Louisiana (Stem Cell) – what-when-how

The state of Louisiana encourages the biotechnology industry, including adult stem cell research for economic development and scientific innovation. Growth in biotechnology and biomedicine for translating basic research into medical therapies is possible through appropriate legislation and funding, as well as strong collaborative networks for scientific research for industrial, academic, and clinical institutions throughout the state.

The Louisiana Alliance for Biotechnology provides networking opportunities between academic and commercial researchers to encourage economic growth and the transfer of basic research into commercially viable products. The Biomedi-cal Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana promotes regional scientific growth and development in coordination with Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport.

The foundation operates the Biomedical Research Institute and a Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Center for diagnosis and research in various fields, including immunology, neurological and cardiovascular cellular communication, signal transduction, and neu-rosciences. The foundations clinical application is performed by the Center for Biotechnology Innovation with a focus on research in energy, photonics, biogenetics, orthopedics, and medical informatics. The foundation is also developing a research and technology park called the International Technology Center to focus on biomedical healthcare delivery and biotechnology. This effort brings together nine of the academic institutions in north Louisiana

Louisiana is the only U.S. state to specifically prohibit research on human embryos.

The Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium was established in 2000 with funds given by the state of Louisiana for enhancing economic growth and innovation by attracting researchers, building research laboratories, and producing gene and cell therapies to be used in human clinical trials.

At present, no federal legislation in the United States is in place to regulate stem cell research (except by executive order to not allow federal funding for generation of new embryonic stem cell lines and limiting research on embryonic stem cell lines); this leaves each state responsible for determining policy and funding for stem cell research. Louisiana is the only state to specifically prohibit research on human embryos and restricts human embryonic stem cell research.

For expansion of the biotech industry in Louisiana, the division of economic development has set up three centers within the state, in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Davenport, to provide financial assistance with a small business investment company fund, business development services, and wet laboratory incubator space. Their financial support has allowed the creation of a Good Manufacturing Practice Laboratory for stem cell research and funding for the Louisiana Cancer Research Centers of New Orleans and for the Gene Therapy Research Consortium. They also work with start-up companies to bring to the marketplace the application of research from Louisiana universities.

Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge provides research laboratories and inpatient and outpatient medical clinics. The center opened in 1988 with funds provided by a philanthropic gift from C. B. Doc Pennington in 1980. The center is home to eight basic research laboratories, three clinical research units, 19 core service laboratories, and conference space.

The centers researchers specialize in a variety of disciplines including molecular biology, genom-ics and proteomics, and biochemistry. Though dedicated to nutrition and its related health issues, the centers research foci include tissue and organ regeneration postinjury/damage, characterization and biological mechanisms including formation of adult stem cells and adipose tissue, and the epigen-etic basis for human diseases of obesity, hypertension, and adult-onset diabetes.

Tulane University, in addition to providing education, is also a research university with active studies in biotechnology including vaccine and drug development, pain-control therapies, and gene therapy. Basic research is translated into clinical therapy and commercial products by the Office of Technology Development. In 2000 the university formed the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy with the goal of developing therapeutic treatment for a variety of human diseases, using adult stem cells through autologous donation and then turning them into therapy for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, Parkinsons disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, and Alzheimers disease. The center also provides career development and community education, encouraging dialogue on social, legal, and ethical issues related to gene therapy. Funding for the center is provided through grant funding from national, state, and private sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Healthcare Company, and private foundations.

In addition to research, the center is a stem cell provider of human adult stem cells, rat stem cells, and mouse stem cells for researchers internationally, with a signed Tulane University Materials Transfer Agreement and handling fee. The center isolates, expands, and characterizes the stem cells in the laboratory and provides protocols for expansion as well as information on the cells.

The Louisiana State University is a public institution of higher learning, with majors in the physical sciences and with schools of medicine in New Orleans and Shreveport. The main campus of the university system is located in Baton Rouge, with campuses throughout the state. Research on stem cells includes survival of stem cells after freezing and their capability to proliferate and differentiate, developing technology in engineering stem cells in sheets or three-dimensional structures for transplant, and working with the Pennington Center to develop protocols for the cryopreser-vation of human adipose adult stem cells. Clinical research through the Gene Therapy Program at the Health Sciences Center at the School of Medicine in New Orleans includes translating the basic science of genetic involvement in disease into clinical therapy to prevent or treat some cancers or to restore function to diseased tissues or organs.

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Louisiana (Stem Cell) - what-when-how