Have you ever wondered about the entire process of cord blood collection, from enrollment, to kit to lab? Check out this fun animated video for a great take on how cord blood and tissue banking works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ySZ8GIjTpM

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to inhibit breast cancer cell growth but it is not known whether this effect is specific to only breast cancer cells. Investigators compared the effects of human Wharton’s jelly stem cell (hWJSC) extracts [conditioned medium (hWJSC-CM) and cell lysate (hWJSC-CL)] on breast adenocarcinoma, ovarian carcinoma and osteosarcoma cells. The cells were treated with either hWJSC-CM (50%) or hWJSC-CL (15μg/ml) for 48 hours – 72 hours and changes in cell morphology, proliferation, cycle, gene expression, migration and cell death studied. All three cancer cell lines showed cell shrinkage, blebbing and vacuolations with hWJSC-CL and hWJSC-CM compared to controls.  MTT and BrdU assays showed inhibition of cell growth by 2%-6% and 30%-60% while Transwell migration assay showed inhibition by 20%-26% and 31%-46% for hWJSC-CM and hWJSC-CL respectively for all three cancer cell lines.

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Human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly stem cell (hWJSC) extracts inhibit cancer cell growth in vitro

Kalamegam Gauthaman, Fong Chui Yee, Suganya Cheyyatraivendran, Arijit Biswas, Mahesh Choolani, Ariff Bongso
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Wiley Periodicals, DOI: 10.1002/jcb.24073

Wharton’s Jelly is a gelatinous substance within the umbilical cord. First named by Thomas Wharton in 1656 this gelatinous substance’s function is to provide support for the vein and arteries of the umbilical cord. During early development of the embryo, perhaps as early as day 3.5 – 7.5E, primitive multipotent stem cells also known as umbilical cord matrix cells (UCM) migrate from the aortic-gonadotropin-mesonephric region in the hind gut of the developing embryo, forming the fetal liver through the allantois/umbilical cord. These primitive mesenchymal-like cells therefore are trapped at very early embryological age and retain the properties of primitive stem cells. Stem cells for the Wharton’s Jelly can be extracted postnatally with great ease. Wharton’s Jelly is also sometimes referred to as Cord Tissue.

Families ask us why use family cord blood banking (also known as private cord blood banking)?

Those who store their stem cells at a family cord blood bank realize the advantage of having stem cells saved for their child (autologous transplants) as well as having a much higher chance of having a stem cell match for a family member (allogeneic transplant).   In short, it is using the individual’s stem cells when such treatment is appropriate or a highly matched related family members stem cells when the stem cell transplant need arises that makes family cord blood banking so compelling.    Thus a major advantage of a private cord blood bank is the increased probability of finding a successful donor match for a transplant.

After years of research and debate, findings after umbilical-cord blood transplantation have mirrored those of other sources for haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation—i.e, matching of the HLA loci between donor and recipient does matter. Thus cord-blood transplantation now faces the same hurdles as bone-marrow or peripheral-blood stem-cell transplantation. In The Lancet Oncology, in a clear and convincing analysis, Mary Eapen and colleagues show that additional matching of donor and recipient for HLA C improved the outcome of patients with a cord-blood transplant.

FamilyCord is proud to offer families the additional safety and security of knowing that their cord blood and cord tissue is stored to the highest standards.  FamilyCord also offers HLA Testing as an additional service to assist in the donor matching process.  This is typically selected by clients when there is possible use of the cord blood for a related family member.

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Cordblood meets its match

Alois Gratwohl, Haematology, Medical Faculty, University of Basel, Dittingerstrasse 4, CH-4053 Basel, Switzerland

The Lancet Oncology, Volume 12, Issue 13, Pages 1177 – 1178, December 2011  doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70271-6

LOS ANGELES — A treatment for eye diseases that is derived from human embryonic stem cells might have improved the vision of two patients researchers reported.  Dr. Steven D. Schwartz, a retina specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, treated the two patients in the phase 1 clinical trial.  The study reports how two women in the study with eye disease were injected with stem cells and both apparently showed some improvement in vision.

One of the patients, a woman in her 50s, suffers from Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, a progressive disease of the central retina that usually strikes between the ages of 10 and 20. The other, a woman in her 70s, has age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.

Although both patients have exceptionally poor vision and are legally registered as blind, their sight in the treated eye seems to have improved slightly following the transplants, even though their disease is at an advanced stage and was not expected to recover.  The Stargardt’s patient went from only being able to see hand movements to being able to see the movements of fingers, while the age-related patient went from being able to see 21 letters on a reading chart to seeing 28 letters.

“Despite the progressive nature of these conditions, the vision of both patients appears to have improved after transplantation of the cells, even at the lowest dosage,” said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology, the Massachusetts company that supplied the cells.  “This is particularly important, since the ultimate goal of this therapy will be to treat patients earlier in the course of the disease where more significant results might potentially be expected,” Dr Lanza said.

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Embryonic stem cell trials for macular degeneration: a preliminary report

Prof Steven D Schwartz MD,Jean-Pierre Hubschman MD,Gad Heilwell MD,Valentina Franco-Cardenas MD,Carolyn K Pan MD,Rosaleen M Ostrick MPH,Edmund Mickunas MS,Roger Gay PhD,Irina Klimanskaya PhD,Dr Robert Lanza MD
The Lancet – 24 January 2012
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60028-2

Pittsburgh (Fox News)  Dr Marc Siegel of Fox News recently interviewed Dr Johnny Huard and Dr Laura Niedemhofer who have focused on the DNA disruptions that lead to aging.  They have reportedly managed to regenerate failing organs and dramatically slow the aging process in prematurely aging mice, doubling and in some cases tripling their life and good health spans.

