Category Archives: Illinois Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the blood cells that give rise to all the other blood cells and are derived from mesoderm. They are located in the red bone marrow, which is contained in the core of most bones.

They give rise to the myeloid (monocytes and macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, erythrocytes, megakaryocytes/platelets, dendritic cells), and lymphoid lineages (T-cells, B-cells, NK-cells). The definition of hematopoietic stem cells has changed in the last two decades. The hematopoietic tissue contains cells with long-term and short-term regeneration capacities and committed multipotent, oligopotent, and unipotent progenitors. HSCs constitute 1:10.000 of cells in myeloid tissue.

HSCs are a heterogeneous population. Three classes of stem cells exist, distinguished by their ratio of lymphoid to myeloid progeny (L/M) in blood. Myeloid-biased (My-bi) HSC have low L/M ratio (between 0 and 3), whereas lymphoid-biased (Ly-bi) HSC show a large ratio (>10). The third category consists of the balanced (Bala) HSC for LM is between 3 and 10. Only the myeloid-biased and -balanced HSCs have durable self-renewal properties. In addition, serial transplantation experiments have shown that each subtype preferentially re-creates its blood cell type distribution, suggesting an inherited epigenetic program for each subtype.

HSC studies through much of the past half century have led to a much deeper understanding. More recent advances have resulted in the use of HSC transplants in the treatment of cancers and other immune system disorders.[1]

HSCs are found in the bone marrow of adults, specially in the pelvis, femur, and sternum. They are also found in umbilical cord blood and, in small numbers, in peripheral blood.[2]

Stem and progenitor cells can be taken from the pelvis, at the iliac crest, using a needle and syringe.[citation needed] The cells can be removed as liquid (to perform a smear to look at the cell morphology) or they can be removed via a core biopsy (to maintain the architecture or relationship of the cells to each other and to the bone).[citation needed]

In order to harvest stem cells from the circulating peripheral, blood donors are injected with a cytokine, such as granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), that induce cells to leave the bone marrow and circulate in the blood vessels.[citation needed]

In mammalian embryology, the first definitive HSCs are detected in the AGM (aorta-gonad-mesonephros), and then massively expanded in the fetal liver prior to colonising the bone marrow before birth.[3]

Like all stem cells, HSCs can replenish all blood cell types (i.e., are multipotent) and self-renew. A small number of HSCs can expand to generate a very large number of daughter HSCs. This phenomenon is used in bone marrow transplantation, when a small number of HSCs reconstitute the hematopoietic system. This process indicates that, subsequent to bone marrow transplantation, symmetrical cell divisions into two daughter HSCs must occur.

Stem cell self-renewal is thought to occur in the stem cell niche in the bone marrow, and it is reasonable to assume that key signals present in this niche will be important in self-renewal. There is much interest in the environmental and molecular requirements for HSC self-renewal, as understanding the ability of HSC to replenish themselves will eventually allow the generation of expanded populations of HSC in vitro that can be used therapeutically.

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Hematopoietic stem cell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By JOE MANDAK Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employee found dead at work earlier this month was killed by cyanide poisoning, but the medical examiner who made the determination Friday said it's too soon to know whether the death was a suicide, a homicide or an accident.

"There's only so much my office can do in terms of investigating how it got into her hands," Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams told the Associated Press. "We have to rely on the police to make that part of the investigation."

Co-workers reportedly found Nicole Kotchey, 34, of Ross Township, on the floor near her desk on Nov. 12, and she died about four hours later.

Pittsburgh police major crimes Lt. Daniel Herrmann said police received the medical examiner's findings Friday morning and were continuing to investigate.

UPMC spokeswoman Susan Manko said she was not authorized to comment.

Kotchey's death came a week after another former UPMC medical researcher, Dr. Robert Ferrante, 66, was convicted of first-degree murder in the April 2013 cyanide poisoning death of his wife, Dr. Autumn Klein. Klein, 41, was a neurologist also employed by UPMC. A jury agreed with prosecutors that Ferrante laced his wife's creatine energy drink with the poison, causing her to collapse at their home and die three days later.

