(Press-News.org) Researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) have deciphered the function executed by a protein called β-catenin in generating blood tissue stem cells. These cells, also called haematopoietic, are used as a source for transplants that form part of the therapies to fight different types of leukaemia. The results obtained will open the doors to produce these stem cells in the laboratory and, thus, improve the quality and quantity of these surgical procedures. This will let patients with no compatible donors be able to benefit from this discovery in the future.
The study, executed jointly with the Erasmus Medical Center Stem Cell of Rotterdam and published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, analysed a chain of molecular reactions that are produced inside some embryonic cells and that play a role in the creation of a haematopoietic stem cells. 'Our study contributes to deciphering the code that makes a precursor cell that is only found in the embryo become a haematopoietic stem cell. In order for that to happen, the β-catenin protein must be activated for a while and with a specific dosage' explains Dr Anna Bigas, head of the IMIM Stem Cells & Cancer Group and lead researcher.
This protein also plays a fundamental role in the cells that originate and maintain some types of leukaemia. 'The parallelisms between normal and leukaemia stem cells prove to us that the molecular pathways that regulate both populations are the same. For this reason, our work will help us understand the origin of these diseases', argues Dr Bigas.
In addition to embryonic stem cells, each of our body's organs has another type of stem cell that has the capacity to regenerate all the cells for the tissue in question. However, they are only formed in the embryonic stage and are maintained for the rest of our lives. Haematopoietic stem cells are part of the blood and, when they are transplanted, they are the inception for all of this tissue's cells.
At present, transplanting these cells is dependent on the availability of compatible donors. Nonetheless, there is still a high percentage of patients with no donors and that, therefore, cannot be submitted to this procedure. The results of this article lay the foundations so that, in the future, these patients can benefit from a source of laboratory-generated haematopoietic stem cells created from compatible embryonic cells or other types of expressly transformed cells.
INFORMATION:
Article of reference:
"Hematopoietic stem cell development requires transient Wnt/ β-catenin activity" Cristina Ruiz-Herguido, Jordi Guiu, Teresa D'Altri , Julia Inglés-Esteve, Elaine Dzierzak, Lluis Espinosa and Anna Bigas Journal of Experimental Medicine 10.1084/jem.20120225
Key function of protein discovered for obtaining blood stem cells as source for transplants
With an eye to the future, the results will let cells be obtained in the laboratory that can be transplanted into leukaemia patients with no compatible donors
2012-07-26
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2 Solar System puzzles solved
2012-07-26
Washington, D.C.— Comets and asteroids preserve the building blocks of our Solar System and should help explain its origin. But there are unsolved puzzles. For example, how did icy comets obtain particles that formed at high temperatures, and how did these refractory particles acquire rims with different compositions? Carnegie's theoretical astrophysicist Alan Boss and cosmochemist Conel Alexander* are the first to model the trajectories of such particles in the unstable disk of gas and dust that formed the Solar System. They found that these refractory particles could ...
Forest carbon monitoring breakthrough in Colombia
2012-07-26
Washington, D.C.—Using new, highly efficient techniques, Carnegie and Colombian scientists have developed accurate high-resolution maps of the carbon stocks locked in tropical vegetation for 40% of the Colombian Amazon (165,000 square kilometers/64,000 square miles), an area about four times the size of Switzerland. Until now, the inability to accurately quantify carbon stocks at high spatial resolution over large areas has hindered the United Nations' Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, which is aimed at creating financial value ...
Local weather patterns affect beliefs about global warming, NYU and Temple researchers find
2012-07-26
Local weather patterns temporarily influence people's beliefs about evidence for global warming, according to research by political scientists at New York University and Temple University. Their study, which appears in the Journal of Politics, found that those living in places experiencing warmer-than-normal temperatures at the time they were surveyed were significantly more likely than others to say there is evidence for global warming.
"Global climate change is one of the most important public policy challenges of our time, but it is a complex issue with which Americans ...
New method to encourage virtual power plants for efficient renewable energy production
2012-07-26
Researchers from the University of Southampton have devised a novel method for forming virtual power plants to provide renewable energy production in the UK.
In the last decade, small and distributed energy resources (DERs), like wind farms and solar panels, have begun to appear in greater numbers in the electricity supply network (Grid).
To ensure that energy demand is met without interruptions, the Grid requires power suppliers to provide an estimate of their production and the confidence in meeting that estimate. Depending on the confidence placed on the estimates, ...
It's a bird, not a plane: York U study finds migrating songbirds depart on time
2012-07-26
TORONTO, July 25, 2012 – A new study by York University researchers finds that songbirds follow a strict annual schedule when migrating to their breeding grounds – with some birds departing on precisely the same date each year.
The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is the first to track the migration routes and timing of individual songbirds over multiple years. Researchers outfitted wood thrushes with tiny geolocator "backpacks," recording data on their movements.
