International Stem Cell Corporation Progresses towards Establishment of the Industry’s First Universal Stem Cell Bank, UniStemCell™

OCEANSIDE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB: ISCO), www.internationalstemcell.com, announced today that it has signed up the first two in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics and engaged an experienced pharmaceutical industry executive to lead the establishment of the company’s universal stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. International Stem Cell Corporation has made breakthrough stem cell discoveries that result in unique advantages over the only two other proven methods of making human pluripotent stem cells. In particular, for the first time in industry history, this will enable the establishment of a bank containing a manageable number of stem cell lines that will be immunological matches for large patient populations of different ethnic origin.

“By combining the proven oocyte retrieval experience and clinical excellence of California Center for Reproductive Medicine and Acacio Fertility Center with the pharmaceutical and operational experience of Dr. Craw, International Stem Cell Corporation is well positioned to generate the world’s first cGMP quality hpSC lines in 2010.”

The company uses unfertilized eggs (oocytes) to create human “parthenogenic” stem cells (hpSCs). Like embryonic stem cells (ESCs), hpSCs are pluripotent (i.e. have the capacity to become almost any cell type in the body), yet avoid ethical issues associated with use or destruction of viable human embryos. Unlike induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSs), hpSCs do not involve extensive gene manipulation, which may have unknown biological impact. Unlike both ESCs and iPSs, hpSCs can be created in a homozygous form such that each line will be an immunological match for millions of patients.

International Stem Cell Corporation has partnered with two IVF clinics in Southern California, California Center for Reproductive Medicine under the leadership of Dr. Lori Arnold and Acacio Fertility Center under the leadership of Dr. Brian Acacio. Both clinics provide exceptional clinical care for egg donors and IVF patients, not only regionally but across the US and abroad. California Center for Reproductive Medicine and Acacio Fertility Center provide a US source of oocytes under full regulatory and medical oversight that allow for the creation of the first clinical grade hpSC lines anywhere in the world. Dr. Acacio says: “We look forward to participating in this important research with the ultimate goal of each egg donation not only helping a single couple but millions of people with degenerative diseases.” Dr. Arnold says: “While we provide world-class care for our IVF patients, we are excited to add our clinical expertise and join International Stem Cell Corporation in this medical frontier of regenerative medicine.”

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Creation Of Multiple Types Of White Blood Cells Directly From Embryonic And Adult Stem Cells

From MedicalNewsToday.com

In an advance that could help transform embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have transformed these versatile cells into progenitors of white blood cells and into six types of mature white blood and immune cells.

While clinical use is some years away, the new technique could produce cells with enormous potential for studying the development and treatment of disease. The technique works equally well with stem cells grown from an embryo and with adult pluripotent stem cells, which are derived from adult cells that have been converted until they resemble embryonic stem cells.

If the adult cells came from people with certain bone marrow diseases, the new technique could produce blood cells with specific defects. It could also be used to grow specific varieties of immune cells that could target specific infections or tumors.

The likely most immediate benefit is cells that can be used for safety screening of new drugs, says study leader Igor Slukvin, an assistant professor in the university’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

“Toxicity to the blood-forming system is a key limit on drug development, so these cells could be used for safety testing in any drug development,” says Slukvin, who performs research at the National Primate Research Center in Madison.

Bone marrow stem cells are already used to screen drugs, but the new technique promises to produce large quantities of cells in a dish that can be more exactly tailored to the task at hand, without requiring a constant supply of bone marrow cells from donors.

The development of stem cells into mature, specialized cells is governed by trace amounts of biological signaling molecules, so Slukvin and colleagues Kyung-Dal Choi and Maxim Vodyanik exposed two types of highly versatile stem cells to various compounds.

Eventually they found a recipe that would cause the cells to move through a process of progressive specialization into a variety of adult cells. Slukvin’s study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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Researchers May Have Found Equivalent of Embryonic Stem Cells

By Rob Stein, WashingtonPost.com

Chinese scientists have bred mice from cells that might offer an alternative to human embryonic stem cells, producing the most definitive evidence yet that the technique could help sidestep many of the explosive ethical issues engulfing the controversial field but raising alarm that the advance could lead to human cloning and designer babies.

In papers published online Thursday by two scientific journals, separate teams of researchers from Beijing and Shanghai reported that they had for the first time created virtual genetic duplicates of mice using skin cells from adult animals that had been coaxed into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells.

The findings were welcomed by supporters and opponents of human embryonic stem cell research as a long-sought vital step in proving that the cells could be as useful as embryonic cells for studying and curing many illnesses.

The results come just as the Obama administration has eased federal restrictions on government funding for embryonic stem cell research, and they could influence how to prioritize millions of dollars in new spending in the field.

But because of concerns that the techniques might make cloning and genetic engineering of embryos easier, the work could reignite calls for a ban on attempts to clone people and for restrictions on genetic manipulation of embryos.

“The implications of this are both enormously important and troublesome,” said Robert Lanza, a stem cell researcher at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass. “It revives many of the issues raised by reproductive cloning.”

Many scientists believe human embryonic stem cell research could revolutionize medicine by enabling doctors to use genetically matched tissue to treat many diseases. But the field has been mired in controversy because embryos are destroyed to obtain the cells.

In 2006, scientists discovered that they could induce adult cells to regress to a stage that appeared identical to embryonic stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Although scientists have become increasingly adept at creating and manipulating such cells, questions have lingered about whether they are truly equivalent. The new experiments were designed to put the cells to what has long been considered the most rigorous test.

