USC Keck School of Medicine

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awards $5.8 million for prostate cancer research to USC 

/ Esteban Cortez / 1 Comment

The American Cancer Society estimates that this year in the United States, there will be 268,490 new cases of prostate cancer. It also estimates that 34,500 men will die from the cancer in 2022. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.  

These stark statistics are why the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded a $5.8 million grant to researchers at the University of Southern California to begin conducting preclinical studies using an innovative treatment for prostate cancer, known as synthetic immune receptor (SIR-T) therapy. 

“We have a homegrown USC technology which shows a lot of promise. If the path that we are on ultimately proves successful, it could revolutionize the treatment of not only prostate cancer but also other cancers,” said principal investigator Dr. Preet M. Chaudhary, a professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.  

A new approach to immunotherapy 

CAR-T cell therapy—which is now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat several blood cancers—has been revolutionary for certain patients. In CAR-T therapy, a patient’s T-cells—a key part of their immune system—are extracted and genetically engineered to express the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). The modified T-cells are then reinjected into the patient, where CAR enables them to selectively seek out, bind to, and kill cancer cells. 

But its success in treating blood cancers has not translated into effectiveness against solid tumor cancers, such as prostate, breast, brain, gastrointestinal, skin and lung cancer.  

“The bottom line is that people have tried to replicate the success of CAR-T cell therapy with solid tumor cancers, and have been mostly unsuccessful,” Chaudhary said. 

SIR-T therapy, in contrast, uses different receptors that more closely resemble the body’s natural T-cells. Chaudhary and his team tested thousands of prototypes over an eight-year period to develop receptors that are effective and safe for solid tumors, including prostate cancer. An initial round of tests in mice yielded very promising results, prompting Chaudhary to apply for funding from CIRM. 

What’s next? 

With CIRM funding, Chaudhary and his team can now begin conducting preclinical trials of SIR-T therapy. Their research over the next two and a half years will culminate in an application for FDA approval to begin clinical trials in humans.  

Chaudhary’s lab is also testing SIR-T therapy for other types of cancer, including melanoma, kidney cancer, lymphoma and a different molecule involved in prostate cancer. 

“This technology has a lot of different applications, so we are working to ensure the platform works across disease types,” Chaudhary said. “The series of grants we’ve received reflects a lot of excitement about the SIR-T platform.” 

To learn more about the work CIRM has funded to better understand solid tumors, visit our Solid Tumor Fact Sheet web page.  

How a tiny patch is helping restore lasting vision

/ Kevin McCormack / 4 Comments

THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST

Researchers are working on a stem cell-based retinal implant that could be used for people with with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. (Photo/ Britney O. Pennington)

When Anna Kuehl began losing her vision, she feared losing the ability to read and go on long walks in nature—two of her favorite pastimes. Anna had been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in the US. She lost the central vision in her left eye, which meant she could no longer make out people’s faces clearly, drive a car, or read the time on her watch.

Anna Kuehl

But a clinical trial funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine  (CIRM) helped change that. And now, new data from that trial shows the treatment appears to be long lasting.

The treatment sprang out of research done by Dr. Mark Humayun and his team at USC. In collaboration with Regenerative Patch Technologies they developed a stem cell-derived implant using cells from a healthy donor. The implant was then placed under the retina in the back of the eye. The hope was those stem cells would then repair and replace damaged cells and restore some vision.

Dr. Mark Humayun, photo courtesy USC

In the past, using donor cells meant that patients often had to be given long-term immunosuppression to stop their body’s immune system attacking and destroying the patch. But in this trial, the patients were given just two months of immunosuppression, shortly before and after the implant procedure.

In a news story on the USC website, Dr. Humayun said this was an important advantage. “There’s been some debate on whether stem cells derived from a different, unrelated person would survive in the retina without long-term immunosuppression. For instance, if you were to receive a kidney transplant, long-term immunosuppression would be required to prevent organ rejection. This study indicates the cells on the retinal implant can survive for up to two years without long-term immunosuppression.”

