Immortality Medicine

Listen to show #85 here!
RegenMedToday_085_July2010.mp3[11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Thomas Starzl, MD, PhD. Dr. Starzl is a professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert in organ transplantation. He is considered by most to be the ?Father of Modern Transplantation.? Dr. Starzl discusses the history of transplation as well as the five themes he has identified within the field of transplantation.

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Listen to show #84 here!
RegenMedToday_084_June2010.mp3[11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Mr. Peter DeComo. Mr. DeComo is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ALung Technologies, Inc., a company which develops respiratory assist technologies that are expected to provide a better alternative to traditional, invasive respiratory support. Mr. DeComo discusses the goal of ALung to advance lung replacement therapy as well as the challenges it faces as it nears its goals.

For more information about the ALung Technologies, Inc., please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit: McGowan Institute Research Site

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Listen to show #83 here!
RegenMedToday_083_June2010.mp3[11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD, who is Professor in the Department of Surgery, deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering within the Institute, and Blair Jobe, MD, Associate Professor of surgery in the Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. Drs. Badylak and Jobe discuss the recent successful use of tissue engineering in a non-invasive surgery to treat esophageal cancer as well as the potential benefits this technology holds for the future.

For more information about Dr. Badylak, please Click Here.

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To make an appointment with Dr. Jobe, please Click Here.

To view the CBS 60 Minutes segment that feature Drs. Badylak and Jobe, please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit: McGowan Institute Research Site

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Listen to show #82 here!
RegenMedToday_082_May2010.mp3[11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes W. P. Andrew Lee, MD.  Dr. Lee is chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and the director of the Hand Surgery Fellowship in the School of Medicine.   Dr. Lee discusses the successful hand transplants recently performed by him as well as what he envisions for the future.

For more information about the Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, please Click Here. 

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit: McGowan Institute Research Site

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Listen to show #79 here!
RegenMedToday_079_Feb2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Johnny Huard, PhD. Dr. Huard is the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery Research, the director of the Stem Cell Research Center, and the deputy director for cellular therapy at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Huard discusses adult stem cell research and the potential it has to provide future treatments for damaged or diseased tissues. He also reviews his research that is now matured to the point that clinical studies are underway.

For more information about Dr. Huard, please Click Here.

For more information about the Stem Cell Research Lab, please Click Here.

For more information about Cook Myocite, Inc., please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Listen to show #80 here!
RegenMedToday_080_March2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Gregory Schultz, PhD. Dr. Schultz is Professor of Obstretrics and Gynecology in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida. Dr. Schultz discusses his research on wound healing and the challenges presented by bacterial biofilms. He also explains his current joint study, which evaluates bioburden and potential healing markers in chronic wounds. For more information about Dr. Gregory Schultz, please Click Here.

For more information about HEALTHPOINT, Ltd, please Click Here.

Listen to show #81 here!
RegenMedToday_81_April2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Sam Rothstein. Mr. Rothstein is a chemical engineering predoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Steven Little. He discusses the lab?s research on the mechanics of controlled release and mathematical model-driven methodology. He also discusses his plans for a new drug formulation company, ChroKnow Solutions.

For more information about the Little Lab, please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit: McGowan Institute Research Site

McGowan Institute Patient Site

Host John Murphy Subscribe to the Podcast Feed.

Listen to show #81 here!
RegenMedToday_81_April2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Sam Rothstein. Mr. Rothstein is a chemical engineering predoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Steven Little. He discusses the lab?s research on the mechanics of controlled release and mathematical model-driven methodology. He also discusses his plans for a new drug formulation company, ChroKnow Solutions.

For more information about the Little Lab, please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit: McGowan Institute Research Site

McGowan Institute Patient Site

Host John Murphy Subscribe to the Podcast Feed.

Listen to show #79 here!
RegenMedToday_079_Feb2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Johnny Huard, PhD. Dr. Huard is the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery Research, the director of the Stem Cell Research Center, and the deputy director for cellular therapy at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Huard discusses adult stem cell research and the potential it has to provide future treatments for damaged or diseased tissues. He also reviews his research that is now matured to the point that clinical studies are underway.

