(Press-News.org) Tampa, Fla. (Mar. 07, 2011) – Transplanting stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood cells and menstrual blood cells may offer future therapeutic benefit for those suffering from stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), says a team of neuroscience researchers from the University of South Florida's Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and collaborators from three private-sector research groups, Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., Tampa, FL, Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Oldsmar, FL, and Cryopraxis, Cell Praxis, BioRio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Their collective paper outlining the potential benefits of transplanting these stem cells is published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (20:1), now freely available on line at http://www.ingenta.com/journals/browse/cog/ct.
"Umbilical cord blood cells and stem cells derived from menstrual blood are relatively easy to obtain, appear to be able to differentiate into many kinds of cells, and are immunologically immature, offering them the potential to promote cell survival rather than play a cell replacement role when transplanted," said Dr. Paul Sanberg, Distinguished University Professor and executive director of the Center of Excellence on Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida.
According to Dr. Eduardo Cruz, CEO of Cell PRAXIS BioRio, human umbilical cord blood cells (hUCBs) are limited to collection at the time of birth, but menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) could be collected once a month for 40 years from women during their reproductive stage.
"Both hUCBs and MenSCs have been used successfully in laboratory experiments with animal models of diseases," noted Dr. Cruz.
MenSCs have been transplanted into animal models of stroke and have been shown to be able to differentiate into a number of neural cell types. Transplanting hUCBs into animal models of stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and ALS has demonstrated their therapeutic potential for reducing inflammation, a key component of many neurodegenerative diseases.
According to Mercedes Walton, CEO of Cryo-Cell International, Inc., stem cell science and stem cell therapies are emerging with amazing speed in the last several years. "Our breakthrough discovery that menstrual blood cells contain proliferative stem cells that can differentiate into many different types of cells, including cardiac and neural cells, has opened new therapy possibilities," she said.
Stroke
Studies examining transplantation of MenSCs into laboratory cultures and animal models (in vitro and in vivo) of stroke have demonstrated a potential for protection against oxygen-glucose deprivation.
"Factors secreted by the transplanted cells were able to offer a neuroprotective effect," said Dr. Cesar Borlongan, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair. "This may relate to the cells secreting vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), brain-derived growth factors (BDNF), and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), all of which have potential benefits for the treatment of stroke."
A decade of studies using animal models of stroke has found that in many cases hUCBs failed to enter the brain following transplantation, yet behaviorial improvements were often observed, said Dr. Borlongan.
"These cells have anti-inflammatory properties and are pro-angiogenic, that is, they encourage cell growth and tissue repair," he said.
Alzheimer's disease
Similarly, studies using animal models of Alzheimer's disease have found that hUCBs also play an anti-inflammatory role. According to Dr. Jun Tan, professor of psychiatry and Robert A. Silver chair at the Rashid Laboratory for Developmental Neurobiology, USF Silver Child Development Center, one of the major causes of AD is the deposition of amyloid beta (AB), a chemical that activates the immune response in a number of key brain cell types, and this leads to an inflammatory state.
"It is likely that hUCBs can modify this inflammatory response and provide beneficial effects in animal models of AD," said Dr. Tan, who recently completed a study in which the brain-to-blood clearance of AB was demonstrated. Based on the findings of this research, Dr. Tan is developing clinical protocols with Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. and the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute.
"Our immediate goal is to move our beneficial findings with cord blood cells into clinical trials for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Tan.
This research is part of an ongoing research partnership between USF and Saneron*, Cryo-Cell and Cryopraxis aimed at determining the therapeutic benefits hUCBs present for a variety of neurological diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, and stroke.
"Our next stage of research is translational, with the goal of bringing these advancements to the patient bedside," said Nicole Kuzmin-Nichols, president and chief operating officer of Saneron. "Saneron is very pleased and excited that our long-standing research partnership with USF has provided to further the technology developed at USF and transferred to Saneron for further development."
