child health blog 29

One instance of STAT1 GOF Mutation phenotype. Credit score: Picture courtesy of Hiroshima College The primary ever examine assessing how sufferers with "achieve of operate" mutation of the STAT1 gene reply to stem cell transplantation has taken place. It concerned 15 younger sufferers, from 9 totally different international locations, every struggling a spread of issues attributable to the gene's mutation. Of those, solely six survived a regime of stem cell transplantation -- with 5 utterly cured and illness free by the examine's conclusion. The examine was carried out by Dr. Satoshi Okada (Hiroshima College), Professor Jennifer Leiding (College of Florida), Professor Tomohiro Morio (Tokyo Medical and Dental College), and Professor Troy Torgerson (College of Washington). Dr. Okada, who first found the STAT1 achieve of operate mutation in 2011, says that "General, this result's disappointing -- however the truth 5 suffe...

Many scientists need strategies to study individual cells (e.g. stem cells) for a period of multiple weeks. This is of great importance in areas that focus on drug testing, fundamental disease studies, and cell therapy development. The conventional method to study individual cells outside the body involves 'capturing' and cultivating them in tiny droplets of hydrogel , known as microgels. Until recently, however, all attempts to culture individual cells under such controlled conditions for extended periods of time failed, as the cells escaped from the microgels within a few days. Until now, this problem has greatly restricted the range of potential applications of this promising technology. Researchers at the University of Twente's MIRA research institute identified that the escaping cells were almost always located at the edge of the microgels. Using high-speed cameras, they discovered that this was due to the current production method. They solved this problem by de...

Treating laboratory mice with a dose of the molecule, a lipid metabolite called prostaglandin E2, just after injury accelerates the animals' ability to repair the damage and regain muscle strength, the researchers reported. However, a nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drug like aspirin or ibuprofen -- drugs frequently taken to reduce the muscle soreness after injury or exercise -- blocked production of the metabolite and dramatically inhibited muscle repair in the mice, leading to diminished strength. "Traditionally, inflammation has been considered a natural, but sometimes harmful, response to injury," said Helen Blau, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology and director of Stanford's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. "But we wondered whether there might be a component in the pro-inflammatory signaling cascade that also stimulated muscle repair. We found that a single exposure to prostaglandin E2 has a profound effect on the proliferation of mus...