For more information about Dr. Huard, please Click Here.

For more information about the Stem Cell Research Lab, please Click Here.

For more information about Cook Myocite, Inc., please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

McGowan Institute Patient Site

McGowan Institute Research Site

Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #77 here!
RegMedToday_77_Dec2009.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Burhan Gharaibeh, PhD. Dr. Gharaibeh is a Research Assistant Professor at the Stem Cell Research Center in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Gharaibeh discusses muscle derived stem cells and how to use these stem cells to regenerate and repair injured skeletal muscles.

For more information about Dr. Gharaibeh, pleaseClick Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #78 here!
RegenMedToday_078_Jan2010.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Thomas W. Gilbert, PhD. Dr. Gilbert is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interest are focused on the remodeling of biologic scaffolds for tissue-engineering based treatments, particularly relating to role of mechanical loading in the remodeling process.

He has directed and participated in pre-clinical studies relevant to orthopaedics, cardiac, and gastrointestinal applications. He discusses his current research programs targeting tracheal reconstruction (with a particular focus on epithelialization and mechanical integrity of the graft) and tissue engineering approaches to pediatric congenital heart defects.

For more information about Dr. Gharaibeh, please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #76 here!
RegMedToday_76_Nov2009.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Ellen Gawalt, PhD. Dr. Gawalt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Duquesne University. She is also the Chair of the Graduate Admissions and Recruitment and a member of the NSF-REU Advisory Board. Dr. Gawalt discusses her research in controlling interfacial regions through chemical modifications by using biomaterials and biofouling.

For more information about Dr. Ellen Gawalt, please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #75 here!
RegMedToday_75_Nov2009.mp3 [11.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Lorenzo Soletti, PhD. Dr. Soletti is the Director of Technology Development at Neograft Technologies, Inc. Dr. Soletti discusses technologies currently used in treating cardiovascular disease as well as a new technology called Angioshield that he and his colleagues at Neograft Technologies are developing.

For more information about Neograft Technologies, Inc., please Click Here.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #73 here!
RegMedToday_073_August2009.mp3 [16.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Major General Gale Pollock. Major General Pollock is the executive director of the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, a division of the UPMC eye center. Major General Pollock returns to Regenerative Medicine Today with Corporal Mike Jernigan, a medically retired marine who lost both eyes in Iraq. They discuss the BrainPort vision system, which is currently being used by Cpl. Jernigan, as well as the future of BrainPort.

For more information about Major General Pollock, please Click Here.

For more information about the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, please Click Here

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Listen to show #74 here!
RegMedToday_74_Sept2009.mp3 [16.0MB 00:28:22 80kbps]

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Robert Bowser, PhD. Dr. Bowser is the Director of the ALS Research for the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and at the Center for ALS Research at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also the Director of the ALS Tissue Bank, where he helps to create the largest such tissue repository in the country. Dr. Bowser discusses the state of neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS and Alzheimer?s, as well as the unique challenges they present to researchers.

For more information about Dr. Robert Bowser, please Click Here.

For more information about the Center for ALS Research, please Click Here

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Host John Murphy.

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Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have developed a new way of quickly maturing embryonic stem cells into neural cells. Other research groups have worked out lab conditions that encourage embryonic stem cells to mature into various types of nerve cells, but those methods were slow and resulted in early stage nerve cells that were more likely to cause tumors when transplanted into mice. This new method could speed work by researchers who are trying to develop therapies for diseases of the nervous system. As an additional benefit, this work showed that some previously overlooked genes are worth studying as potential regulators of embryonic stem cell maturation.

Cell Death and Differentiation: March 13, 2009
CIRM authors: R Bajpai, Stuart Lipton, Alexi Terskikh

Related Information: Cell Death and Differentiation paper, Press release, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Bajpai funding grant summary, Lipton funding grant summary, Lipton bio, Terskikh bio

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the Scripps Research Institute have found that a protein known to play an important role in maintaining mouse embryonic stem cells has a similarly crucial job in human embryonic stem cells. This protein, called Shp2, acts as a switch, telling the cells to either divide to make more of themselves – a process called self-renewal – or to mature into different cell types – called differentiation. Fine-tuning this balance between self-renewal and differentiation will be critical for developing new therapies based on embryonic stem cells. The cells need to self-renew in order to grow up enough cells to be therapeutically useful. Once researchers have sufficient cells, they need to switch the cells over to a state where they can mature into cell types such as nerves, retinal cells, or pancreatic islets that can be used to study or treat disease.

