Reverse Aging in Mice - A Fountain Of Youth?

A medical breakthroughs involving mice was published online by the journal Nature on November 28 and provides the first compelling evidence of aging’s reversal — not just delay — in a high-level organism, according to the following article. By tweaking enzymes that prevent chromosome tips from unraveling, researchers have shown age-related tissue degeneration can be reversed in some mice. This would really be very exciting as it marks for the first time, the possibility of actually stopping and reversing the visible signs of aging.
    . . .  June

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Telomere Tweaks Reverse Aging in Mice
Wired Science | Wired.com:

By tweaking enzymes that prevent chromosome tips from unraveling, researchers have shown age-related tissue degeneration can be reversed in some mice.

Medical breakthroughs involving mice must be taken with rock-sized grains of salt because, despite their superficial genetic similarity, rodents are a very long way from humans. The latest findings, published online by the journal Nature on November 28, are no exception. Nevertheless, they provide the first compelling evidence of aging’s reversal — not just delay — in a high-level organism.

The work represents an “unprecedented reversal of age-related decline in the central nervous system and other organs vital to adult mammalian health,” wrote the team led by Ronald DePinho, a cancer geneticist at Harvard Medical School.

The researchers genetically engineered mice to lack telomerase, the key enzyme ingredient in structures called telomeres that cap the tips of chromosomes and prevent them from fraying. In healthy mammals, telomeres shorten slightly with each round of cell division and such shortening is linked to a variety of age-related disorders.

DePinho’s telomerase-less mice tended to be prematurely aged and infertile with small brains, damaged intestines and poor senses of smell. Four weeks after the researchers gave them a drug designed to stimulate telomerase production, however, these visible signs of aging had reversed.

In a press release, DePinho described the transformation as “akin to a Ponce de León effect,” referring to the 16th century conquistador’s search for a fountain of youth.

It may be a premature choice of phrase. Before speculation on human applications can even begin, the researchers need to determine whether telomerase activation works for “normal” mice, and not just a single strain genetically engineered to age prematurely.


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HUMAN BLOOD Can now Be Created out of Skin Cells?

 This is really exciting!.Canadian scientists have transformed bits of human skin into human blood  - a major medical breakthrough that could yield new sources of blood for transfusions according to the article below. They even generated multiple different blood-cell types — oxygen-ferrying red blood cells, infection-fighting white blood cells, cells that make platelets needed for healing and more. Wow!
    . . . June

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Canadian scientists transform human skin into blood
By Sharon Kirkey, Postmedia News November 7, 2010

"Canadian scientists have transformed pinches of human skin into petri dishes of human blood — a major medical breakthrough that could yield new sources of blood for transfusions after cancer treatments or surgery.

The discovery, by researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., could one day potentially allow anyone needing blood after multiple rounds of surgery or chemotherapy, or for blood disorders such as anemia, to have a backup supply of blood created from a tiny patch of their own skin — eliminating the risk of their body’s immune system rejecting blood from a donor.

Researchers predict the lab-grown blood could be ready for testing in humans within two years.
The achievement, published Sunday in the journal Nature, raises the possibility of personalizing blood production for patients for the first time.

"This is a very important discovery. I think it represents a seminal contribution" to the rapidly evolving field of stem-cell research, said Michael Rudnicki, scientific director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network and director of the Regenerative Medicine Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

"That one can play with the fate of a cell and force it sideways into something that it doesn’t at all resemble, and then being able to use it, is tremendously exciting."

The procedure is also relatively simple. It involves taking a small piece of skin just centimetres in size, which would require only a stitch to close, extracting fibroblasts — abundant cells in the skin that make up the connective tissue and give skin its flexibility — and bathing them in growth factors in a petri dish. Next, by adding a single protein that binds to DNA and acts as an on/off switch, the researchers turned on or off some 2,000 genes and reprogrammed the skin cells to differentiate or morph into millions of blood progenitors — the cells the produce blood.

They generated multiple different blood-cell types — oxygen-ferrying red blood cells, infection-fighting white blood cells, cells that make platelets needed for healing, and macrophages, the garbage trucks of the blood system that swallow and break down foreign material.

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Creating human blood from skin reads more like a futuristic comic book - but it's actually happening. Maybe we won't need to have these ethical battles about stem cells after all. What do you think the next medical discovery will be?  Leave a comment.


June


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More Money Required For STEM CELL Research in Canada?

