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Friday, March 19th, 2010
Cells in amniotic fluid become stem cells
NEW YORK - Scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in New York say they've found skin cells found in human amni-
otic fluid can become embryonic-like stem cells. The re-
searchers led by Assistant Professor Katalin Polgar found
when compared to cultured adult skin cells, the amniotic
fluid skin cells formed stem cell colonies in about half the
time and yielded nearly a 200 percent increase in number.
"There remains today a need in stem cell research for an
easily reprogrammable cell type, "Polgar said. "Our study
shows that reprogramming of cultured, terminally differenti-
ated amniotic fluid cells results in pluripotent stem cells
that are identical to human embryonic stem cells, and that
it is much easier, faster and more efficient than reprogram-
ming neonatal and adult cells." Amniotic fluid skin cells
can be safely obtained from pregnant women undergoing amnio-
centesis at about 15 weeks of pregnancy as part of a diag-
nostic workup for chromosome aberrations and other genetic
diseases, the researchers said. About 99 percent of cells
found in amniotic fluid are terminally differentiated cells
mostly from fetal skin, which are shed into the amniotic
fluid as a fetus develops. Such cells, they said, could
become an important source for generating stem cells for
basic research and future therapies. The study appears in
the ahead-of-print online edition of the journal Cellular
Reprogramming (formerly Cloning and Stem Cells),
Insulin-like growth factors studied
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - U.S. scientists say their discovery of
how hormones known as insulin-like growth factors work may
lead to new treatments for muscle-wasting diseases. The
researchers, led by University of Michigan Professor Cunming
Duan, say they've resolved a long-standing mystery about the
workings of the growth factors and that finding might also
lead to new ways of preventing muscle loss that accompanies
aging. Insulin-like growth factors work by binding to recep-
tors on the cells they target. During muscle formation, Duan
said, the binding can prompt either of two responses from
myoblasts -- immature cells that develop into muscle tissue.
Some cells are stimulated to divide while others interpret
the same signal as an order to differentiate (become special-
ized). "These are opposite and mutually exclusive cellular
events -- once a muscle cell divides, it can't differentiate,
and once it differentiates, it can never divide again," Duan
said. Now he and his team have solved the question of how
activation of the same receptor by the same hormone can
elicit two such distinctly different responses. "The myo-
blasts' response is controlled by oxygen availability," Duan
said. When oxygen levels are normal, muscle cell differenti-
ation occurs; when oxygen levels are below normal, the growth
factor promotes muscle cell division. The study that included
former graduate student Hongxia Ren and Columbia University
Professor Domenico Accili appears in the early online edition
of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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New types of bandages and wraps developed
DALLAS - Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas
say they have created a unique cloth that can be used for
therapeutic bandages and wraps. The scientists, led by Pro-
fessor Kenneth Balkus Jr. and doctoral student Harvey Liu,
said the cloth releases nitric oxide gas, making it a poten-
tial therapy as, among other things, therapeutic socks for
diabetics and a wrap to help preserve organs harvested for
transplantation. The researchers said nitric oxide helps
increase blood flow and regulates a range of other body
functions. They said they discovered zeolites -- a micro-
porous material used in commercial absorbents -- soak up
and store large amounts of gases, such as nitric oxide. The
scientists describe their development of the new bandage
that's composed of nitric oxide-absorbing zeolites embedded
in a water-repellant polymer in the American Chemical
Society's journal Chemistry of Materials.
Link between obesity and cancer is studied
EDMONTON, Alberta - Canadian scientists say they have taken
a step toward understanding the correlation between obesity
and cancer. University of Alberta Associate Professor Richard
Lamb said he is studying a cell pathway in the human body
that regulates cell growth. Lamb and his research group say
they've discovered the pathway can be affected by sources
not within the cell, specifically amino acid nutrients that
are the building blocks of tissue and muscle in the human
body. The scientists say what makes their study interesting
is that the amino acids are found to be elevated in obese
people, suggesting the signaling pathway, called mTOR, could
be hyperactivated by the heightened amino acid nutrients and
that could affect how human cells respond to stress and
disease. Lamb said he and his team will now investigate
whether cancer cells are aided by the potential hyperactivity
of the pathway. The research appears in the journal Molecular
Cell.
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Autism chromosomal test most effective
BOSTON - The Autism Consortium says it has found chromosomal
microarray analysis is the most effective genetic test for
autism spectrum disorders. The consortium -- a research,
clinical and family collaboration -- said it conducted a
comparison study of genetic testing methods. The study re-
vealed chromosomal microarray analysis had the highest
detection rate among clinically available genetic tests for
patients with autism spectrum disorders and should be part
of the initial diagnostic evaluation of all patients unless
a genetic diagnosis has already been made. The study, a
collaboration of the consortium and Children's Hospital
Boston, involved 933 families who received clinical genetic
testing for a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder from
January 2006 to December 2008. The researchers compared the
findings from three clinical genetic tests: G-banded karyo-
type and fragile X testing, the current standard battery of
genetic testing and chromosomal microarray analysis. "This
is the largest study of clinical genetic testing for pati-
ents with autism spectrum disorders, and the results clearly
show that chromosomal microarray analysis detects genetic
abnormalities leading to ASD more often than a standard
karyotype and fragile X testing," said Dr. David Miller of
Children's Hospital Boston. The findings are available in
the online edition of the journal Pediatrics and will appear
in its April print issue.
FDA OK's implanted hearing system
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced
approval Wednesday of the first totally implanted hearing
system. The FDA said the Esteem System is designed to treat
moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss, a type of per-
manent hearing loss usually caused by genetic factors or
damage to the inner ear resulting from noise, viral infect-
ions or aging. Such a loss of hearing produces reductions
in the perception of sounds and in the ability to understand
speech. Sensorineural hearing loss differs from conductive
hearing loss, which occurs when sound waves cannot transmit
well through the outer or middle ear or both, the FDA said,
noting medical or surgical treatment can often restore
hearing in people with a conductive hearing loss, which can
be caused by earwax, fluid in the middle ear space or a
punctured eardrum. "The approval of Esteem provides patients
with an option to alleviate their hearing loss by using a
device with no readily visible external components," said
Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices
and Radiological Health. The system, manufactured by the
Envoy Medical Corp. of St. Paul, Minn., is designed to
alleviate the effects of hearing loss in patients ages 18
years and older.
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