Scientists have discovered a way to alter the immune system and in the process, given new hope to the thousands of individuals who suffer from multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

A faulty immune system that attacks the body is responsible for the condition. The condition can be effectively cured by replacing the existing immune system with a healthy one. This is accomplished by taking stem cells from a healthy donor, and transplanting them via injection into the patients body.

Before providing new cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, or another suitable source, the existing immune system was traditionally destroyed using an aggressive form of radiotherapy. This was the only way doctors could proceed: until now.

In the new method, the healthy immune system is still established after the unhealthy immune system is destroyed, but a toxin is used to clear out the old system instead of radiotherapy. The stem cells are injected after the initial purging is complete.

The benefits are potentially enormous for humans and could be used to treat MS and rheumatoid arthritis according to scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. However, the procedure has only been utilized on mice thus far.

In the UK, one out of every 5 individuals is afflicted with arthritis. And Multiple Sclerosis affects about 85,000 people as well.

The journal Science reported the research results of Agnieszka Czechowicz, Dr. Deepta Bhattacharya, and Professor Weissman. Stem cells attached to bone marrow, and a new blood and immune system was established when the 3-person team transplanted new, blood-forming stem cells into mice.

So with this method, the new immune system will no longer attack the nerves of the body, when stem cells are taken from a donor and implanted into a person with a good tissue match who has an auto-immune disease such as multiple sclerosis.

In order for the technique to work on humans, researchers must first work out the kinks with more animal testing.

Dr. Laura Bell, the research communications officer at the MS Society, said: “Stem-cell studies are an important avenue of research that hold promise in terms of treatments for MS. This early-stage study is interesting and we look forward to seeing how the work translates into studies in people with MS.”

Professor Edward Tuddenham, of the Royal Free Hospital, London, said: “For those whose blood stem cells contain a severe genetic defect such as that causing sickle cell anaemia, replacing them with normal stem cells would enable restoration of normal blood.”

“Bone marrow transplantation has been used for sickle cell anaemia with good results in children, but in adults it is difficult to get the new stem cells to take in the face of rejection by the resident stem cells and their progeny – the immune system.”

Professor Lars Fugger, of the Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Oxford University, said: “This study has great potential.”

A dramatic stem cell discovery has been made in Wichita, Kansas, that could potentially influence the balance of stem cell research and treatment as we know it today.

Dr. Xiaolong Meng of the Bio-Communications Research Institute has discovered that at least nine different types of human tissue can be developed from adult stem cells harvested from women’s menstrual fluid.

Meng said that, “ERC cells can be converted into basically all the major tissues of the body, including the liver, lung, pancreas, brain, heart, blood vessel, and muscle. Additionally, these cells produce 100,000 times the number of growth factors found in cord blood, opening the door to numerous regenerative applications.”

The finding is particularly promising given the controversial climate surrounding embryonic stem cells. The menstrual blood stem cells, which have been named Endometrial Regenerative Cells (ERC), are a type of adult stem cell and non-controversial. Additionally, not only were adult stem cell markers present in the cells, but a few embryonic markers were observed as well, particularly, the “master” marker Oct-4.

Adult stem cells are found in abundance in the endometrium, or uterine lining. But despite the rich source, actually harvesting the cells is a similar process as is involved with other sources such as bone marrow: the process is invasive. However, Meng’s discovery has opened a new door in stem cell research and treatment since menstrual blood contains these same endometrial stem cells.

Dr. Meng collaborated with Medistem Laboratories, Inc. (OTC BB:MDSM.OB – News) (Frankfurt:S2U.F – News in making the discovery. Their paper which is titled, “Endometrial Regenerative Cells: A Novel Stem Cell Population”, has been published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. The paper can be viewed at www.translational-medicine.com/content/5/1/57

Medistem Laboratories, Inc. own the intellectual property rights to the discovery.

“The ability to take a cell and differentiate it into the tissue type needed by the body creates a world of opportunity in the world of organ and tissue regeneration,” said Neil Riordan, PhD, President and CEO of Medistem. He added, “With IP filed around the cell line, we have begun taking the next steps in the commercialization process. Currently, our collaborators at Western Ontario, Alberta, and the Bio-Communications Research Institute are doing a series of pre-clinical studies to establish efficacy data in a variety of indications. The indications currently being assessed include diabetes, liver cirrhosis, lung fibrosis, organ rejection, and multiple sclerosis. Should the data gathered prove strong in one or all the indications the next step will be to file INDs with the FDA and move into clinical trials,” said Riordan.

Using the stem cells for future applications in the field of regenerative medicine is the hope for researchers. The outlook is promising once the cells are cultured in large scale.

“If there is a part of the heart that is damaged, that is dead, you can inject some of the stem cell, which will repair the damaged part,” Dr. Meng said. “Then you have whole new heart again.”

A paper describing a novel stem cell population derived from menstrual blood has been published by Medistem Laboratories, Inc. (OTC BB:MDSM.OB – News) (Frankfurt:S2U.F – News) in collaboration with the Bio-Communications Research Institute in Wichita, Kansas, the University of Alberta, and the University of Western Ontario. The Journal of Translational Medicine has published the paper which is titled, “Endometrial Regenerative Cells: A Novel Stem Cell Population”. The publication is free to read at www.translational-medicine.com/content/5/1/57

“I view the discovery of the Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC) as a great step forward in providing an ethical, easily accessible, and potentially highly useful adult stem cell for treatment of numerous degenerative conditions,” said Dr. Xiaolong Meng, head of the research team. He continued, “ERC cells can be converted into basically all the major tissues of the body, including the liver, lung, pancreas, brain, heart, blood vessel, and muscle. Additionally, these cells produce 100,000 times the number of growth factors found in cord blood, opening the door to numerous regenerative applications.”