Ferrante, a noted researcher into Lou Gehrig's disease, has denied killing his wife and plans to appeal. He acknowledged ordering cyanide for his lab, but said he needed it for research on stem cells that are used to replicate the way neurological cells die as a result of the disease.

Kotchey worked in a hospital lab, but UPMC officials have not commented on the nature of her employment since Williams first raised questions about her death two weeks ago.

Manko has previously said that the health network was cooperating with the police investigation.

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Cyanide killed hospital employee, official says - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

With more than 50 years of experience studying blood-forming stem cells called hematopoietic stem cells, scientists have developed sufficient understanding to actually use them as a therapy. Currently, no other type of stem cell, adult, fetal or embryonic, has attained such status. Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are now routinely used to treat patients with cancers and other disorders of the blood and immune systems. Recently, researchers have observed in animal studies that hematopoietic stem cells appear to be able to form other kinds of cells, such as muscle, blood vessels, and bone. If this can be applied to human cells, it may eventually be possible to use hematopoietic stem cells to replace a wider array of cells and tissues than once thought.

Despite the vast experience with hematopoietic stem cells, scientists face major roadblocks in expanding their use beyond the replacement of blood and immune cells. First, hematopoietic stem cells are unable to proliferate (replicate themselves) and differentiate (become specialized to other cell types) in vitro (in the test tube or culture dish). Second, scientists do not yet have an accurate method to distinguish stem cells from other cells recovered from the blood or bone marrow. Until scientists overcome these technical barriers, they believe it is unlikely that hematopoietic stem cells will be applied as cell replacement therapy in diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord injury, and many others.

Blood cells are responsible for constant maintenance and immune protection of every cell type of the body. This relentless and brutal work requires that blood cells, along with skin cells, have the greatest powers of self-renewal of any adult tissue.

The stem cells that form blood and immune cells are known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). They are ultimately responsible for the constant renewal of bloodthe production of billions of new blood cells each day. Physicians and basic researchers have known and capitalized on this fact for more than 50 years in treating many diseases. The first evidence and definition of blood-forming stem cells came from studies of people exposed to lethal doses of radiation in 1945.

Basic research soon followed. After duplicating radiation sickness in mice, scientists found they could rescue the mice from death with bone marrow transplants from healthy donor animals. In the early 1960s, Till and McCulloch began analyzing the bone marrow to find out which components were responsible for regenerating blood [56]. They defined what remain the two hallmarks of an HSC: it can renew itself and it can produce cells that give rise to all the different types of blood cells (see Chapter 4. The Adult Stem Cell).

A hematopoietic stem cell is a cell isolated from the blood or bone marrow that can renew itself, can differentiate to a variety of specialized cells, can mobilize out of the bone marrow into circulating blood, and can undergo programmed cell death, called apoptosisa process by which cells that are detrimental or unneeded self-destruct.

A major thrust of basic HSC research since the 1960s has been identifying and characterizing these stem cells. Because HSCs look and behave in culture like ordinary white blood cells, this has been a difficult challenge and this makes them difficult to identify by morphology (size and shape). Even today, scientists must rely on cell surface proteins, which serve, only roughly, as markers of white blood cells.

Identifying and characterizing properties of HSCs began with studies in mice, which laid the groundwork for human studies. The challenge is formidable as about 1 in every 10,000 to 15,000 bone marrow cells is thought to be a stem cell. In the blood stream the proportion falls to 1 in 100,000 blood cells. To this end, scientists began to develop tests for proving the self-renewal and the plasticity of HSCs.

The "gold standard" for proving that a cell derived from mouse bone marrow is indeed an HSC is still based on the same proof described above and used in mice many years ago. That is, the cells are injected into a mouse that has received a dose of irradiation sufficient to kill its own blood-producing cells. If the mouse recovers and all types of blood cells reappear (bearing a genetic marker from the donor animal), the transplanted cells are deemed to have included stem cells.