ALS
When hUCB transplantation was studied in animal models of ALS, also a neurodegenerative disease with an inflammatory component, hUCB transplantation was shown to help regulate the inflammatory response by reducing the number of microglia - brain cells that initiate an inflammatory response. In this case, the benefits of injected hUCBs were dose-related.
"In contrast to when hUCBs were transplanted into animal models of stroke and AD, a considerable number of hUCBs were detected within the spinal cord in animal models of ALS," said Dr. Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis, an assistant professor in the USF Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair. "A relatively high dose was necessary, however."
For Cryo-Cell's Mercedes Walton, the synergy of collaboration is driving the future of stem cell transplantation technologies. "Cryo-Cell is extraordinarily fortunate to partner with some of the world's most distinguished stem cell researchers," she concluded.
###
Citation: Sanberg, P. R.; Eve, D. J.; Willing, A. E.; Garbuzova-Davis, S.; Tan, J.;, Sanberg, C. D.; Allickson, J. G.;, Cruz,, L. E.; Borlongan,, C. V. The treatment of neurodegenerative disorders using umbilical cord blood and menstrual blood-derived stem cells. Cell Transplant. 20(1):85-94; 2011.
* All USF faculty member study authors are consultants to Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc.
Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology R&D company, focused on neurological and cardiac cell therapy for the early intervention and treatment of several devastating or deadly diseases, which lack adequate treatment options. Saneron, a University of South Florida spin-out company is located at the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator. An affiliate of Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Saneron is committed to providing readily available, non-controversial stem cells for cellular therapies and has patented and patent-pending technology relating to our platform technology of umbilical cord blood and Sertoli cells.
Cell PRAXIS Bioengenharia is a platform corporation dedicated to translating research into viable therapeutic tools for use in regenerative and individualized medicine in order to improve the lives of millions of people through cell therapy and tissue engineering.
Based in Oldsmar, Florida, with nearly 230,000 clients worldwide, Cryo-Cell is one of the largest and most established family cord blood banks. ISO 9001:2008 certified and accredited by the AABB, Cryo-Cell operates in a state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Tissue Practice (cGMP/cGTP)-compliant facility. In November 2007, the Company launched Célle (pronounced "C-L"), the world's first-ever commercial service allowing women to cryopreserve their own menstrual stem cells. Cryo-Cell is a publicly traded company. OTC Bulletin Board Symbol: CCEL. Expectant parents or healthcare professionals may call 1-800-STOR-CELL (1-800-786-7235) or visit www.cryo-cell.com.
The editorial offices for CELL TRANSPLANTATION are at the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, College of Medicine, the University of South Florida and the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Contact, David Eve, PhD. at celltransplantation@gmail.com or Camillo Ricordi, MD at ricordi@miami.edu
News Release by Randolph Fillmore, Florida Science Communications, www.sciencescribe.net
Transplanting umbilical cord and menstrual blood-derived stem cells offer hope for disorders
2011-03-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Research sheds light on fat digestibility in pigs
2011-03-08
Producers and feed companies add fat to swine diets to increase energy, but recent research from the University of Illinois suggests that measurements currently used for fat digestibility need to be updated.
"It's critical that we gain a better understanding of the energy value of fat," said Hans H. Stein, U of I professor in the Department of Animal Sciences. "If we don't know the true energy value of fat, we can't determine if it's economical to add to the diet."
In a recent experiment, Stein and his team of researchers studied how different types of diets affect ...
New weight loss discovery by Harvard scientists moves us closer to 'the Pill' for obesity
2011-03-08
An important discovery in mice may make a big difference in people's waistlines thanks to a team of Harvard scientists who found that reducing the function of a transmembrane protein, called Klotho, in obese mice with high blood sugar levels produced lean mice with reduced blood sugar levels. This protein also exists in humans, suggesting that selectively targeting Klotho could lead to a new class of drugs to reduce obesity and possibly Type 2 diabetes for people. This finding was recently published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org).
