Overview
Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and give rise to multiple specialized cell types. They can develop into blood, neurons, bone, muscle, skin and other cell types. They have emerged as a major tool for research into the causes of ALS, and in the search of new treatments.
Types of Stem Cells:
The field of stem cell research is progressing rapidly, and The ALS Association is spearheading work on several critical fronts. The research portfolio supports innovative projects using IPSCs for drug development and disease modeling. The Association is supporting an IPSC core at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center providing access to lines for researchers globally. Several of the big data initiatives are collecting skin cells or blood for IPSC generation, such as Genomic Translation for ALS Clinical Care (GTAC), Project MinE, NeuroLINCS and Answer ALS. The ALS Association also sponsors pre-clinical studies and pilot clinical trials using stem cell transplant approaches to develop the necessary tools for stem cell transplant studies and to improve methods for safety and efficiency. We also support studies that involve isolating IPSCs to develop biomarkers for clinical trials through ALS ACT. In addition, the retigabine clinical trial that we sponsor uses iPSCs derived from participants in parallel with clinical data to help test whether the drug has the desired effect.
Stem cells are being used in many laboratories today for research into the causes of and treatments for ALS. Most commonly, researchers use iPSCs to make a unique source of motor neurons from individual ALS patients to try to understand why and how motor neurons die in ALS. Two types of motor neurons are affected in ALS are upper coriticospinal motor neurons, that when damaged, cause muscle spasticity (uncontrolled movement), and lower motor neurons, that when damaged, cause muscle weakness. Both types can be made from iPSCs to cover the range of pathology and symptoms found in ALS. Astrocytes, a type of support cell, called glia, of the central nervous system (CNS), are also being generated from iPSCs. It is well established that glia play a role in disease process and contribute to motor neuron death.
Motor neurons created from iPSCs have many uses. The availability of large numbers of identical neurons, made possible by iPSCs, has dramatically expanded the ability to search for new treatments. For example, they can also be used to screen for drugs that can alter the disease process. Motor neurons derived from iPSCs can be genetically modified to produce colored fluorescent markers that allow clear visualization under a microscope. The health of individual motor neurons can be tracked over time to understand if a test compound has a positive or negative effect.
Because iPSCs can be made from skin samples or blood of any person, researchers have begun to make cell lines derived from dozens of individuals with ALS. One advantage of iPSCs are that they capture a persons exact genetic material and provide an unlimited supply of cells that can be studied in a dish, which is like persons own avatar. Comparing the motor neurons derived from these cells lines allows them to ask what is common, and what is unique, about each case of ALS, leading to further understanding of the disease process. They are also used to correlate patients clinical parameters, such as site of onset and severity with any changes in the same patients motor neurons.
Stem cells may also have a role to play in treating the disease. The most likely application may be to use stem cells or cells derived from them to deliver growth factors or protective molecules to motor neurons in the spinal cord. Clinical trials of such stem cell transplants are in the early stages, but appear to be safe. In addition, transplantation of healthy astrocytes have the potential to be beneficial in supporting motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
While the idea of replacing dying motor neurons with new ones derived from stem cells is appealing, using stem cells as a delivery tool to provide trophic factors to motor neurons is a more realistic and feasible approach. The significant challenge to replacing dying motor neurons is making the appropriate connections between muscles and surrounding neurons.
Isolation of IPSCs from people with ALS in clinical trials is extremely valuable for the identification of unique signatures in the presence or absence of a specific treatment approach and as a read out to test whether a drug or test compound has an impact on the health of motor neurons and/or astrocytes. A positive result gives researchers confidence to move forward to more advanced clinical trials. For example, The ALS Association is currently funding a clinical trial to test the effects of retigabine on motor neurons, which use the enrolled patients individual iPSCs lines derived from collected skin samples and testing whether there is a change in the excitability of motor neurons in people with ALS. (see above).