These studies have revealed that there appear to be two kinds of HSCs. If bone marrow cells from the transplanted mouse can, in turn, be transplanted to another lethally irradiated mouse and restore its hematopoietic system over some months, they are considered to be long-term stem cells that are capable of self-renewal. Other cells from bone marrow can immediately regenerate all the different types of blood cells, but under normal circumstances cannot renew themselves over the long term, and these are referred to as short-term progenitor or precursor cells. Progenitor or precursor cells are relatively immature cells that are precursors to a fully differentiated cell of the same tissue type. They are capable of proliferating, but they have a limited capacity to differentiate into more than one cell type as HSCs do. For example, a blood progenitor cell may only be able to make a red blood cell (see Figure 5.1. Hematopoietic and Stromal Stem Cell Differentiation).

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5. Hematopoietic Stem Cells [Stem Cell Information]

Updated: 10/12/2014 4:19 PM Created: 10/11/2014 11:51 PM WNYT.com By: Steve Flamisch

LOUDONVILLE Four years ago, Doris Calderon was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). Doctors told her she needed a bone marrow transplant.

"They were looking for a donor because I had no siblings that could match, and my children are not a good match," said Calderon, of Halfmoon. "We didn't have anybody, so we just figured we'd wait."

More than 800 miles away, in Illinois, a total stranger made a fateful decision later that year. Chad LaMont wanted to donate blood to at his employers "Good Deed Day," but his iron was too low.

LaMont went over to the "Be The Match" table and signed up to be a marrow donor, instead. He turned out to be the match for Calderon, later donating the stem cells and T-cells that saved her life.

"Ive encouraged so many people to get on the list because you never know who you can save, and whose life you can change at the end of the day," LaMont said.

On Friday, Calderon and LaMont met for the first time at Albany International Airport. On Saturday, they took part in the Light the Night Walk at Siena College, raising money to fight blood cancer.

"To have the man responsible for saving my mother's life with us on such a momentous occasion is just such a blessing," said Calderons daughter, Lisa Calderon-Haun. "He couldn't be more wonderful."

Calderon has been in remission for more than two years and her prognosis is good. To learn more about how to become a bone marrow donor, visit "Be The Match."

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Saratoga Co. woman meets marrow donor who saved her life

There are a few common causes for this error code including problems with the individual script that may be executed upon request. Some of these are easier to spot and correct than others.

The server you are on runs applications in a very specific way in most cases. The server generally expects files and directories be owned by your specific user cPanel user. If you have made changes to the file ownership on your own through SSH please reset the Owner and Group appropriately.

The server you are on runs applications in a very specific way in most cases. The server generally expects files such as HTML, Images, and other media to have a permission mode of 644. The server also expects the permission mode on directories to be set to 755 in most cases.

(See the Section on Understanding Filesystem Permissions.)

Note: If the permissions are set to 000, please contact our support team using the ticket system. This may be related to an account level suspension as a result of abuse or a violation of our Terms of Service.

In the .htaccess file, there may be rules that are conflicting with each other or that are not allowing an IP address access to the site.

If you would like to check a specific rule in your .htaccess file you can comment that specific line in the .htaccess by adding # to the beginning of the line. You should always make a backup of this file before you start making changes.

For example, if the .htaccess looks like

Order deny,allow allow from all deny from 192.168.1.5 deny from 192.168.1.25

Then try something like this

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Illinois (Stem Cell) - what-when-how In Depth ...

Julio Garcia, M.D. Recognized by National Alliance of Male Executives-N.A.M.E.