In the studies, published in the journals Nature and Cell Stem Cell, the researchers used viruses to flip genetic switches in the DNA of skin cells from adult mice to turn them into iPS cells in the laboratory. The researchers then injected some of the iPS cells into very early embryos that are capable of forming a placenta but not of fully developing on their own. The resulting embryos were then transferred into the wombs of surrogate mice.

One team of scientists led by Qi Zhou of the Chinese Academy of Sciences created 37 iPS cell lines, three of which produced 27 live offspring, the first of which they named Tiny. One of the offspring, a 7-week-old male, went on to impregnate a female and produce young of its own. Altogether, the researchers bred at least 100 first-generation mice and hundreds of second-generation mice that were nearly identical genetically to the mice from which the iPS cells were derived.

“This gives us hope for future therapeutic interventions using patients’ own reprogrammed cells,” Fanyi Zeng of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who worked with Zhou, said during a telephone briefing for reporters.

The second group of researchers, led by Shaorong Gao of the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, created five iPS cell lines, one of which was able to produce embryos that survived until birth. Although four animals were born, only one lived to adulthood. Nevertheless, the work is “proof that iPS cells are functionally equivalent to embryonic stem cells,” Gao said in a telephone interview.

Other researchers agreed, praising the work as a long-awaited confirmation of the cells’ equivalence.

“This clearly says for the first time that iPS cells pass the most stringent test,” said Konrad Hochedlinger, a stem cell researcher at Harvard University.

Opponents of human embryonic stem cell research said the findings provide the latest in a growing body of evidence for why such research is no longer necessary.

“Nobody has been able to find anything that embryonic stem cells can do that these cells can’t do,” said Richard M. Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “This was the last remaining barrier.”

The Chinese scientists and others, however, said continued research on embryonic stem cells remains crucial to validate iPS cells and because it remains unclear which cells will turn out to be most useful for different purposes.

But the cells’ ability to produce almost genetically identical offspring raised the fear that rogue scientists might misuse the technique to attempt to clone humans.

“The culture wars are not over,” said Jonathan D. Moreno, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist. “There was a lot of celebration about the end of the ethical issues with induced pluripotent stem cells. But this is the paradigm case that shows that the old debates are rapidly being transformed into something even more complicated.”

Lanza also raised the prospect that the techniques could one day be used essentially to steal someone’s DNA to make a baby. “With just a little piece of your skin, or some blood from the hospital, anyone could have your child — even an ex-girlfriend or neighbor,” he wrote in an e-mail. “This isn’t rocket science — with a little practice, any IVF clinic in the world could probably figure out how to get it to work.”

In addition, researchers could genetically engineer traits into the cells before using them to create embryos for designer babies.

“For instance, the technology already exists to genetically increase the muscle mass in animals by knocking out a gene known as mystatin, and could be used by a couple who wants a great child athlete,” Lanza wrote.

Others dismissed such concerns, saying many scientific, ethical and regulatory hurdles remain. They said that just because the process works in mice does not necessarily mean it would work in humans, that many states outlaw human cloning and that federal regulators could step in to prevent it.

Scientists Reprogram Clearly Defined Adult Cells Into Pluripotent Stem Cells — Directly And Without Viruses

From ScienceDaily.com

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Scientists Find Differences in Embryonic Stem Cells and Reprogrammed Skin Cells

From Newswise.com

UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another.

The data from the study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression signatures. The differing signatures were evident regardless of where the cell lines were generated, the methods by which they were derived or the species from which they were isolated, said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a study author.

“We need to keep in mind that iPS cells are not perfectly similar to embryonic stem cells,” said Lowry, an assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology. “We’re not sure what this means with regard to the biology of pluripotent stem cells. At this point our analyses comprise just an observation. It could be biologically irrelevant, or it could be manifested as an advantage or a disadvantage.”

The study appears in the July 2, 2009 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

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Guidelines for broader stem cell research unveiled

By Saundra Young, CNN.com

The Obama administration released a draft of guidelines for federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research Friday.

Under the new guidelines, federal funding would be allowed only for research using human embryonic stem cells from embryos created solely for reproductive purposes by in vitro fertilization. The embryos would have to no longer be needed for reproduction, and the donors would have to consent to their use for research.

Funding for research using adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells will continue. Funding will not be allowed for stem cells obtained from other sources, including somatic cell nuclear transfer, also known as cloning; in vitro fertilization embryos created specifically for research purposes; and parthenogenesis, the development of an unfertilized egg.

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Video – International Stem Cell Corporation CEO Ken Aldrich

International Stem Cell Corporation is a California company that has developed breakthrough human stem cell lines that promise to eliminate the rejection of transplanted cells by the patients immune system.

International Stem Cell Corporation Chairman and CEO Ken Aldrich

Scientists Create Monkey Stem Cells

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The successful creation of the first induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line from adult monkey skin may have important implications for direct reprogramming capabilities across different species.

Previous studies have shown that induction of four key transcription factors can reprogram adult mouse and human skin cells into iPS cells. Until now, iPS cell creation had not been demonstrated in any other species.

Researchers at Peking University in Beijing, China retrofit viruses to express the four key factors to infect adult monkey skin cells. This technique led to the creation of cells that displayed multiple hallmarks of embryonic stem cells. These cells possessed the ability to develop into multiple types of differentiated cells.

These findings could potentially be useful for the creation of clinically valuable primate models for human disease. The direct reprogramming model may also be a universal strategy for generating iPS cells in other species.

SOURCE: Cell Stem Cell, 2008;3:587-590