1 hour ago by Michael Mccarthy Julie Mathieu (left), Hannele Ruohola-Baker, and Zsuzsa Agoston go over laboratory research results.

Proteins that regulate energy metabolism are essential for stem cell formation, University of Washington researchers find.

Two proteins that control how cells metabolize glucose play a key role in the formation of human stem cells, UW researchers report.

The findings advance scientists' understanding of stem cell development but also suggest that the proteins, which also play a role in the process that transforms normal cells into cancer stem cells, might also be targets for new cancer therapies, the researchers write.

The findings appear online in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper's lead authors are Julie Mathieu, a post-doctoral fellow at the UW and Wenyu Zhou who was a graduate student at UW and is now a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, Department of Genetics. Dr. Hannele Ruohola-Baker, UW professor of biochemistry, is the paper's senior author.

In the study, the researchers induced mature human tissue fibroblasts to revert to an earlier stem cell-like state by inserting genes for four proteins, a process called reprogramming.

These reprogrammed cells have the extraordinary ability to develop into any type of cell in the human body, a capacity called pluripotency, and it is hoped that induced-pluripotent stem cells will one day be able to be used to create new tissues and organs to repair and replace those damaged by injury and disease.

Researches have known for some time that during reprogramming, cells must go through a stage in which they shut down metabolic pathway that they use to generate energy from glucose that requires the presence of oxygen in mitochondria, the cell's powerhouse and shift over to another pathway, called the glycolytic pathway, that generates less energy but does not require the presence of oxygen.

This shift may take place because in nature, embryonic and tissue stem cells often must survive in low-oxygen, or hypoxic, conditions.

This transition to a glycolytic state is of particular interest to cancer researchers as well, since as normal cells are transformed into cancer cells, which in many ways resemble stem cells, they, too, go through a glycolytic phase.

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Proteins that control energy use necessary to form stem cells

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) March 20, 2014

The Repair Stem Cells Institute (RSCI) -- http://www.repairstemcells.org -- is pleased to announce that it will assist interested patients to take part in a patient-sponsored research study based in the United States for the treatment of Type2 Diabetes with adult stem cells. The study, which meets current FDA guidelines, will be conducted during April 2014.

The study is being conducted by the U.S. based company Bioheart which has assembled teams of doctors and specialists specially trained in stem cell treatments. Based on previous treatment of Type 2 diabetes with autologous (the patients own) stem cells, it is estimated that two-thirds of participants will experience a significant quality of life improvement and symptoms reduction.

Type 2 diabetes makes up about 90% of cases of diabetes. Rates of type 2 diabetes have increased markedly since 1960. Today there are approximately 50 million people suffering from the disease compared to 15 million in 1985.

In a recent interview, RSCI founder and Chairman Don Margolis stated, With stem cell treatment rapidly coming to the forefront of 21st Century medicine, we are pleased that Type 2 Diabetes is among the many chronic conditions that are treatable with adult stem cells rather than potentially risky surgery, dangerous transplants, and toxic drugs.

Eligibility

Patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes who are cancer-free can apply to participate.

What will happen?

The 4-part procedure will be done in a participating doctors office as a point-of-care out-patient.

1.Adipose Harvest: During a 3 to 5 hour visit to the doctors office, a mini-liposuction on your stomach will extract a small amount of tummy fat containing tens of millions of adipose stem cells. 2.Laboratory Processing: The extracted stem cells will be isolated, analyzed, cleaned and concentrated. 3.Stem Cell Implantation: Up to 60 million stem cells will be transplanted intravenously, usually into your arm. Because these are the patients own cells, the risk of rejection is non-existent. 4.Postoperative Care: Normally, patients can leave shortly after implantation. RSCI will check on your progress monthly by telephone for the first year after stem cells.

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The Repair Stem Cells Institute Invites Participation in a Unique Study of a Stem Cell Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

Tokyo: One of the authors of a study that was claimed to have discovered a simple way to make stem cells has said that he is no longer sure of his team's conclusions and called for the study to be retracted.

The study, laid out in two papers published by Nature in January, surprised scientists around the world by finding that a simple acid bath might turn cells in the body into multi-purpose stem cells. The new technique could be a quicker and easier source of stem cells than methods now in use, the authors said.

But on Monday Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor of developmental engineering at the University of Yamanashi and one of the study's co-authors, told NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, that a series of concerns raised in recent weeks by researchers around the world had shaken his belief in the study's findings.

"There are too many overall issues that I am not sure about. I am increasingly uncertain," Dr Wakayama told NHK.

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The new technique was developed by researchers at the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, and at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Haruko Obokata, the 30-year-old lead writer of the study's two papers and a rising star in Japan's scientific community, has become an overnight celebrity here and a symbol of the rising stature of female scientists.

Still, some experts quickly expressed caution, saying more needed to be known about the new approach.

Caution turned to scepticism as researchers reported trouble in replicating the study's results. Some of the photos used in the study were then called into question, as was wording that was found to be similar to that in an article published by different researchers almost a decade ago. Those questions prompted both Riken and Nature to begin separate investigations into the study's integrity last month.

Riken has since released a more detailed description of procedures used in the study. But inconsistencies between those new procedures and the original papers only fuelled confusion and suspicion. Nature has said it is still investigating.

Dr Wakayama said that the numerous questions raised left the authors with little choice but to retract the paper. Verification by independent researchers might also shed light on what went wrong in the study, he said.

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Author of stem cell study calls for retraction

The DIY finger-prick technique opens door for extensive stem cell banking

1. Scientists at A*STARs Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have developed a method to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from a single drop of finger-pricked blood. The method also enables donors to collect their own blood samples, which they can then send to a laboratory for further processing. The easy access to blood samples using the new technique could potentially boost the recruitment of greater numbers and diversities of donors, and could lead to the establishment of large-scale hiPSC banks.

3. Current sample collection for reprogramming into hiPSCs include invasive measures such as collecting cells from the bone marrow or skin, which may put off many potential donors. Although hiPSCs may also be generated from blood cells, large quantities of blood are usually required. In the paper published online on the Stem Cell Translational Medicine journal, scientists at IMCB showed for the first time that single-drop volumes of blood are sufficient for reprogramming into hiPSCs. The finger-prick technique is the worlds first to use only a drop of finger-pricked blood to yield hiPSCs with high efficiency. A patent has been filed for the innovation.

4. The accessibility of the new technique is further enhanced with a DIY sample collection approach. Donors may collect their own finger-pricked blood, which they can then store and send it to a laboratory for reprogramming. The blood sample remains stable for 48 hours and can be expanded for 12 days in culture, which therefore extends the finger-prick technique to a wide range of geographical regions for recruitment of donors with varied ethnicities, genotypes and diseases.

5. By integrating it with the hiPSC bank initiatives, the finger-prick technique paves the way for establishing diverse and fully characterised hiPSC banking for stem cell research. The potential access to a wide range of hiPSCs could also replace the use of embryonic stem cells, which are less accessible. It could also facilitate the set-up of a small hiPSC bank in Singapore to study targeted local diseases.

6. Dr Loh Yuin Han Jonathan, Principal Investigator at IMCB and lead scientist for the finger-prick hiPSC technique, said, It all began when we wondered if we could reduce the volume of blood used for reprogramming. We then tested ifdonors could collect their own blood sample in a normal room environment and store it. Our finger-prick technique, in fact, utilised less than a drop of finger-pricked blood. The remaining blood could even be used for DNA sequencing and other blood tests.

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:: 20, Mar 2014 :: A*STAR SCIENTISTS CREATE STEM CELLS FROM A DROP OF BLOOD