Dr Marc flew to Pittsburgh last week to interview the two scientists for Fox News, and found that they have come to three original and major conclusions about aging and potential treatments:

1. Adult stem cells deteriorate as part of aging. The DNA doesn’t repair itself as well, and the immature cell is less capable of performing its function. This stem cell failure is a signature for aging itself, and the diseases that define and accompany aging, including dementia, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

2. Using stem cells from younger mice is a way to counter aging. When prematurely aged mice were injected in the abdomen with immature muscle cells from younger healthy mice, they renewed their vigor, they became healthier, and they lived two to three times as long.

3. The fountain of youth is to be found in a secretion. The muscle stem cells released a substance, called Factor X, which worked its rejuvenating magic all over the mouse’s body.

Both scientists eagerly anticipate the next phase in their research when they try the young cells out on normally aging mice, and attempt to synthesize Factor X (which contains growth factors and immune stimulants) and try it out as a separate treatment.

“If I had the opportunity to go back,” Niedernhofer says, “I certainly would have banked stem cells from my youth…my hope is that the work we have conducted in mice can someday be translated to humans so we can use adult stem cells, isolated from young individuals, to help them live healthier, happier lives when they are older.”

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Muscle-derived stem/progenitor cell dysfunction limits healthspan and lifespan in a murine progeria model
Authors

Mitra Lavasani, Andria R. Robinson, Aiping Lu, Minjung Song, Joseph M. Feduska, Bahar Ahani, Jeremy S. Tilstra, Chelsea H. Feldman, Paul D. Robbins, Laura J. Niedernhofer, Johnny Huard
Nature Communications  3 : 608 doi: 10.1038/ncomms1611 (2012)

A newly published clinical trial result reports treating Type 1 diabetics T-Cells with umbilical cord blood stem cells helped restart pancreatic function and insulin production.  The process is called “re-education” as the newly introduced T-Cells improved the behavior of the patients own T-Cells.

The study recruited 15 Type 1 diabetic patients, twelve of which had the treatment with three in the control group.  In the study the 12 participants had their T-Cells – which had been separated from their blood – pumped into a device named the “stem cell educator”.  There the patients stem cells were exposed to the cord blood stem cells for three hours.  Then the stem cells are pumped back into the participants’ blood.

The study showed that the patients who could not create their own insulin prior to the treatment were able to create insulin after the treatment.  One year after the study those patients who received the treatment continued to manufacture some of their own insulin with eight of the patients reducing insulin usage by 38%.

Further studies are planned utilizing multiple treatments as well as treating Type 2 diabetes patients.

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Reversal of type 1 diabetes via islet beta cell regeneration following immune modulation by cord blood-derived multipotent stem cells

Yong Zhao, Zhaoshun Jiang, Tingbao Zhao, Mingliang Ye, Chengjin Hu, Zhaohui Yin, Heng Li, Ye Zhang, Yalin Diao, Yunxiang Li, Yingjian Chen, Xiaoming Sun, Mary Beth Fisk, Randal Skidgel, Mark Holterman, Bellur Prabhakar and Theodore Mazzone

BMC Medicine 2012, 10:3 doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-3

Published: 10 January 2012

Human Leukocyte Antigens or HLA are six proteins that appear on the surface of white blood cells and other tissues in the body. These six HLA points determine tissue compatibility between a patient and a donor. The higher the tissue compatibility, the higher are the chances of a transplant to be successful. Although a perfect match is always preferred, studies have shown successful cord blood transplants even when there is a match of only three or four of the six HLA points.  As a service FamilyCord provides the option for HLA testing to its clients.

Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art, an exhibition of original artwork and essays that explore the complex legal, ethical and social issues of stem cell research, makes its United States debut at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City November 10-26, 2011. The project brings together nine internationally recognized visual artists with scientists and scholars for an interdisciplinary collaboration that marries science and art.

Stem cells such as the hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cell  are unspecialized cells within the body which can become other cells in the body.  This ability to regenerate endows stem cells with remarkable potential for therapy. Rapid advancements in biomedical research are challenging traditional views of the human body and its environment. Genetic and stem cell research, for example, may bring significant improvements to human health and welfare. However, these innovations also raise complex ethical, legal and social questions that society must face. Art has an important role to play in the discourse around biotechnology because it can offer unique articulations of the thoughtfully polarized and often emotionally charged responses the public has towards technology.

Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project that brings together a group of internationally recognized artists and social commentators (e.g. philosophers, sociologists, legal scholars, scientists) in order to produce a body of original art work and accompanying essays exploring the complex legal, ethical and social issues associated with advancements made in life science technologies with a particular focus on stem cell research. The project will result in multiple outputs including, among others, a major exhibition originally at the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta Canada, as well as a publication featuring critical essays and reproductions from the exhibition.

HEMACORD(TM), a umbilical cord blood product, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the first such approval of a stem cell product in the world.

“The use of cord blood hematopoietic progenitor cell therapy offers potentially life-saving treatment options for patients with these types of disorders,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., director, FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

HEMACORD(TM) is indicated for use in hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation procedures in patients with disorders affecting the hematopoietic system that are inherited, acquired, or result from myeloablative treatment.  Such conditions could include patients with hematologic malignancies, primary immunodeficiency diseases, bone marrow failure, and beta-thalassemia. HEMACORD(TM) is indicated for use with children.

A study published last year found that cord blood was comparable to bone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cells in treating acute leukemia in adults, with similar effects on leukemia-free survival.

Hemacord is manufactured by the New York Blood Center, based in New York City.