Unproven Stem Cell Therapies in India: Regulatory Challenges and Proposed Paths Forward
Hundreds of clinics in India offer unproven stem cell therapies despite having remarkably stringent guidelines and regulations for fraudulent advertisements and clinical practice. We discuss the challenges with current regulations, how a recently proposed amendment may further legitimize unproven stem cell therapies, and discuss paths forward in a global context.
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A Comprehensive Human Gastric Cancer Organoid Biobank Captures Tumor Subtype Heterogeneity and Enables Therapeutic Screening
Leung and colleagues established a biobank of patient-derived gastric cancer organoids that encompasses a diverse array of subtypes and maintained long-term similarity to the original tumors. They used the organoids to perform large-scale drug screening that identified potential target drugs and could guide patient drug selection.
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Generation of Bimaternal and Bipaternal Mice from Hypomethylated Haploid ESCs with Imprinting Region Deletions
Li et al. utilize haploid ESCs to overcome the uniparental reproductive barriers in mice. They found parent-specific erasure of DNA methylation between parthenogenetic and androgenetic haploid ESCs. After combining gametes and hypomethylated haploid ESCs with certain imprinted region deletions, the authors generated normally growing bimaternal mice and live bipaternal mice.
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CRISPR Activation Screens Systematically Identify Factors that Drive Neuronal Fate and Reprogramming
Liu and colleagues developed a high-throughput CRISPR activation screening approach to systematically identify transcription factors that efficiently promote neuronal fate from ESCs. Some of these single and pairwise factors can further reprogram fibroblasts into neurons, showing that this approach may have broad utility for engineering cell lineages.
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Homeostatic Epidermal Stem Cell Self-Renewal Is Driven by Local Differentiation
By capturing all stem cell activity in large regions of the mouse epidermis, Mesa et al. report that stem cell self-renewal is induced by the differentiation of neighbors. This study identifies the physiological factors that drive stem cell self-renewal, expanding the current understanding of epidermal homeostasis and regeneration.
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Epigenetic Restoration of Fetal-like IGF1 Signaling Inhibits Leukemia Stem Cell Activity
Giambra et al. show that NOTCH1 leukemias generated from fetal liver are less transplantable than those from adult bone marrow. NOTCH1 activates auto/paracrine IGF1 signaling in FL, but not BM cells, due to EZH2-dependent H3K27 trimethylation at the IGF1 promoter. This mechanism can be exploited to exhaust/deplete leukemia stem cells.
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Epidermal Tissue Adapts to Restrain Progenitors Carrying Clonal p53 Mutations
Normal human epidermis harbors p53 mutant clones, very few of which form tumors. Murai et al. track p53 mutant clones as they colonize the epidermis in a transgenic mouse model showing how the tissue adapts to the mutant cells and uncovering distinct roles for physiological UV light exposure.
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Transcription Factors Drive Tet2-Mediated Enhancer Demethylation to Reprogram Cell Fate
Using a highly efficient reprogramming system, Sardina et al. examined the dynamics of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation. They found that throughout the process several transcription factors can recruit Tet2 to specific sites, leading to demethylation. Some of these sites became demethylated before chromatin opening.
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Stem cell proliferation is controlled directly by nervous system, scientists find (Wed, 17 Oct 2018)
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How communication among cells affects development of multicellular tissue (Tue, 16 Oct 2018)
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Cancer stem cells use normal genes in abnormal ways (Fri, 12 Oct 2018)
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Mouse pups with same-sex parents born in China using stem cells and gene editing (Thu, 11 Oct 2018)
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Cells in 'little brain' have distinctive metabolic needs (Thu, 11 Oct 2018)
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Functional salivary gland organoid created (Thu, 11 Oct 2018)
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Targeting abnormal signals suggests novel method to treat a rare childhood blood disease (Tue, 09 Oct 2018)
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Aggressive prostate and lung cancers are driven by common mechanisms, researchers find (Thu, 04 Oct 2018)
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New technique uses umbilical cord stem cells for early repair of cleft palate (Tue, 02 Oct 2018)
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Take my hand and ride with me -- Over the genome (Tue, 02 Oct 2018)
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Novel mechanism for generating our skeleton (Tue, 02 Oct 2018)
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More efficiently generating brain stem cells (Mon, 01 Oct 2018)
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Immune cells help older muscles heal like new (Mon, 01 Oct 2018)
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3-D bioprinting of living structures with built-in chemical sensors (Mon, 01 Oct 2018)
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Novel method produces highest-ever signals for human embryonic stem cell detection (Wed, 26 Sep 2018)
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