Program Type: Discovery
Generation of clinical grade human iPS cells
The therapeutic use of stem cells depends on the availability of pluripotent cells that are not limited by technical, ethical or immunological considerations. The goal of this proposal is to develop and bank safe and well-characterized patient-specific pluripotent stem cell lines that can be used to study and potentially ameliorate human diseases. Several groups, including […]
Derivation and comparative analysis of human pluripotent ESCs, iPSCs and SSCs: Convergence to an embryonic phenotype
This is an unprecedented time in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Today, we have cell lines and tools that did not exist just a few years ago. Indeed, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were derived from pre-implantation embryos just 10 years ago; more recently in the past year, cells with extensive similarities to ESCs […]
New Technology for the Derivation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines for Clinical Use
Since their discovery almost ten years ago, there has been steady progress towards the application of human embryonic stem (ES) cells in medicine. Now, the field is on the threshold of a new era. Recent results from several laboratories show that human skin cells can be converted to cells resembling ES cells through simple genetic […]
Derivation and analysis of pluripotent stem cell lines with inherited TGF-b mediated disorders from donated IVF embryos and reprogrammed adult skin fibroblasts
The field of regenerative medicine revolves around the capacity of a subset of cells, called stem cells, to become the mature tissues of the adult human body. By studying stem cells, we hope to develop methods and reagents for treating disease. For instance, we hope to develop methods for making stem cells become cardiovascular cells […]
Derivation of hESC Lines with Disease Lesions
The inner workings of the nervous system which regulate normal body movements, thought processes, feelings and senses are highly complex. How the nervous system relays and receives this variety of information is little understood, although significant inroads are being made to deduce underlying causes of many forms of neurological disorders. Many forms of retardation are […]
Derivation of New ICM-stage hESCs
Recent studies in the derivation of rodent pluripotent epiblast stem cells and their molecular characterizations have provided strong evidence that the conventional human embryonic stem cells may represent a distinct, later developmental stage, i.e. late epiblast stage, than the conventional murine embryonic stem cells, which is a “capture” of the ICM stage. Those two stages […]
Derivation of New ICM-stage hESCs
Recent studies in the derivation of rodent pluripotent epiblast stem cells and their molecular characterizations have provided strong evidence that the conventional human embryonic stem cells may represent a distinct, later developmental stage, i.e. late epiblast stage, than the conventional murine embryonic stem cells, which is a “capture” of the ICM stage. Those two stages […]
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Cardiovascular Diagnostics
Our objective is to use induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology to produce a cell-based test for long QT syndrome (LQTS), a major form of sudden cardiac death. Nearly 500,000 people in the US die of sudden cardiac death each year. LQTS can be triggered by drug exposure or stresses. Drug-induced LQTS is the single […]
Safe, efficient creation of human induced pluripotent stem cells without the use of retroviruses
Embryonic stem cells open up exciting new prospects for medicine, because they can differentiate into any tissue in the body. Therefore, they have the potential to be used to repair faulty tissues in diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and neural disorders. Furthermore, stem cells can be corrected by gene therapy and transplanted, in order to […]
Optimization of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derivation Techniques and Production/Distribution of GMP-Grade Lines
The government has strict rules for producing cells that will be transplanted into patients. For example, these regulations discourage the use of animal products that could transmit diseases to humans. In this context, the high-quality and tightly regulated procedures that govern other cell-based therapies, e.g., bone marrow transplants, will be applied to regenerative-type clinical applications […]