The study has exhibited that menstrual blood stem cells possess special cellular and molecular characteristics. This is the first publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal demonstrating these facts.

“The ability to take a cell and differentiate it into the tissue type needed by the body creates a world of opportunity in the world of organ and tissue regeneration,” said Neil Riordan, PhD, President and CEO of Medistem. He added, “With IP filed around the cell line, we have begun taking the next steps in the commercialization process. Currently, our collaborators at Western Ontario, Alberta, and the Bio-Communications Research Institute are doing a series of pre-clinical studies to establish efficacy data in a variety of indications. The indications currently being assessed include diabetes, liver cirrhosis, lung fibrosis, organ rejection, and multiple sclerosis. Should the data gathered prove strong in one or all the indications the next step will be to file INDs with the FDA and move into clinical trials,” said Riordan.

About Medistem Laboratories, Inc.
Medistem Laboratories is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, and commercializes adult stem cell products that address serious medical conditions. Medistem’s primary focus is drug discovery and development, however, Medistem also outlicenses proprietary technology from their growing intellectual property portfolio to commercial entities in markets where stem cell administration is permissible. Medistem believes it is well positioned to be a leading developer of adult stem cell products given its licensee relationships and collaborative efforts with respected institutions.

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U.S. researchers report that brain stem cells can now be tracked for the first time with the identification of a new marker.

The team’s senior author said that for the conditions of and involving multiple sclerosis, early childhood development, and depression, the accomplishment is opening doors to new research.

“This is a way to detect these cells in the brain, so that you can track them in certain conditions where we suspect that these cells play a certain role,” explained Dr. Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, an assistant professor of neurology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

“This is also very applicable for situations where people envision the transplantation of stem cells into the brain,” the researcher said.

The breakthrough “is very important, because it now allows us to look and see ways in which to measure changes in endogenous [natural] neural stem cells,” agreed Paul Sanberg, director of the Center for Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida, in Tampa. He was not involved in the research.

The study was published in the November 9th issue of Science, and was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The human brain and/or nervous system sustains critical damage in individuals who suffer from Parkinson’s, stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic injury, Alzheimer’s, and other conditions. Scientists believe they might be manipulated to repair or replace lost cells and tissues because stem cells have the potential to develop into other types of cells.

Stem cells called progenitor cells are already produced by key parts of the brain.

“There are two major areas where you can find them in the brain — one is the center for learning and memory, called the hippocampus, and the other is around the brains’ ventricles,” Maletic-Savatic explained.

So they can develop into new or replacement cells, these brain cells, like other adult stem cells in the body, are held in reserve.

Since humans keep collection memories, the stem cells found in the hippocampus are particularly useful. In order to interpret and store memories, the brain needs new cells.

“Memories always change,” Sanberg pointed out.

Since scientists haven’t had any means of tracking neural stem cells, research in this area has been slow. Because scientists discovered molecular markers that reliably identify them on MRS, two dominant cell types — glial cells and neurons — have been tracked for some time using a non invasive technology called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

Now, brain stem cells can be marked for the first time.

A chemical signature that distinctly characterizes neural stem cells has been discovered by Maletic-Savatic’s team. The discovery was made using computer and state-of-the-art scanning technology.

“We think that it’s a complex lipid or lipoprotein,” the Stony Brook researcher said. Further investigation is under way to define and describe the molecule’s identity, she added.

The researchers tracked the quantity and location of neural progenitor cells in the brain using MRS imaging on mice, rats, and human volunteers who were healthy. They also used MRS to verify the transplant location after implanting some of these cells into an adult rat’s brain.

The concentration of neural progenitor cells in the brains of adult humans, adolescents, and young children was compared by Maletic-Savatic’s team. This marked another first. Their findings revealed that the number of these cells in the brain decreases markedly with age. This confirmed suspicions that arose during animal studies.

“We were actually really surprised that there was such a dramatic decline,” Maletic-Savatic said.

The researcher said she’s already planning to use the new tracking technology in a variety of neurological studies.

For example, it is suspected that antidepressants work by boosting the creation of new brain cells. With that in mind, Maletic-Savatic’s team will use MRS to “clarify whether abnormalities in these progenitors have any role in causing depression,” she said.

Maletic-Savatic said she is also planning a study looking at the cells’ role in early brain development because she is primarily a pediatric neurologist.

“Particularly in premature babies who can develop cerebral palsy and mental retardation,” she added.

MRS-guided research into neural stem cells may also benefit multiple sclerosis patients.

“We are now doing a study that already started a year ago on patients with MS, and we plan to prospectively follow them and see whether we can use this bio-marker as a prognostic tool,” Maletic-Savatic said.

She added that this type of stem cell research could also benefit research on a wide range of brain disorders. Maletic-Savatic said breakthroughs in that area are probably years away, but that tracking stem cells in the brain has obvious implications for research into stem cell transplantation.

“On the other hand, if we find drugs or ways that can stimulate your own endogenous cells, that would be even better,” she said.

Sanberg agreed that brain research would enjoy a marked boost with scientists being able to track neural stem cells.

“To be able to show that you are increasing neurogenesis in the brain through your treatment — through drugs that induce neurogenesis — that’s going to be very important,” he said. “This is a really strong first step.”