About Julio Garcia, M.D. Dr. Garcia has 26 years experience in the healthcare field. He is a self-employed Plastic Surgeon with a private practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has performed all varieties of cosmetic procedures, both surgical and non-surgical, since 1988. Dr. Garcia utilizes adipose-derived cell therapy with stromal vascular fraction which contains stem cells, mesenchymal cells and cytokines to assist in chronic diseases and acute injuries through his Regenerative Medicine Institute of Nevada. He opened a wellness age management clinic called Ageless Forever in Las Vegas in 1988. Dr. Garcia has been a Tactical Physician for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since 2001. As team leader, he provides medical care for anyone injured during SWAT operations, utilizing military-styled care where ambulance crews cannot go. He instructs Special Forces medical teams from our military and other allies in field care of wounds and suturing techniques. This is done under the Special Operations Medical Association. Dr. Garcia lectures on age management and anti-aging issues on a worldwide basis and consults for age management clinics in India. He is affiliated with the American Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He is a Board Member for Crime Stoppers of Nevada. Dr. Garcia was awarded the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgerys In Chul Song Award for Philanthropic Service in 2011 and the Clark County Juvenile Court Department of Juvenile Justice Citizens Service Award in 2011. He has written and co-written articles including Hormone Administration in an Aesthetic Surgery Practice, Aesthetic Surgery Journal: 27, 2007; Reconstructive Surgery for Immunosuppressed Organ Transplant Recipients, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: 83, 1989; and Localization of Human Sarcoma with Radio Labeled Monoclonal Antibody, Cancer Immunology immunotherapy: 23, 1986. He has made over 30 presentations both individually and as part of a panel since 1990. The most recent are Incorporating Anti-Aging into a Plastic Surgery Practice to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, New Orleans, Louisiana in 2012, East Meets West: Cultural Differences in Breast Augmentation, panel presentation to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, Seattle, Washington, 2009, The Use of Barbed Sutures in Facelifts at the Facial Plastic Surgery Symposium, Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009 and Weight Loss Through Hormones to the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, Squaw Valley, California in 2009. Dr. Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba and obtained a dual B.A. in Biology and Art History from Northwestern University in 1979, a M.D. from the University of Illinois Medical School in 1983 and completed his Surgical Residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Illinois in 1988. He obtained a Certificate in Homeland Security from the University of Kentucky, College of Justice and Safety in 2012 and is a Candidate for a Masters in Intelligence Management from Henley-Putnam University. In his spare time he enjoys fitness, live music and fine dining.

About National Alliance of Male Executives-N.A.M.E. N.A.M.E. is a unique online association for male executives and professionals in all industries. This premium service and alliance recognizes male professionals who have achieved success as well as those looking to further their careers and expand their business opportunities by providing networking, advertising, marketing and entertainment services. For more information about their unique services and testimonials, visit their website at http://www.name-exec.com.

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Julio Garcia, M.D. Recognized by National Alliance of Male Executives-N.A.M.E.

Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) September 30, 2014

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) has released the agenda for its October 10th regional conference, which will take place at the Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago, Illinois, in collaboration with the University of Chicago Medicine. The conference is a one-day event geared to patients and family members, covering a variety of topics related to mesothelioma and presented by local and regional area experts.

The agenda can be viewed on the Meso Foundations website at http://www.curemeso.org/chicago.

The event begins at 9:30am and concludes with a cocktail reception at 5pm. The registration cost is $25, and includes breakfast and lunch. Online registration is available.

Some of the covered topics will include imaging, genetics, surgery, chemotherapy, novel treatments, stem cells, immunotherapy, and resources for patients and families.

The conference is chaired by Mary Hesdorffer, APRN, who is the executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, and by Hedy Lee Kindler, MD, the director of the mesothelioma and gastrointestinal oncology programs at the University of Chicago Medicine.

The Meso Foundation is also the host of an annual symposium, taking place in March of every year in the Washington, DC area.

Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the lining of the lung, abdomen, or heart known to be caused by exposure to asbestos. Medical experts consider it one of the most aggressive and deadly of all cancers. An estimated one-third of those who develop mesothelioma were exposed while serving in the Navy or working in shipyards.

ABOUT THE MESOTHELIOMA APPLIED RESEARCH FOUNDATION The Meso Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma and easing the suffering caused by this cancer. The Meso Foundation actively seeks philanthropic support to fund peer-reviewed mesothelioma research; provide patient support services and education; and advocate Congress for increased federal funding for mesothelioma research. The Meso Foundation is the only non-government funder of peer reviewed scientific research to establish effective treatments for mesothelioma and, ultimately, a cure for this extremely aggressive cancer. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $8.7 million to research. More information is available at http://www.curemeso.org.