Cells show staying power

When one of the patients in the clinical trial died from unrelated causes two years after getting the implant, the research team were able to show that even with only limited immunosuppression, there was no evidence that the patient’s body was rejecting the donor cells.

“These findings show the implant can improve visual function in some patients who were legally-blind before treatment and that the cells on the implant survive and remain functional for at least two years despite not being matched with those of the patient,” Humayun said.

For Anna Kuehl, the results have been remarkable. She was able to read an additional 17 letters on a standard eye chart. Even more importantly, she is able to read again, and able to walk and enjoy nature again.

Dr. Humayun says the study—published in the journal Stem Cell Reports—may have implications for treating other vision-destroying diseases. “This study addresses the debate over the viability of using mismatched stem cells — this shows that a mismatched stem cell derived implant can be safe and viable over multiple years.”

Researchers develop a stem cell-based implant for cartilage restoration and treating osteoarthritis

/ Esteban Cortez / 3 Comments
The Plurocart’s scaffold membrane seeded with stem cell-derived chondrocytes. Image courtesy of USC Photo/Denis Evseenko.

THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have used a stem cell-based bio-implant to repair cartilage and delay joint degeneration in a large animal model. This paves the way to potentially treat humans with cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, which occurs when the protective cartilage at the ends of the bones wears down over time. The disorder affects millions worldwide.

 The researchers are using this technology to manufacture the first 64 implants to be tested on humans with support from a $6 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

Researchers Dr. Denis Evseenko, and Dr. Frank Petrigliano led the development of the therapeutic bio-implant, called Plurocart. It’s composed of a scaffold membrane seeded with stem cell-derived chondrocytes, the cells responsible for producing and maintaining healthy articular cartilage tissue. 

In the study, the researchers implanted the Plurocart membrane into a pig model of osteoarthritis, resulting in the long-term repair of articular cartilage defects. Evseenko said the findings are significant because the implant fully integrated in the damaged articular cartilage tissue and survived for up to six months. “Previous studies have not been able to show survival of an implant for such a long time,” Evseenko added.

The researchers also found that the cartilage tissue generated was strong enough to withstand compression and elastic enough to accommodate movement without breaking.

Osteoarthritis, an often-painful disorder, can affect any joint, but most commonly affects those in our knees, hips, hands and spine. The USC researchers hope their implant will help prevent the development of arthritis and alleviate the need for invasive joint replacement surgeries.

“Many of the current options for cartilage injury are expensive, involve complex logistical planning, and often result in incomplete regeneration,” said Petrigliano. “Plurocart represents a practical, inexpensive, one-stage therapy that may be more effective in restoring damaged cartilage and improve the outcome of such procedures.”

Read the full study here and learn more about the CIRM grant here.

Remembering Eli Broad, philanthropist and stem cell champion

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment
Eli Broad, Photo by Nancy Pastor

The world of stem cell research lost a good friend this weekend. Eli Broad, a generous supporter of science, education and the arts, passed away at the age of 87.

Eli came from humble origins, born in the Bronx to an immigrant father who worked as a house painter and a mother who was a seamstress. He went to Michigan State University, working a number of jobs to pay his way, including selling women’s shoes, working as a door-to-door salesman for garbage disposal units, and delivering rolls of film to be developed. He graduated in three years and then became the youngest person ever to pass the CPA exam in Michigan.

He started out as an accountant but quickly switched to housing and development and was a millionaire by the time he was 30. As his wealth grew so did his interest in using that money to support causes dear to him and his wife Edythe.

With the passage of Proposition 71 in 2004 Broad put up money to help create the Broad Stem Cell Centers at UCLA, UC San Francisco and the University of Southern California. Those three institutions became powerhouses in stem cell research and the work they do is a lasting legacy to the generosity of the Broads.

Rosa Dilani, histology core manager at the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, explains the lab’s function to Eli Broad after the Oct. 29 ribbon cutting of the new building. In the background are U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (in purple) and Bob Klein in gray suit.