See Stem Cells GrantsSee all Scientific Focus AreasView Glossary of Terms
Read more from the original source:
Stem Cells - alsa.org
- New Atlas of Rare Stem and Progenitor Cells Reveals New Cell Types - Inside Precision Medicine - March 28th, 2024
- Instructing iPS cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells to inhibit abnormal bone formation in FOP - Medical Xpress - March 28th, 2024
- GLP podcast: GE crops have lived up to the hype; Growing 'mini' organs from stem cells; How do we solve right-wing ... - Genetic Literacy Project - March 28th, 2024
- Exosomes and Stem Cells Are the Future of Anti-Aging - NewBeauty Magazine - March 28th, 2024
- Stem cells: past, present, and future - PMC - National Center for ... - March 19th, 2024
- Stem cells: a comprehensive review of origins and emerging clinical ... - March 19th, 2024
- Biology of stem cells: an overview - PMC - National Center for ... - March 19th, 2024
- What are Stem Cells? - Types, Applications and Sources - BYJU'S - March 19th, 2024
- Stem Cell - The Definitive Guide | Biology Dictionary - March 19th, 2024
- Colossal Creates Elephant Stem Cells for the First Time in Quest to Revive the Woolly Mammoth - Singularity Hub - March 19th, 2024
- Florida congresswoman sued the Pentagon over stem cells. One problem: her husband's stocks - Raw Story - January 23rd, 2024
- Can Stem Cells Improve Knee Pain or Are They A Waste of Money? - Bloomberg - January 23rd, 2024
- Stem cells used to successfully treat arthritis in gorilla at Budapest zoo - University of Sheffield News - January 23rd, 2024
- A computational model of stem cells' internal mechanism to recapitulate spatial patterning and maintain the self ... - Nature.com - January 23rd, 2024
- Advancing the generation of in-vivo chimeric lungs in mice using rat-derived stem cells - EurekAlert - January 6th, 2024
- 'I couldn't just give up on my dad' | Round Rock son donates stem cells to father battling leukemia - KVUE.com - January 6th, 2024
- Closing in on the ultimate quest to regenerate insulin in pancreatic stem cells - Medical Xpress - January 6th, 2024
- Ask the doctors: Research being conducted on using stem cells to treat diabetes - The Spokesman Review - January 6th, 2024
- Regenerative Medicine and COPD: Generating Functional Lungs from Pluripotent Stem Cells - Medriva - January 6th, 2024
- What is a stem cell? YourGenome - December 2nd, 2023
- Stem cell transplant - NHS - December 27th, 2022
- Stem cells: a brief history and outlook - Science in the News - December 27th, 2022
- RUDN Physician And Russian Scientists Investigate Long-term Effects Of Treating Diabetic Ulcers With Stem Cells - India Education Diary - December 27th, 2022
- Stem Cell Basics | STEM Cell Information - National Institutes of Health - December 2nd, 2022
- Neural stem cell - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Donate Stem Cells | Bone Marrow Donation - American Cancer Society - November 24th, 2022
- Stem Cells- Definition, Properties, Types, Uses, Challenges - November 6th, 2022
- Brothers from Karnataka, Prapul and Prajwal donated their stem cells, save two blood cancer patients - APN News - November 6th, 2022
- Getting These Stem Cells Treatments: Crippled Ronnie Coleman Gives a Positive Update on His Ability to Walk - EssentiallySports - October 21st, 2022
- Cornell Prof Explains Relevance of Creating Mouse Embryos from Stem Cells - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun - October 13th, 2022
- Human neuron clusters transplanted into rats offer new tool to study the brain : Shots - Health News - NPR - October 13th, 2022
- The neuroprotective effects of dental pulp stem cells and erythropoietin in mice hippocampus after ischemia-reperfusion - Newswise - October 13th, 2022
- A $7 million grant to grow stem cell research - Swinburne University of Technology - October 13th, 2022
- Stem Cell Manufacturing Global Market Report 2022: Widespread Product Utilization in Effective Disease Management, Personalized Medicine, and Genome... - October 13th, 2022
- Brennand named Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry - Yale News - October 13th, 2022
- American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians to Offer Licensed Physicians Board Examination in Regenerative Medicine - BioSpace - October 13th, 2022
- Mouse embryo models built from stem cells take shape in a dish - Nature.com - October 4th, 2022
- Growth in Cell and Gene Therapy Market - Pharmaceutical Technology Magazine - October 4th, 2022
- Therapeutic Solutions International Identifies CD103 Expressing Dendritic Cells and Exosomes Thereof as Novel Mechanism for JadiCell Mesenchymal Stem... - October 4th, 2022
- Aileron Therapeutics Announces Oral Presentation of Non-Clinical Data Demonstrating ALRN-6924 Protected Human Hair Follicles and Their Stem Cells from... - October 4th, 2022
- Research Shows Promise for Directing Later Lines of Therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma - Targeted Oncology - October 4th, 2022
