Nanomagnets: the future of targeted stem cell therapies? Your blood vessels are made up of tightly-packed endothelial cells. This barrier poses some big challenges for the delivery of drugs via the blood. While small molecules are able make their way through the small gaps in the blood vessel walls, larger drug molecules, including proteins and cells, are not able to penetrate the vessel to get therapies to diseased areas.

This week, researchers at Rice University report in Nature Communications on an ingenious technique using tiny magnets that may overcome this drug delivery problem.

Initial studies showed that adding magnetic nanoparticles to the endothelial cells and then applying a magnetic field affected the cells’ internal scaffolding, called microtubules. These structures are responsible for maintaining the tight cell to cell connections. The team took the studies a step further by growing the cells in specialized petri dishes containing tiny, tube-shaped channels. Applying a magnetic field to the cells caused the cell-cell junctions to form gaps, making the blood vessel structures leaky. Simply turning off the magnetic field closed up the gaps within a few hours.

Though a lot of research remains, the team aims to apply this on-demand induction of cell leakiness along with adding the magnetic nanoparticles to stem cell therapy products to help target the treatment to specific area. In a press release, team leader Dr. Gang Bao spoke about possible applications to arthritis therapy:

“The problem is how to accumulate therapeutic stem cells around the knee and keep them there. After injecting the nanoparticle-infused cells, we want to put an array of magnets around the knee to attract them.”

To differentiate or not differentiate: new insights During the body’s development, stem cells must differentiate, or specialize, into functional cells – like liver, heart, brain. But once that specialization occurs, the cells lose their pluripotency, or the ability to become any type of cell. So, stem cells must balance the need to differentiate with the need to make copies of itself to maintain an adequate supply of stem cells to complete the development process. And even after a fully formed baby is born, it’s still critical for adult stem cells to balance the need to regenerate damaged tissue versus stashing away a pool of stem cells in various organs for future regeneration and replacement of damaged or diseased tissues.

A report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds evidence that the two separate processes – differentiation and pluripotency – directly communicate with each other as way to ensure a proper balance between the two states.

The study, carried out by researchers at Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri, focused on the regulation of two genes: Nanog and Hox. Nanog is critical for maintaining a stem cell’s ability to become a specialized cell type. In fact, it’s one of the four genes initially used to reprogram adult cells back into induced pluripotent stem cells. The Hox gene family is responsible for generating a blueprint of the body plan in a developing embryo. Basically, the pattern of Hox gene activity helps generate the body plan, basically predetermining where the various body parts and organs will form.

Now, both Nanog and Hox proteins act by binding to DNA and turning on a cascade of other genes that ultimately maintain pluripotency or promote differentiation. By examining these other genes, the researchers were surprised to find that both Nanog and Hox were bound to both the pluripotency and differentiation genes. They also found that Nanog and Hox can directly inhibit each other. Taken together, these results suggest that exquisite control of both processes occurs cross regulation of gene activity.

Dr. Robb Krumlauf one of authors on the paper talked about the significance of the result in a press release:

“Over the past 10 to 20 years, biologists have shown that cells are actively assessing their environment, and that they have many fates they can choose. The regulatory loops we’ve found show how the dynamic nature of cells is being maintained.”

Color me stem cells Looking to improve your life and the life of those around you? Then we highly recommend you pay a visit to today’s issue of Right Turn, a regular Friday feature of  Signals, the official blog of CCRM, Canada’s public-private consortium supporting the development of regenerative medicine technologies.

As part of an public outreach effort they have created four new coloring sheets that depict stem cells among other sciency topics. They’ve set up a DropBox link to download the pictures so you can get started right away.

Adult coloring has swept the nation as the hippest new pastime. And it’s not just a frivolous activity, as coloring has been shown to have many healthy benefits like reducing stressed and increasing creativity. Just watch any kid who colors. In fact, share these sheet with them, it’s intended for children too.