“Science has lost one of its greatest philanthropic supporters,” says Jonathan Thomas, PhD, JD, Chair of the CIRM Board. ” Eli and Edye Broad set the table for decades of transformative work in stem cell and gene therapy through their enthusiastic support for Proposition 71 and funding at a critical time in the early days of regenerative medicine. Their recent additional generous contributions to USC, UCLA and UCSF helped to further advance that work.  Eli and Edye understood the critical role of science in making the world a better place.  Through these gifts and their enabling support of the Broad Institute with Harvard and MIT, they have left a lasting legacy in the advancement of medicine that cannot be overstated.”

Through the Broad Foundation he helped fund groundbreaking work not just in science but also education and the arts. Gerun Riley, President of the Broad Foundation says Eli was always interested in improving the lives of others.

“As a businessman Eli saw around corners, as a philanthropist he saw the problems in the world and tried to fix them, as a citizen he saw the possibility in our shared community, and as a husband, father, mentor and friend he saw the potential in each of us.”

Eli and Edythe Broad

CIRM Board Approves Clinical Trials Targeting COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment
Coronavirus particles, illustration.

Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved new clinical trials for COVID-19 and sickle cell disease (SCD) and two earlier stage projects to develop therapies for COVID-19.

Dr. Michael Mathay, of the University of California at San Francisco, was awarded $750,000 for a clinical trial testing the use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for respiratory failure from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). In ARDS, patients’ lungs fill up with fluid and are unable to supply their body with adequate amounts of oxygen. It is a life-threatening condition and a major cause of acute respiratory failure. This will be a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with an emphasis on treating patients from under-served communities.

This award will allow Dr. Matthay to expand his current Phase 2 trial to additional underserved communities through the UC Davis site.

“Dr. Matthay indicated in his public comments that 12 patients with COVID-related ARDS have already been enrolled in San Francisco and this funding will allow him to enroll more patients suffering from COVID- associated severe lung injury,” says Dr. Maria T. Millan, CIRM’s President & CEO. “CIRM, in addition to the NIH and the Department of Defense, has supported Dr. Matthay’s work in ARDS and this additional funding will allow him to enroll more COVID-19 patients into this Phase 2 blinded randomized controlled trial and expand the trial to 120 patients.”

The Board also approved two early stage research projects targeting COVID-19.

  • Dr. Stuart Lipton at Scripps Research Institute was awarded $150,000 to develop a drug that is both anti-viral and protects the brain against coronavirus-related damage.
  • Justin Ichida at the University of Southern California was also awarded $150,00 to determine if a drug called a kinase inhibitor can protect stem cells in the lungs, which are selectively infected and killed by the novel coronavirus.

“COVID-19 attacks so many parts of the body, including the lungs and the brain, that it is important for us to develop approaches that help protect and repair these vital organs,” says Dr. Millan. “These teams are extremely experienced and highly renowned, and we are hopeful the work they do will provide answers that will help patients battling the virus.”

The Board also awarded Dr. Pierre Caudrelier from ExcellThera $2 million to conduct a clinical trial to treat sickle cell disease patients

SCD is an inherited blood disorder caused by a single gene mutation that results in the production of “sickle” shaped red blood cells. It affects an estimated 100,000 people, mostly African American, in the US and can lead to multiple organ damage as well as reduced quality of life and life expectancy.  Although blood stem cell transplantation can cure SCD fewer than 20% of patients have access to this option due to issues with donor matching and availability.

Dr. Caudrelier is using umbilical cord stem cells from healthy donors, which could help solve the issue of matching and availability. In order to generate enough blood stem cells for transplantation, Dr. Caudrelier will be using a small molecule to expand these blood stem cells. These cells would then be transplanted into twelve children and young adults with SCD and the treatment would be monitored for safety and to see if it is helping the patients.