Stem cells are critical for regenerative medicine, medicine that involves growing new cells, tissues or organs, according to the article below. Stem cell therapies are being used to treat a number of diseases including leukemia and some immune disorders and experimental procedures are being done for other illnesses. The writer suggests that unless the government spends a lot more in this area, then Canada will fall behind other countries in this research.
    . . . June

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Canada's mantle as stem-cell leader fading, experts warn:

By Meagan Fitzpatrick, Postmedia News November 2, 2010

OTTAWA — Canada has been a world-renowned leader in stem cell research but is now falling behind and its international reputation is at risk unless major investments are made in the rapidly evolving field, researchers warned parliamentarians Tuesday.

Canada first discovered stem cells, the precursors of all cells in the body, 50 years ago and, until recently, was at the forefront of research, MPs on the House of Commons health committee heard Tuesday from leading experts in the field. Funding is drying up, however, and Canada is quickly being overtaken by other jurisdictions which are spending massive amounts of money because they consider stem cell research the future of medicine.

"Stem cell research is an area which Canada has pioneered, has led the world, and we've got the talent, the will and the expertise to continue to do so," said Dr. Drew Lyall, chair of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation. "It's simply not realistic to expect Canada, or indeed anyone else, to keep up to remain globally competitive in the long-term without some further dedicated investment in the field."

Lyall and other witnesses testifying before the committee, noted that the state of California alone, is investing $3 billion over a 10-year period in stem cell research projects. The entire country of Canada is investing nowhere near that amount, he said.

Stem cells are critical for regenerative medicine, medicine that involves growing new cells, tissues or organs. Stem cell therapies are being used to treat a number of diseases including leukemia and some immune disorders and experimental procedures are being done for other illnesses.

Stem cell therapies are considered to hold great promise for treating Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, arthritis, diabetes, hemophilia and spinal cord injuries.

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Possible Stem Cell Repository For Bio-Matrix Scientific Group

 According to the following article, Bio-Matrix Scientific Group Inc. announced that the company has entered into discussions with several organizations regarding the establishment of adult stem cell repositories at the company's 15,000 sq. ft. facility and see opportunities in areas including cancer stem cells, adult stem cell storage for future therapeutic usage and tumor banking for establishing cell lines for cancer research.Go for it!
    . . . June


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Bio-Matrix Scientific Group in Discussions on Possible Stem Cell Repository Ventures
MarketWatch:   SAN DIEGO, Oct 4, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX)

Bio-Matrix Scientific Group Inc. announced today the company has entered into discussions with several organizations regarding the establishment of adult stem cell repositories at the company's 15,000 sq. ft. facility.

Chairman & CEO David Koos commented about these recent developments, stating, 'The company has recently been approached by several entities seeking to develop adult stem cell repositories that dovetail into their overall business models.

We see opportunities in working with organizations in areas including cancer stem cells, adult stem cell storage for future therapeutic usage and tumor banking for establishing cell lines for cancer research. I do see potential for initiation of these repositories in the near term.'

A spokesperson for BMSN stated the company believes the rapid growth of stem cell therapies combined with the lack of immediate stem cell availability for use in these therapies have been major factors contributing to the recent inquiries received by the company from entities wishing to explore establishing repositories at the company's facility.

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Government Funding Of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Can Continue For Now

 According to the article below, An appeals court ruled Tuesday that government funding of embryonic stem cell research can continue for now. Researchers hope one day to use stem cells in ways that cure spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments. Opponents say the research is a form of abortion because human embryos must be destroyed to obtain the stem cells. There really are two sides to this issue. the court will decide.
   . . . June


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 Court OKs US-funded stem cell research for now
Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON – An appeals court ruled Tuesday that government funding of embryonic stem cell research can continue for now.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington granted the Obama administration's request to allow the funding from the National Institutes of Health while it appeals a judge's order blocking the research.

The administration had argued that stopping the research while the case proceeds would irreparably harm scientific progress toward potentially lifesaving medical treatment.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had blocked President Barack Obama's research funding guidelines because he said it's likely they violate the law against federal funding of embryo destruction.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court issued an unusually quick decision, a day after hearing arguments over whether the funding could continue while it considers the case. The court also said it would expedite the case.

Researchers hope one day to use stem cells in ways that cure spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments. Opponents say the research is a form of abortion because human embryos must be destroyed to obtain the stem cells.

A 1996 law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in work that harms an embryo, so batches have been culled using private money. But those batches can reproduce in lab dishes indefinitely, and Obama administration issued rules permitting taxpayer dollars to be used in work with the already created batches.

The administration thus expanded the number of stem cell lines created with private money that federally funded scientists could research, up from the 21 that President George W. Bush had allowed to 75 so far.

"President Obama made expansion of stem cell research and the pursuit of groundbreaking treatments and cures a top priority when he took office," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement after the ruling. "We're heartened that the court will allow NIH and their grantees to continue moving forward while the appeal is resolved.

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