Saturday, November 10, 2012

Stem cell scientists discover potential way to expand cells for use with patients

ScienceDaily (Nov. 8, 2012) ? Canadian and Italian stem cell researchers have discovered a new "master control gene" for human blood stem cells and found that manipulating its levels could potentially create a way to expand these cells for clinical use.

The findings, published November 8 online ahead of print in Cell Stem Cell, usher in a new paradigm for the regulation of human blood stem cells, says co-principal investigator Dr. John Dick, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology and is a Senior Scientist at University Health Network's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI), the research arm of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. He is also a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto.

"For the first time in human blood stem cells, we have established that a new class of non-coding RNA called miRNA represents a new tactic for manipulating these cells, which opens the door to expanding them for therapeutic uses," says Dr. Dick.

In 2011, Dr. Dick isolated a human blood stem cell in its purest form -- as a single stem cell capable of regenerating the entire blood system -- paving the way for clinical uses. He also pioneered the cancer stem cell field by identifying leukemia stem cells in 1994 and colon cancer stem cells in 2007.

OCI lead author Dr. Eric Lechman says the research team removed a master control gene -- microRNA 126 (miR-126) -- that normally governs the expression of hundreds of other genes by keeping them silenced, which in turn keeps the stem cells in a non-dividing dormant state. The method was to introduce excess numbers of miR-126 binding sites into the stem cells by using a specially designed viral vector.

"The virus acted like a sponge and mopped up the specific miRNA in the cells. This enabled the expression of normally repressed genes to become prominent, after which we observed a long-term expansion of the blood stem cells without exhaustion or malignant transformation," says Dr. Lechman.

Adds Dr. Dick: "We've shown that if you remove the miRNA you can expand the stem cells while keeping their identity intact. That's the key to long-term stem cell expansion for use with patients." The co-principal investigator was Dr. Luigi Naldini, Director, of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milan.

Dr. Dick's research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Terry Fox Foundation, Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Canada Research Chair Program, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Canada Foundation of Innovation, as well as The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Princess Margaret Hospital, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Eric?R. Lechman, Bernhard Gentner, Peter van?Galen, Alice Giustacchini, Massimo Saini, Francesco?E. Boccalatte, Hidefumi Hiramatsu, Umberto Restuccia, Angela Bachi, Veronique Voisin, Gary?D. Bader, John?E. Dick, Luigi Naldini. Attenuation of miR-126 Activity Expands HSC In?Vivo without Exhaustion. Cell Stem Cell, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2012.09.001

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/EkhcBU95gPw/121108141024.htm

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Review: Regina Spektor at the Music Hall - KansasCity.com

The evening ended much like it began: with Regina Spektor on stage, issuing an austere rendition one of her many imaginative songs about love and all its consequences.

On Wednesday night, between those songs, joined by a three-piece band (cello, keyboards, drums), she kept a crowd of more than 2,500 inside the Music Hall in her charming thrall, exhibiting her esteemed talents as a composer, lyricist, singer and musician. Spektor, 32, is a classically trained pianist who began composing more popular forms of music in her late teens. Since 2001, she has released six albums, including ?What We Saw From the Cheap Seats,? released in May. She would play nine tracks from the deluxe edition of that album during a 95-minute set. Whether she was playing something new, like ?Patron Saint? or ?All the Rowboats,? or an old favorite, like ?On the Radio,? ?Dance Anthem of the ?80s? or ?Fidelity,? her audience rewarded her with gales of applause. Between songs, almost to the point of excess, they bombarded her with song requests and expressions of affection and support.For the most part, she let her music do the talking, though she did admit to eating, ?so much barbecue I can?t think.?She had to restart one song (?One?), and she paused for several seconds during another (?Samson?) because she couldn?t remember the lyrics; otherwise she delivered a polished performance that was filled with clever lyrical odysseys and rapturous musical escapades.Her brightest gift is her knack for writing pop melodies with inventive twists. Most of her songs invite sing-alongs, but first they take some getting used to. One of those is ?Small Town Moon,? a lovely piano ballad with a sunny melody that belies some of the gray-day lyrics: ?There?s a small town in my mind / How can I leave without hurting everyone that made me??That was a ?Cheap Seats? song that provoked a warm reaction; so did ?Don?t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas),? a song with an irresistible melody and lyrics that showcase her fetish for abstract wordplay. The cello lead on that song was stellar. Other highlights: ?Firewood,? the prettiest song on ?Cheap Seats,? and ?Sailor Song.?She played a few songs solo, at the piano, including ?The Prayer of Francois Villon.? She sang the opener, ?Ain?t No Cover,? acapella, tapping on her microphone occasionally for some percussion. ?Call Them Brothers? was performed as a guitar duet with her husband, Jack Dishel, who opened the show as Only Son.She ended her four-song encore with a song that had been requested several times, ?Samson? ? the hymn whose lyrics she forgot. She was alone at the piano for that one, too, rendering another bittersweet tale of love come and gone to a crowd that hung on each word, down to the evening?s final line: ?You are my sweetest downfall / I loved you first.? Setlist: Ain?t No Cover; The Calculation; On the Radio; Small Town Moon; Ode to Divorce; Patron Saint; How; All the Rowboats; Blue Lips; The Prayer of Francois Villon; Call Them Brothers; Dance Anthem of the ?80s; Better; Don?t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas); Firewood; Oh Marcello; Ballad of a Politician; Sailor Song; Open; The Party. Encore: Us; Fidelity; Hotel Song; Samson.

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/08/3906448/review-regina-spektor-at-the-music.html

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