“CIRM is committed to finding a cure for sickle cell disease, the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S. that results in unpredictable pain crisis, end organ damage, shortened life expectancy and financial hardship for our often-underserved black community” says Dr. Millan. “That’s why we have committed tens of millions of dollars to fund scientifically sound, innovative approaches to treat sickle cell disease. We are pleased to be able to support this cell therapy program in addition to the gene therapy approaches we are supporting in partnership with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH.”

Huge honor, hugely deserved for CIRM-funded stem cell researcher

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment
Dr. Andy McMahon: Photo courtesy USC

Andy McMahon is one of the most understated, humble and low-key people you are ever likely to meet. He’s also one of the smartest. And he has a collection of titles to prove it. He is the W.M. Keck Provost and University Professor in USC’s departments of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, and Biological Sciences at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, and the Royal Society.

Now you can add to that list that Andy is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Election to the NAS is no ordinary honor. It’s one of the highest in the scientific world.

In a USC news release Dean Laura Mosqueda from the Keck School praised Andy saying: “We’re delighted that Dr. McMahon is being recognized as a newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Because new members are elected by current members, this represents recognition of Dr. McMahon’s achievements by his most esteemed peers in all scientific fields.”

Not surprisingly CIRM has funded some of Andy’s work – well, we do pride ourselves on working with the best and brightest scientists – and that research is taking on added importance with the spread of COVID-19. Andy’s area of specialty is kidneys, trying to develop new ways to repair damaged or injured kidneys. Recent studies show that between 3 and 9 percent of patients with COVID-19 develop an acute kidney injury; in effect their kidneys suddenly stop working and many of these patients have to undergo dialysis to stay alive.

Even those who recover are at increased risk for developing more chronic, even end-stage kidney disease. That’s where Andy’s work could prove most useful. His team are using human stem cells to create mini artificial kidneys that have many of the same properties as the real thing. These so-called “organoids” enable us to study chronic kidney disease, come up with ideas to repair damage or slow down the progression of the disease, even help improve the chances of a successful transplant if that becomes necessary.

You can hear Andy talk about his work here:

CIRM is now funding a number of projects targeting COVID-19, including a clinical trial using convalescent plasma gel, and intends investing in more in the coming weeks and months. You can read about that here.

We are also funding several clinical trials targeting kidney failure. You can read about those on our Clinical Trials Dashboard page – diseases are listed alphabetically.

“A new awakening”: One patient advocate’s fight for her daughters life

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment

We often talk about the important role that patient advocates play in helping advance research. That was demonstrated in a powerful way last week when the CIRM Board approved almost $12 million to fund a clinical trial targeting a rare childhood disorder called cystinosis.

The award, to Stephanie Cherqui and her team at UC San Diego (in collaboration with UCLA) was based on the scientific merits of the program. But without the help of the cystinosis patient advocate community that would never have happened. Years ago the community held a series of fundraisers, bake sales etc., and used the money to help Dr. Cherqui get her research started.

That money enabled Dr. Cherqui to get the data she needed to apply to CIRM for funding to do more detailed research, which led to her award last week. There to celebrate the moment was Nancy Stack. Her testimony to the Board was a moving celebration of how long they have worked to get to this moment, and how much hope this research is giving them.

Nancy Stack is pictured in spring 2018 with her daughter Natalie Stack and husband Geoffrey Stack. (Lar Wanberg/Cystinosis Research Foundation)

Hello my name is Nancy Stack and I am the founder and president of the Cystinosis Research Foundation.  Our daughter Natalie was diagnosed with cystinosis when she was an infant. 

Cystinosis is a rare disease that is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of cystine in every cell in the body.  The build-up of cystine eventually destroys every organ in the body including the kidneys, eyes, liver, muscles, thyroid and brain.  The average age of death from cystinosis and its complications is 28 years of age.

For our children and adults with cystinosis, there are no healthy days. They take between 8-12 medications around the clock every day just to stay alive – Natalie takes 45 pills a day.  It is a relentless and devastating disease.