PLoS ONE: March 17, 2009
CIRM authors: Yuhong Pang, Ziwei Huang, Sheng Ding

Related Information: PLoS ONE paper, Press Release, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Funding grant summary

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found a protein that protects the brain from the kind of damage that can lead to Parkinson’s disease. This protein, called Nurr1, has a long history in Parkinson’s disease research. People who carry a mutation in the gene are prone to developing the disease. The new work explains how the protein prevents Parkinson’s disease and could also help researchers find ways of treating of preventing the disease. The protein was especially important in two types of cells that protect and support the brain’s neurons — called microglia and astrocytes. In these cells, Nurr1 works with other proteins to limit inflammation after an immune response. Without it, these support cells produced toxic by-products that damaged the nerves in a way that could lead to Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative diseases.

Cell: April 3, 2009
CIRM authors: Beate Winner, Christian Carson, Leah Boyer, Fred H. Gage

Related Information: Cell paper, Press release, University of California, San Diego, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Gage funding grant summary, Winner and Carson funding grant summary, Boyer funding grant summary, Gage bio

Researchers at UC, Santa Barbara, have mapped the role of a genetic signal that puts the breaks on the ability of stem cells to self renew. The finding could eventually shed light on self-renewal that has run amuck as in cancer, and can immediately be put to use in managing the balancing act between self-renewal and differentiation—the process through which stem cells mature into more specific cell types such as neurons or muscle. Specifically, they found that a microRNA, a single-stranded RNA whose function is to decrease gene expression, lowers the activity of three key genes needed for embryonic stem cell self-renewal. Conversely, they found that when this microRNA, miR-145, is lost the stem cells are prevented from differentiating into more mature cells.

Cell: April 30, 2009
CIRM author: Na Xu

Related Information: Cell paper, Press release, University of California, Santa Barbara, Funding grant summary

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have designed a safer technique for reprogramming adult cells into a state that resembles embryonic stem cells. This method takes advantage of genetic molecules called microRNAs, which regulate the activity of genes. The original 2007 method for creating reprogrammed cells, called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, relied on inserting four genes, some potentially tumor-causing, into the DNA of an adult cell such as a skin cell. Since then, researchers have whittled the number of genes down to two, and in one case generated iPS cells with only chemicals. However, the process is often inefficient. In this study, the researchers substituted one of the four genes with a microRNA molecule and obtained iPS cells at high efficiency. The researchers suggest microRNAs could replace other genes or improve the efficiency of chemical means of creating iPS cells. In addition, understanding how microRNAs function in reprogramming could lead to new therapeutic strategies for blocking reprogramming in cancer stem cells.

Nature Biotechnology April 12, 2009 (on-line publication)
CIRM authors: Robert Blelloch

Related Information: Nature Biotechnology paper, Press release, University of California, San Francisco, Funding grant summary

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found that neurons derived from embryonic stem cells were able to repair some damage in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. In people with MS, the immune system attacks the insulation – called myelin – that covers and protects neurons of the brain and spinal cord. The transplanted cells caused a response in the animals that allowed the myelin coating to be repaired on damaged cells. In humans, repairing the myelin would likely also repair the function of those nerves, bringing back feeling and motor control in people with MS. At this time there are no therapies to repair this damage. Instead, available drugs simply slow the progression of the disease. In this early study, the transplanted neurons survived only two weeks. The authors say more work is needed to understand how the remyelination occurred and how to retain the transplanted cells.

