cincinnati children’s hospital

Stories of the week – preterm birth and mice with a human immune system

/ Yimy Villa / 2 Comments

While we are here at ISSCR 2019 hearing various scientists talk about their work, we realize that there are various breakthroughs in stem cell research in a wide variety of different fields going on every day. It is wonderful to see how scientists are hard at work in developing the latest science and pushing innovation. Here are two remarkable stories you may have missed this week.

Scientists developing way to help premature babies breathe easier

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are looking at ways to stimulate lung development in premature infants who suffer from a rare condition called Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), which can cause lifelong breathing problems and even death. Using a mouse model of BPD, extensive analysis, and testing, the scientists were able to create a proposal to develop a stem cell therapy based on what are called c-KIT endothelial progenitor cells.

Premature babies, unable to breathe on their own, rely on machines to help them breathe. Unfortunately, these machines can interfere with lung development as well. The cells proposed in the stem cell therapy are common in the lungs of infants still in the womb and help in the formation of capillaries and air sacs in the lungs called alveoli.

In a press release, Dr. Vlad Kalinichenko, lead investigator for this work, was quoted as saying,

“The cells are highly sensitive to injury by high oxygen concentrations, so lung development in premature babies on mechanical oxygen assistance is impeded. Our findings suggest using c-KIT-positive endothelial cells from donors, or generating them with pluripotent stem cells, might be a way to treat BPD or other pediatric lung disorders associated with loss of alveoli and pulmonary microvasculature.”

The full results were published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Mice with a human immune system help research into cancer and infections

Speaking of a mouse model, researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have succeeded in using mice with a transplanted human immune system to study functions in the immune system which are otherwise particularly difficult to study. This work could open the possibilities towards looking further into disease areas such as cancer, HIV, and autoimmune diseases.

Before potential treatments can be tested in humans, there needs to be extensive animal testing and data generated. However, when the disease relate’s to the human immune system, it can be particularly challenging to evaluate this in mice. The research team succeeded in transplanting human stem cells into mice whose own immune system is disabled, and then triggered a type of reaction in the immune system which normally reacts to meeting a range of viruses and bacteria.

In a press release, Dr. Anna Halling Folkmar, one of the researchers behind the study, says that,

“The humanised mice are an important tool in understanding how human immune cells behave during diseases and how they react to different medical treatments.”

The full results were published in Immunology.

Giving thanks to Caleb and all of our stem cell pioneers [Video]

/ Todd Dubnicoff / Leave a comment

For our last blog before the Thanksgiving holiday, we give thanks to the patients and their caregivers who are forging a path toward a new era of regenerative medicine therapies through their participation in CIRM-funded clinical trials.

Some of our trials are in the early stages which means they are mainly focused on safety. Participants go into these trials knowing that the cell therapy dose they receive will probably be too low to get any benefit for themselves. And in later trials, some patients will receive a placebo, or blank therapy, for comparison purposes. Even if a patient gets an effective dose, it may not work for them. So the decision to enroll in an experimental clinical trial is often a selfless act. Yet final approval of a therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (and other regulatory agencies around the world) depends on these brave souls and for that we are truly grateful.

So, with this Thanksgiving Day spirit in mind, we leave you with our latest video featuring Caleb Sizemore, a charming young man who epitomizes the courage of our clinical trial pioneers. At just 7 years old, Caleb was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a degenerative muscle disease which makes it difficult for him to walk and climb stairs, has led to dangerous scarring of his heart muscle and carries a shortened life expectancy with most DMD patients not living past their 20s or 30s.

In a sit-down interview with us and in clips from his June 2017 presentation to the CIRM governing Board, Caleb talked about the impact of DMD on his life and his experience enrolling in Capricor Therapeutics’ CIRM-funded clinical trial. The trial is testing a stem cell therapy designed to repair the heart scarring that occurs with DMD. By the end of the three-minute video, I can assure you that you’ll be as captivated as we were by Caleb’s delightful, sincere and full-of-faith personality.