Medical complications abound and our children’s lives are filled with a myriad of symptoms and treatments – there are g-tube feedings, kidney transplants, bone pain, daily vomiting,  swallowing difficulties, muscle wasting, severe gastrointestinal side effects and for some blindness.   

We started the Foundation in 2003.  We have worked with and funded Dr. Stephanie Cherqui since 2006.   As a foundation, our resources are limited but we were able to fund the initial grants for Stephanie’s  Stem Cell studies. When CIRM awarded a grant to Stephanie in 2016, it allowed her to complete the studies, file the IND and as a result, we now have FDA approval for the clinical trial. Your support has changed the course of this disease. 

When the FDA approved the clinical trial for cystinosis last year, our community was filled with a renewed sense of hope and optimism.  I heard from 32 adults with cystinosis – all of them interested in the clinical trial.  Our adults know that this is their only chance to live a full life. Without this treatment, they will die from cystinosis.  In every email I received, there was a message of hope and gratitude. 

I received an email from a young woman who said this, “It’s a new awakening to learn this morning that human clinical trials have been approved by the FDA. I reiterate my immense interest to participate in this trial as soon as possible because my quality of life is at a low ebb and the trial is really my only hope. Time is running out”. 

And a mom of a 19 year old young man who wants to be the first patient in the trial wrote and said this, “On the day the trial was announced I started to cry tears of pure happiness and I thought, a mother somewhere gets to wake up and have a child who will no longer have cystinosis. I felt so happy for whom ever that mom would be….I never imagined that the mom I was thinking about could be me. I am so humbled to have this opportunity for my son to try to live disease free.

My own daughter ran into my arms that day and we cried tears of joy – finally, the hope we had clung to was now a reality. We had come full circle.  I asked Natalie how it felt to know that she could be cured and she said, “I have spent my entire life thinking that I would die from cystinosis in my 30s but now, I might live a full life and I am thinking about how much that changes how I think about my future. I never planned too far ahead but now I can”. 

As a mother, words can’t possible convey what it feels like to know that my child has a chance to live a long, healthy life free of cystinosis – I can breathe again. On behalf of all the children and adults with cystinosis, thank you for funding Dr. Cherqui, for caring about our community, for valuing our children and for making this treatment a reality.  Our community is ready to start this trial – thank you for making this happen.

*************

CIRM will be celebrating the role of patient advocates at a free event in Los Angeles tomorrow. It’s at the LA Convention Center and here are the details. And did I mention it’s FREE!

Tue, June 25, 2019 – 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM PDT

Petree Hall C., Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90015

And on Wednesday, USC is holding an event highlighting the progress being made in fighting diseases that destroy vision. Here’s a link to information about the event.

Rats, research and the road to new therapies

/ Kevin McCormack / 1 Comment
Don Reed

Don Reed has been a champion of CIRM even before there was a CIRM. He’s a pioneer in pushing for funding for stem cell research and now he’s working hard to raise awareness about the difference that funding is making.

In a recent article on Daily Kos, Don highlighted one of the less celebrated partners in this research, the humble rat.

A BETTER RAT? Benefit #62 of the California Stem Cell Agency

By Don C. Reed

When I told my wife Gloria I was writing an article about rats, she had several comments, including: “Oo, ugh!” and also “That’s disgusting!”

Obviously, there are problems with rats, such as when they chew through electrical wires, which may cause a short circuit and burn down the house. Also, they are blamed for carrying diseased fleas in their ears and spreading the Black Plague, which in 1340 killed half of China and one-third of Europe—but this is not certain. The plague may in fact have been transmitted by human-carried parasites.

But there are positive aspects to rats as well. For instance: “…a rat paired with  another that has a disability…will be very kind to the other rat. Usually, help is offered with food, cleaning, and general care.”—GUIDE TO THE RAT, by Ginger Cardinal.

Above all, anyone who has ever been sick owes a debt to rats, specifically the Norway rat with that spectacular name, rattus norvegicus domesticus, found in labs around the world.

