Human Stem Cell Use: Adult or Tissue Stem Cell
Stem Cell-Mediated Oncocidal Gene Therapy of Glioblastoma (GBM)
Brain tumors (BTs) are incurable, whether they start in the brain or spread there from other sites. Despite advances in surgical, radiation, pharmacologic, and gene therapies, survival with a BT remains dismal. Current therapies are limited by their inability to reach widely disseminated tumor cells that become dispersed within normal brain structures. Interestingly, the therapeutic […]
Stem Cell-mediated Therapy for High-grade Glioma: Toward Phase I-II Clinical Trials
Despite aggressive multimodal therapy and advances in imaging, surgical and radiation techniques, malignant brain tumors (high-grade gliomas) remain incurable, with survival often measured in months. Treatment failure is largely attributable to the diffuse and invasive nature of these brain tumor cells, ineffective delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to tumor sites, and toxic side-effects to the body, […]
ZINC FINGER NUCLEASE-BASED STEM CELL THERAPY FOR AIDS
Some years ago it was discovered that patients homozygous for a natural mutation (the Δ32 mutation) in the CCR5 gene are generally resistant to HIV infection by blocking virus entry to a cell. Building on this observation, a study published in 2009 reported a potential “cure” in an AIDS patient with leukemia after receiving a […]
Human Cardiovascular Progenitors, their Niches and Control of Self-renewal and Cell Fate
For the millions of Americans who are born with or develop heart disease, stem cell research offers the first hope of reversing or repairing heart muscle damage. Thus, early reports suggesting heart regeneration after transplantation of adult bone marrow-derived stem cells were met with great excitement in both the scientific and lay community. However, although […]