Journal of Neuroimmunology: May 23, 2009 (online)
CIRM authors: Chris Shaumberg* (T1-00008), Thomas Lane* (RS1-0409), Hans Keirstead (RC1-00345)

Related Information: Journal of Neuroimmunology paper, University of California, Irvine

“*” Funding contributed to this paper

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have found genetic differences that distinguish induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from embryonic stem cells. These differences diminish over time, but never disappear entirely. iPS cells are created when adult cells, such as those from the skin, are reprogrammed to look and behave like embryonic stem cells. But until now, scientists didn’t know if the two types of stem cells were actually identical at a molecular level. This latest research shows that iPS and embryonic stem cells differ in which genes they have turned on or off. All early iPS cells share these genetic traits, regardless of what animal they come from, the type of adult cells the iPS cells start as, or what method was used to reprogram those adult cells. However, later cultures of iPS cells show that most, but not all, of these differences disappear over time, making later cultures of iPS cells more similar to embryonic stem cells. If scientists want to use iPS cells in medical therapies, this research will give them a better idea of how similar they are to embryonic stem cells.

Cell Stem Cell: July 2, 2009
CIRM authors: Mike Teitell (RS1-00313), Kathrin Plath (RN1-00564-1), William Lowry (RS1-00259-1), Jerome Zack (RL1-00681-1)

Related Information: Cell Stem Cell paper, Press Release, University of California, Los Angeles

Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease have identified two molecules, called microRNAs, that push early heart cells to mature into the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels. These same molecules also control when those smooth muscle cells divide to repair damage or in diseases such as cancer or atherosclerosis, which both involve unhealthy blood vessel growth. The two microRNAs, miR-145 and miR-143, are abundant in the primitive heart cells of prenatal mice, leading those cells to differentiate into various mature heart and aorta cells. After birth, both microRNAs are present mainly in smooth muscle cells, which also line the small intestine. If both microRNAs are absent, smooth muscle cells in blood vessels start multiplying. This helps heal injured blood vessels, but it can also create abnormal blood vessel growth in certain diseases. This cell proliferation can thicken blood vessels in atherosclerosis, or it can nourish tumors with blood. These findings could help scientists create smooth muscle cells from embryonic stem cells for therapeutic uses, or could lead to therapies for atherosclerosis or cancer.

Journal: Nature July 5, 2009 (online)
CIRM-funded author: Deepak Srivastava (RC1-00142-1)

Related Information: Nature paper, Press Release, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Srivastava bio

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have pinpointed a protein that is critical for maintaining a stem cell’s full potential to self-renew and to differentiate. Stem cells lacking the protein were impaired in their ability to divide and make identical copies of themselves, called self-renewal. These cells also lost their capacity to differentiate into key cell types, such as cardiac muscle. The protein, Chd1, acts to keep chromosome strands loosely wound, which permits widespread gene activation in the cell’s nucleus. Previous studies hypothesized that this open chromosome structure is necessary in stem cells to maintain their potential to specialize into any cell type. Additional results in this study demonstrate that Chd1 is required for efficient reprogramming of adult cells, such as skin cells, back into a pluripotent state. These new insights into Chd1 function may lead to safer, more efficient methods for growing up large numbers of embryonic stem cells and deriving specific cell types, both critical steps for successful stem cell therapeutic strategies.

Nature July 8, 2009 (on-line publication)
CIRM authors: Rupa Sridharan (T1-00002), Kathrin Plath (RN1-00564-1), Miguel Ramalho-Santos (RS1-00434-1)

Related Information: Nature paper, press release , University of California, San Francisco

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have reversed Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in a mouse model of the disease with injections of neural stem cells. The mice used in this study mimicked the human disease, showing learning and memory defects and accumulating both beta-amyloid plaques and tau protein tangles within the brain, the two hallmark pathologies of the disease. Mice that received injections of mouse neural stem cells performed significantly better in memory tests than mice that received control injections. The stem cells did not replace cells lost to the disease. Instead, the injected cells secreted a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), that helped nourish the surviving neurons, encouraging those cells to grow more fibers and form more connections. The injected cells did not reduce the plaques or tangles. Current therapies for Alzheimer’s disease can only reduce the severity of symptoms or slow progression. To date, this is only the second potential treatment shown to actually improve memory in mice with advanced plaque and tangle pathology.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 24, 2009 (Online publication)
CIRM authors: Frank LaFerla (RS1-00247-1), Matthew Blurton-Jones (T1-00008)

Related Information: PNAS paper, UCI Press Release, University of California, Irvine, LaFerla bio

E.R.