I first realized its importance on March 1, 2002, when I held in my hand a rat which had been paralyzed, but then recovered the use of its limbs.

The rat’s name was Fighter, and she had been given a derivative of embryonic stem cells, which restored function to her limbs. (This was the famous stem cell therapy begun by Hans Keirstead with a Roman Reed grant, developed by Geron, and later by CIRM and Asterias, which later benefited humans.)

As I felt the tiny muscles struggling to be free, it was like touching tomorrow— while my paralyzed son, Roman Reed, sat in his wheelchair just a few feet away.

Was it different working with rats instead of mice? I had heard that the far smaller lab mice were more “bitey” than rats.  

Wanting to know more about the possibilities of a “better rat”, I went to the CIRM website, (www.cirm.ca.gov) hunted up the “Tools and Technology III” section, and the following complicated sentence::

“Embryonic stem cell- based generation of rat models for assessing human cellular therapies.”

Hmm. With science writing, it always takes me a couple of readings to know what they were talking about. But I recognized some of the words, so that was a start.

“Stemcells… rat models… human therapies….”  

I called up Dr. Qilong Ying, Principle Investigator (PI) of the study.

As he began to talk, I felt a “click” of recognition, as if, like pieces of a puzzle, facts were fitting together.

It reminded me of Jacques Cousteau, the great underwater explorer, when he tried to invent a way to breathe underwater. He had the compressed air tank, and a mouthpiece that would release air—but it came in a rush, not normal breathing.

So he visited his friend, race car mechanic Emil Gagnan, and told him, “I need something that will give me air, but only when I inhale,”– and Gagnan said: “Like that?” and pointed to a metal contraption on a nearby table.

It was something invented for cars. But by adding it to what Cousteau already had, the Cousteau-Gagnan SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) gear was born—and the ocean could now be explored.

Qi-Long Ying’s contribution to science may also be a piece of the puzzle of cure…

A long-term collaboration with Dr. Austin Smith centered on an attempt to do with rats what had done with mice.

In 2007, the  Nobel Prize in Medicine had been won by Dr. Martin Evans, Mario Capecchi, and Oliver Smithies. Working independently, they developed “knock-out” and “knock-in” mice, meaning to take out a gene, or put one in.  

But could they do the same with rats?

 “We and others worked very, very hard, and got nowhere,” said Dr. Evans.

Why was this important?

Many human diseases cannot be mimicked in the mouse—but might be in the rat. This is for several reasons: the rat is about ten times larger; its internal workings are closer to those of a human; and the rat is considered several million years closer (in evolutionary terms) to humans than the mouse.

In 2008 (“in China, that is the year of the rat,” noted Dr. Ying in our conversation) he received the first of three grants from CIRM.

“We proposed to use the classical embryonic stem cell-based gene-targeting technology to generate rat models mimicking human heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases…”

How did he do?

In 2010, Science Magazine honored him with inclusion in their “Top 10 Breakthroughs for using embryonic stem cell-based gene targeting to produce the world’s first knockout rats, modified to lack one or more genes…”

And in 2016, he and Dr. Smith received the McEwen Award for Innovation,  the highest honor bestowed by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).

Using knowledge learned from the new (and more relevant to humans) lab rat, it may be possible to develop methods for the expansion of stem cells directly inside the patient’s own bone marrow. Stem cells derived in this fashion would be far less likely to be rejected by the patient.  To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, they would be “of the patient, by the patient and for the patient—and shall not perish from the patient”—sorry!

Several of the rats generated in Ying’s lab (to mimic human diseases) were so successful that they have been donated to the Rat Research Resource center so that other scientists can use them for their study.

“Maybe in the future we will develop a cure for some diseases because of knowledge from using rat models,” said Ying. “I think it’s very possible. So we want more researchers from USC and beyond to come and use this technology.”