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Meso Foundation and University of Chicago Medicine Present Chicago Conference on Mesothelioma

7/21/2014 | Diana Yates, Life Sciences Editor | 217-333-5802; diya@illinois.edu

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A new study in mice reveals that mesenchymal (mezz-EN-chem-uhl) stem cells (MSCs) help rejuvenate skeletal muscle after resistance exercise.

By injecting MSCs into mouse leg muscles prior to several bouts of eccentric exercise (similar to the lengthening contractions performed during resistance training in humans that result in mild muscle damage), researchers were able to increase the rate of repair and enhance the growth and strength of those muscles in the exercising mice.

The findings, described in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, may one day lead to new interventions to combat age-related declines in muscle structure and function, said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, who led the research.

We have an interest in understanding how muscle responds to exercise, and which cellular components contribute to the increase in repair and growth with exercise, she said. But the primary goal of our lab really is to have some understanding of how we can rejuvenate the aged muscle to prevent the physical disability that occurs with age, and to increase quality of life in general as well.

MSCs occur naturally in the body and may differentiate into several different cell types. They form part of the stroma, the connective tissue that supports organs and other tissues.

MSCs also excrete growth factors and, according to the new study, stimulate muscle precursor cells, called satellite cells, to expand inside the tissue and contribute to repair following injury. Once present and activated, satellite cells actually fuse to the damaged muscle fibers and form new fibers to reconstruct the muscle and enhance strength.

Satellite cells are a primary target for the rejuvenation of aged muscle, since activation becomes increasingly impaired and recovery from injury is delayed over the lifespan, Boppart said. MSC transplantation may provide a viable solution to reawaken the aged satellite cell.

Satellite cells themselves will likely never be used therapeutically to enhance repair or strength in young or aged muscle because they cause an immune response and rejection within the tissue, Boppart said. But MSCs are immunoprivileged, meaning that they can be transplanted from one individual to another without sparking an immune response.

Skeletal muscle is a very complex organ that is highly innervated and vascularized, and unfortunately all of these different tissues become dysfunctional with age, Boppart said. Therefore, development of an intervention that can heal multiple tissues is ideally required to reverse age-related declines in muscle mass and function. MSCs, because of their ability to repair a variety of different tissue types, are perfectly suited for this task.

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News Bureau | University of Illinois - Stem cells aid ...

Ten grants awarded to Illinois hospitals and universities to conduct critical stem cell research

CHICAGO, Ill. Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and Comptroller Dan Hynes today announced ten grants worth a total of $10 million for the life-saving work of stem cell research at several Illinois hospitals and research institutions. Last summer by Executive Order, Governor Blagojevich and Comptroller Hynes created the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute (IRMI), making Illinois the first state in the Midwest, and only the fourth state in the nation, to commit public funds to stem cell research. Researching and studying stem cells allows scientists and doctors to better understand what causes serious medical illnesses and conditions such as Alzheimers, diabetes, spinal cord injury, stroke, and heart disease, in hopes of discovering new ways to treat or even cure them.

This is the first time Illinois is awarding state funded grants for stem cell research and that makes today an important day for our state. The promise of stem cell research is unlimited. We need to do everything we can to help our scientists and researchers make the most of it, said Governor Blagojevich.

In the world of medical research, the fight for cures is waged one grant at a time. Today, I am proud to say weve given our scientists ten million more weapons to win that fight. In so doing, we are also giving hope to the millions of Americans who suffer from debilitating diseases that stem cell research has the potential to defeat, said Comptroller Hynes.

Today's investments in stem cell research are vital to finding cures for life threatening diseases that afflict thousands of Illinois citizens, said Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, whos also been a steadfast supporter of stem cell research in the state.

"Today marks an important step not only for the medical research community in Illinois, but also for the many people who hope to one day benefit from the cures and treatments their research will help develop, said Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). I am pleased to stand with Governor Blagojevich and Comptroller Hynes in affirming the state's commitment to this potentially life-saving research."

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Stem Cell Grants - Illinois Department of Public Health