least five years and need better follow up and strategies to prevent these problems, according to data presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress. At present, most stroke or TIA patients in Canada are followed closely by specialty clinics for about 90 days after an event, during the period they are considered at highest risk for a repeat event. If no such incident occurs during that period, they are often transferred ...

Probiotics protect children and pregnant women against heavy metal poisoning

2014-10-07
WASHINGTON, DC – October 7, 2014 -- Yogurt containing probiotic bacteria successfully protected children and pregnant women against heavy metal exposure in a recent study. Working with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canadian and Tanzanian researchers created and distributed a special yogurt containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus bacteria and observed the outcomes against a control group. The work is published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. A research team from the Canadian Centre for Human ...

New vaccines targeting adults and teens are best chance to eliminate TB by 2050

2014-10-06
Targets to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2050 are more likely to be met if new vaccines are developed for adults and adolescents instead of for infants, according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Stop TB Department at the World Health Organization found that a vaccine given to adolescents and adults in low- and middle-income countries could have a much larger impact on the burden of TB worldwide and is more likely to be cost-effective, even ...

Vesicles influence the function of nerve cells

2014-10-06
Tiny vesicles containing protective substances which they transmit to nerve cells apparently play an important role in the functioning of neurons. As cell biologists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have discovered, nerve cells can enlist the aid of mini-vesicles of neighboring glial cells to defend themselves against stress and other potentially detrimental factors. These vesicles, called exosomes, appear to stimulate the neurons on various levels: they influence electrical stimulus conduction, biochemical signal transfer, and gene regulation. Exosomes are ...

Is internet-based diabetes self-management education beneficial?

Is internet-based diabetes self-management education beneficial?
2014-10-06
New Rochelle, NY, October 6, 2014—Self-management of diabetes, including medication, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies, is essential for optimal glycemic control and minimizing complications of the disease. Education to teach and improve self-management skills is critical for success and, when delivered via the Internet, can lead to better glycemic control and enhanced diabetes knowledge compared to usual care, according to a Review article in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is ...

Sex differences in distance running participation disappears, according to GVSU research

Sex differences in distance running participation disappears, according to GVSU research
2014-10-06
ALLENDALE, Mich. — Even among contemporary U.S. distance runners, men are still much more likely than women to have a competitive orientation, according to researchers at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. The findings were published in the online journal, Evolutionary Psychology at http://www.epjournal.net/articles/u-s-masters-track-participation-reveals-a-stable-sex-difference-in-competitiveness/ The new research, led by Robert Deaner, associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley State, shows that, on average, American men participate at ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Study outlines key role of national and EU policy to control emissions from German hydrogen economy

Beloved Disney classics convey an idealized image of fatherhood

Sensitive ceramics for soft robotics

Trends in hospitalizations and liver transplants associated with alcohol-induced liver disease

Spinal cord stimulation vs medical management for chronic back and leg pain

Engineered receptors help the immune system home in on cancer

How conflicting memories of sex and starvation compete to drive behavior

Scientists discover ‘entirely unanticipated’ role of protein netrin1 in spinal cord development

Novel SOURCE study examining development of early COPD in ages 30 to 55

NRL completes development of robotics capable of servicing satellites, enabling resilience for the U.S. space infrastructure

Clinical trial shows positive results for potential treatment to combat a challenging rare disease

New research shows relationship between heart shape and risk of cardiovascular disease

Increase in crisis coverage, but not the number of crisis news events

New study provides first evidence of African children with severe malaria experiencing partial resistance to world’s most powerful malaria drug

Texting abbreviations makes senders seem insincere, study finds

Living microbes discovered in Earth’s driest desert

Artemisinin partial resistance in Ugandan children with complicated malaria

When is a hole not a hole? Researchers investigate the mystery of 'latent pores'

ETRI, demonstration of 8-photon qubit chip for quantum computation

Remote telemedicine tool found highly accurate in diagnosing melanoma

New roles in infectious process for molecule that inhibits flu

Transforming anion exchange membranes in water electrolysis for green hydrogen production

AI method can spot potential disease faster, better than humans

A development by Graz University of Technology makes concreting more reliable, safer and more economical

Pinpointing hydrogen isotopes in titanium hydride nanofilms

Political abuse on X is a global, widespread, and cross-partisan phenomenon, suggests new study

Reintroduction of resistant frogs facilitates landscape-scale recovery in the presence of a lethal fungal disease

Scientists compile library for evaluating exoplanet water

Updated first aid guidelines enhance care for opioid overdose, bleeding, other emergencies

Revolutionizing biology education: Scientists film ‘giant’ mimivirus in action

[Press-News.org] Easy recipe to make bone and cartilage