And it all began with the humble rat…

Stem Cell Roundup: Protein shows promise in treating deadliest form of breast cancer: mosquito spit primes our body for disease

/ Kevin McCormack / 1 Comment

Triple negative breast cancerTriple negative breast cancer is more aggressive and difficult to treat than other forms of the disease and, as a result, is more likely to spread throughout the body and to recur after treatment. Now a team at the University of Southern California have identified a protein that could help change that.

The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that a protein called TAK1 allows cancer cells from the tumor to migrate to the lungs and then form new tumors which can spread throughout the body. There is already an FDA-approved drug called OXO that has been shown to block TAK1, but this does not survive in the blood so it’s hard to deliver to the lungs.

The USC team found a way of using nanoparticles, essentially a tiny delivery system, to take OXO and carry it to the lungs to attack the cancer cells and stop them spreading.

triple_negative_breast_cancer_particle_graphic-768x651In a news release Min Yu, the principal investigator on the team, said that although this has only been tested in mice the results are encouraging:

“For patients with triple-negative breast cancer, systemic chemotherapies are largely ineffective and highly toxic. So, nanoparticles are a promising approach for delivering more targeted treatments, such as OXO, to stop the deadly process of metastasis.”

Mosquito spit and your immune system

Mosquito

Mosquito bite: Photo courtesy National Academy of Sciences

Anyone who has ever been bitten by a mosquito knows that it can be itchy and irritable for hours afterwards. But now scientists say the impact of that bite can last for much longer, days in fact, and even help prime your body for disease.

The scientists say that every time a mosquito bites you they inject saliva into the bite to keep the blood flowing freely. But that saliva also has an impact on your immune system, leaving it more vulnerable to diseases like malaria.

OK, so that’s fascinating, and really quite disgusting, but what does it have to do with stem cells? Well, researchers at the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Malaria and Vector Research Laboratory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia engrafted human stem cells into mice to study the problem.

They found that mice with the human stem cells developed more severe symptoms of dengue fever if they were bitten by a mosquito than if they were just injected with dengue fever.

In an article in Popular Science Jessica Manning, an infectious disease expert at the NIH, said previously we had no idea that mosquito spit had such a big impact on us:

“The virus present in that mosquito’s saliva, it’s like a Trojan horse. Your body is distracted by the saliva [and] having an allergic reaction when really it should be having an antiviral reaction and fighting against the virus. Your body is unwittingly helping the virus establish infection because your immune system is sending in new waves of cells that this virus is able to infect.”

The good news is that if we can develop a vaccine against the saliva we may be able to protect people against malaria, dengue fever, Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The moment of truth. A video about the stem cell therapy that could help millions of people going blind.

/ Kevin McCormack / 1 Comment

“No matter how much one prepares, the first patient is always something very special.” That’s how Dr. Mark Humayun describes his feelings as he prepared to deliver a CIRM-funded stem cell therapy to help someone going blind from dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Humayun, an ophthalmologist and stem cell researcher at USC, spent years developing this therapy and so it’s understandable that he might be a little nervous finally getting a chance to see if it works in people.

It’s quite a complicated procedure, involving turning embryonic stem cells into the kind of cells that are destroyed by AMD, placing those cells onto a specially developed synthetic scaffold and then surgically implanting the cells and scaffold onto the back of the eye.

There’s a real need for a treatment for AMD, the leading cause of vision loss in the US. Right now, there is no effective therapy for AMD and some three million Americans are facing the prospect of losing their eyesight.

The first, preliminary, results of this trial were released last week and they were encouraging. You can read about them on our blog.

Thanks to USC you can also see the team that developed and executed this promising approach. They created a video capturing the moment the team were finally taking all that hard work and delivering it where it matters, to the patient.

Watching the video it’s hard not to think you are watching a piece of history, something that has the potential to do more than just offer hope to people losing their vision, it has the potential to stop and even reverse that process.

The video is a salute to the researchers who developed the therapy, and the doctors, nurses and Operating Room team who delivered it. It’s also a salute to the person lying down, the patient who volunteered to be the first to try this. Everyone in that room is a pioneer.