Spring departure dates of birds heading from the tropics to North American breeding grounds were ...
Adolescent sexual behavior tied to motion picture sexual content exposure, says MU researcher
2012-07-26
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Young people who watch more sexual content from movies also tend to engage in more sexual behavior and begin sexual activity at an earlier age, according to a University of Missouri researcher's study.
"We can't say that watching sexual content in movies is directly responsible for adolescents' sexual behavior," said Ross O'Hara, currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Missouri, who conducted the research with other psychological scientists while at Dartmouth College. "However, there is a correlation between the two. Sensation seeking, or ...
Newfound gene may help bacteria survive in extreme environments
2012-07-26
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In the days following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, methane-eating bacteria bloomed in the Gulf of Mexico, feasting on the methane that gushed, along with oil, from the damaged well. The sudden influx of microbes was a scientific curiosity: Prior to the oil spill, scientists had observed relatively few signs of methane-eating microbes in the area.
Now researchers at MIT have discovered a bacterial gene that may explain this sudden influx of methane-eating bacteria. This gene enables bacteria to survive in extreme, oxygen-depleted environments, ...
Identifying the arrogant boss
2012-07-26
VIDEO:
Are all bosses arrogant?
Click here for more information.
Akron, Ohio, July 25, 2012 – Arrogant bosses can drain the bottom line because they are typically poor performers who cover up their insecurities by disparaging subordinates, leading to organizational dysfunction and employee turnover.
A new measure of arrogance, developed by researchers at The University of Akron and Michigan State University, can help organizations identify arrogant managers before they have ...
Protected areas face threats in sustaining biodiversity, Penn's Daniel Janzen and colleagues report
2012-07-26
PHILADELPHIA — Establishing protection over a swath of land seems like a good way to conserve its species and its ecosystems. But in a new study, University of Pennsylvania biologist Daniel Janzen joins more than 200 colleagues to report that protected areas are still vulnerable to damaging encroachment, and many are suffering from biodiversity loss.
"If you put a boundary around a piece of land and install some bored park guards and that's all you do, the park will eventually die," said Janzen, DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology in Penn's Department of Biology. ...
Citizen science helps unlock European genetic heritage
2012-07-26
A University of Sheffield academic is helping a team of citizen scientists to carry out crucial research into European genetic heritage.
Citizen Scientists are not required to have a scientific background or training, but instead they possess a passion for the subject and are increasingly being empowered by the scientific community to get involved in research.
Dr Andy Grierson, from the University of Sheffield's Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), has helped a team of citizen scientists from Europe and North America to identify vital new clues to tell ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Fatty muscles raise the risk of serious heart disease regardless of overall body weight
HKU ecologists uncover significant ecological impact of hybrid grouper release through religious practices
New register opens to crown Champion Trees across the U.S.
A unified approach to health data exchange
New superconductor with hallmark of unconventional superconductivity discovered
Global HIV study finds that cardiovascular risk models underestimate for key populations
New study offers insights into how populations conform or go against the crowd
Development of a high-performance AI device utilizing ion-controlled spin wave interference in magnetic materials
WashU researchers map individual brain dynamics
Technology for oxidizing atmospheric methane won’t help the climate
US Department of Energy announces Early Career Research Program for FY 2025
PECASE winners: 3 UVA engineering professors receive presidential early career awards
‘Turn on the lights’: DAVD display helps navy divers navigate undersea conditions
MSU researcher’s breakthrough model sheds light on solar storms and space weather
Nebraska psychology professor recognized with Presidential Early Career Award
New data shows how ‘rage giving’ boosted immigrant-serving nonprofits during the first Trump Administration
Unique characteristics of a rare liver cancer identified as clinical trial of new treatment begins
From lab to field: CABBI pipeline delivers oil-rich sorghum
Stem cell therapy jumpstarts brain recovery after stroke
Polymer editing can upcycle waste into higher-performance plastics
Research on past hurricanes aims to reduce future risk
UT Health San Antonio, UTSA researchers receive prestigious 2025 Hill Prizes for medicine and technology
Panorama of our nearest galactic neighbor unveils hundreds of millions of stars
A chain reaction: HIV vaccines can lead to antibodies against antibodies
Bacteria in polymers form cables that grow into living gels
Rotavirus protein NSP4 manipulates gastrointestinal disease severity
‘Ding-dong:’ A study finds specific neurons with an immune doorbell
A major advance in biology combines DNA and RNA and could revolutionize cancer treatments
Neutrophil elastase as a predictor of delivery in pregnant women with preterm labor
NIH to lead implementation of National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act
[Press-News.org] Key function of protein discovered for obtaining blood stem cells as source for transplantsWith an eye to the future, the results will let cells be obtained in the laboratory that can be transplanted into leukaemia patients with no compatible donors