"Our study is a ...
Ultra fast photodetectors out of carbon nanotubes
2011-03-08
This release is available in German.
Carbon nanotubes have a multitude of unusual properties which make them promising candidates for optoelectronic components. However, so far it has proven extremely difficult to analyze or influence their optic and electronic properties. A team of researchers headed by Professor Alexander Holleitner, a physicist at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen and member of the Cluster of Excellence Nanosystems Munich (NIM), has now succeeded in developing a measurement method allowing a time-based resolution of the so-called photocurrent ...
Multiple sclerosis blocked in mouse model
2011-03-08
Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS).
According to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, this is important because MS is believed to be caused by misdirected immune cells that enter the brain and damage myelin, an insulating material on the branches of neurons that conduct nerve impulses.
New insights into how the brain regulates immune cell entry made the accomplishment possible. Washington University scientists had borrowed an anti-cancer drug ...
Fossil bird study describes ripple effect of extinction in animal kingdom
2011-03-08
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- A University of Florida study demonstrates extinction's ripple effect through the animal kingdom, including how the demise of large mammals 20,000 years ago led to the disappearance of one species of cowbird.
The study shows the trickle-down effect the loss of large mammals has on other species, and researchers say it is a lesson from the past that should be remembered when making conservation, game and land-use decisions today.
"There's nothing worse for a terrestrial ecosystem than the loss of large mammals – and the loss of apex predators like ...
University of Missouri researcher study provides insight into how corn makes hormones
2011-03-08
Columbia, MO -- It's a corn plant only a geneticist could love, but an MU researcher has found a way to help scientists love it.
Instead of the characteristic fan-like tassel that waves majestically atop the stalk, this corn plant sends up a cartoonishly skinny stick. Its ears -- if it makes them at all -- resemble small, chubby, lime-green caterpillars, not exactly something you want to dig your teeth into. To top it off, the corn plant stands only about three feet tall, at full maturity, and has few leaves.
"A farmer would say this corn plant looks terrible," said ...
Rockefeller Scientists discover new compound that rids cells of Alzheimer protein debris
2011-03-08
If you can't stop the beta-amyloid protein plaques from forming in Alzheimer's disease patients, then maybe you can help the body rid itself of them instead. At least that's what scientists from New York were hoping for when they found a drug candidate to do just that. Their work appears in a research report online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), and shows that a new compound, called "SMER28" stimulated autophagy in rat and mice cells. Autophagy is a process cells use to "clean out" the debris from their interior, including unwanted materials such as the protein ...
Scientists find key mechanism of childhood respiratory disease
2011-03-08
GALVESTON, Texas — Researchers have identified a critical part of the process by which one of the world's most common and dangerous early childhood infections, respiratory syncytial virus, causes disease.
The discovery could lead to badly needed new therapies for RSV, which in 2005 was estimated to have caused at least 3.4 million hospitalizations and 199,000 deaths among children under five worldwide.
By analyzing samples taken from infected infants and data from laboratory-mouse experiments, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that ...
Student innovation at Rensselaer transmits data and power wirelessly through submarine hulls
2011-03-08
Troy, N.Y. – Steel walls are no match for Tristan Lawry. The doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed and demonstrated an innovative new system that uses ultrasound to simultaneously transmit large quantities of data and power wirelessly through thick metal walls, like the hulls of ships and submarines.
Lawry, a student in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer, is one of three finalists for the 2011 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize. A public ceremony announcing this year's winner will be held ...
Rainwater harvest study finds roofing material affects water quality
2011-03-08
For the past few years, one of the most common questions facing the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) hasn't been over contentious water rights or proposed water projects; it's been from homeowners wanting to know what type of roofing material is most suitable for collecting rainwater for indoor domestic use.
"Rainwater harvesting is becoming fairly widespread, at least in Central Texas. There's interest born out of necessity because people are simply running out of water in rural areas or they're interested in conserving water supplies and it's good for the environment," ...