- Hereditary E200K mutation within the prion protein gene alters human iPSC derived cardiomyocyte function | Scientific Reports - Nature.com - September 25th, 2022
- How To Eat Your Way to Better Health According to a Doctor - Eat This, Not That - September 25th, 2022
- Phio Pharmaceuticals Announces Preclinical Data Demonstrating PH-762 Enhances Persistence of T cells for Tumor Cell Killing as Presented by Helmholtz... - September 25th, 2022
- Types of blood cancer: Leukemia, lymphoma, and more - Medical News Today - September 25th, 2022
- September: er-blood | News and features - University of Bristol - September 25th, 2022
- Here Is Why You Heal Slower As You Age - Health Digest - September 25th, 2022
- Global Single Cell Analysis Market is Projected to Grow at a CAGR of 15.1% By 2032: Visiongain Reports Ltd - Yahoo Finance UK - September 25th, 2022
- Findings explain exceptional auditory abilities in Williams-Beuren Syndrome - EurekAlert - September 25th, 2022
- Finding the potency in planarians | Communications Biology - Nature.com - September 16th, 2022
- Life-Saving Innovations in Cancer-Fighting Stem Cell Transplants and Pioneering Research in HIV, Autism and Cerebral Palsy to be Featured at World... - September 16th, 2022
- Treating Cancer with Oncolytic Viruses - BioPharm International - September 16th, 2022
- Israel's Profuse Technology Raises $2.5M for Technology That Lowers Cost of Cultured Meat - The Spoon - September 16th, 2022
- Stem Cells Used to Grow Mouse Embryo - BioTechniques - September 8th, 2022
- Largest Gift in UCSD History to Fund Stem Cell Research on Space Station - Times of San Diego - September 8th, 2022
- Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market (2022 to 2027) - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact and Forecasts - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire - September 8th, 2022
- Health on the Frontlines: The Healing Power of Stem Cells - Dans Papers - September 8th, 2022
- Top 3 grants in regenerative medicine: July 2022 - RegMedNet - September 8th, 2022
- Childhood leukemia treatment 2022: Where we are now and what it takes - EurekAlert - September 8th, 2022
- Treatment Choices for AML Were Increasingly Influenced by Immunological Responses - Physician's Weekly - September 8th, 2022
- BioRestorative Therapies to Present at the H.C. Wainwright 24th Annual Global Investment Conference on September 14 - StreetInsider.com - September 8th, 2022
- Global Recombinant Cell Culture Supplements Market Report 2022: Increasing Need for Immunotherapies and Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicines Presents... - September 8th, 2022
- CAR-T Beyond CGTs In Development In 2022 - BioProcess Online - September 8th, 2022
- ADOCIA Announces First Cell Therapy Preclinical Proof of Concept of AdoShell Islets for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes - Business Wire - September 8th, 2022
- Synthetic Mouse Embryo with Brain and Beating Heart Grown from Stem Cells - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - August 30th, 2022
- Utilization of Modified Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as the Advance | OPTH - Dove Medical Press - August 30th, 2022
- Rise In Number Of CROS In Various Regions Such As Europe Is Expected To Fuel The Growth Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Market At An Impressive CAGR... - August 30th, 2022
- Brush Up: Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Their Role in Development and Disease Therapy - The Scientist - August 30th, 2022
- Regenerative Properties of the Newborn Heart Offers Hope for Those With Congenital Heart Disease - The Epoch Times - August 30th, 2022
- Kanpur hospital is Indias first to perform fat-derived stem cell transplant for diabetic patients - India Today - August 30th, 2022
- Scientists Just Genetically Edited a Million Years of Evolution Into Mouse DNA - ScienceAlert - August 30th, 2022
- Canadian Blood Services Stem Cells for Life - August 22nd, 2022
- Scientists say they have created 'embryos' without sperm or eggs - Medical News Today - August 22nd, 2022
- Many stem cell lines used for research and therapies carry large number of mutations, Cambridge researchers find - Cambridge Independent - August 22nd, 2022
- Scientists hope to revive extinct mammal through stem cells and gene-editing in a first - The Mirror - August 22nd, 2022
- Stem cell therapy in capsule form - Malaya - August 22nd, 2022
- Cell Culture Technician Pluripotent Stem Cell Biology and Genome Editing job with UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON | 305107 - Times Higher Education - August 22nd, 2022
- Long COVID-19 and other chronic respiratory conditions after viral infections may stem from an overactive immune response in the lungs - The... - August 5th, 2022
- Self-organized anteroposterior regionalization of early midbrain and hindbrain using micropatterned human embryonic stem cells - Newswise - July 27th, 2022
- Synthetic Stem Cells Market 2022 Size, Share, Future Plans, Competitive Landscape and Forecast to 2030 This Is Ardee - This Is Ardee - July 27th, 2022