Regenerative Medicine in Brief

 More embryonic stem cell lines approved for US funding

The US National Institutes of Health have identified 13 more human embryonic stem cell lines that comply with government ethical standards and therefore qualify for federal funding. The 13 new cell lines bring to 64 the number of lines available for funding. Another 100 lines are pending approval, the NIH said. The newly approved stem-cell lines have been added to the NIH Stem Cell Registry which includes four lines from the WiCell Research Institute in Madison, Wisconsin and others from Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University. Under the Bush Administration, funding for research using embryonic stem cells was restricted to only a few lines. President Barack Obama relaxed these restrictions in March 2009. The new policy is informed by ethical guidelines drawn up by the NIH.

New study shows difference between iPS and embryonic stem cells

A study in the 7 May 2010 issue of Cell Stem Cell has shown that adult skin cells which have been reprogrammed to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) do not replicate the behaviour of embryonic stem cells in a disease known as fragile X syndrome. Researchers from the US and Israel made iPS cells from the cells of three patients with the syndrome and discovered that virtually the entire genome was reprogrammed, except for the gene that caused fragile x, which remained inactivated. The researchers surmised that the gene was not expressed because it still bore epigenetic markers for silencing.

EMA warning on unregulated stem cell use

The European Medicines Agency has taken the unusual step of reminding patients that no stem-cell medicinal product has been approved for marketing in the European Union. It warns patients not to agree to treatment with unregulated stem-cell therapies, which are currently being offered for a wide range of serious and life-threatening diseases. The only circumstances under which these treatments may be safely administered are in the controlled conditions of a clinical trial, or a compassionate-use programme. “The use of stem-cell medicinal products outside these controlled conditions may result not only in little or no benefit to patients but could also be detrimental,” the agency says in a statement on its website.

New guidelines for MS stem cell research

A group of international scientists has drafted a set of guidelines for use in deciding under what circumstances people with multiple sclerosis should participate in clinical trials involving stem cell transplantation. The lead authors are Gianvito Martino from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and Robin Franklin from the University of Cambridge in the UK. The guidelines outline the promise of stem cell transplantation for MS; describe the different types of stem cells that might be used to treat different types of the disease; explain the methods for delivery of these cells and highlight best practice for clinical trials. The guidelines are the result of a consensus among leading MS societies including those in the UK and the US and the MS International Federation.

Copyright 2010 Evernow Publishing Ltd

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