Federal Funding For Stem Cell Research

The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals has overturned an August 2010 ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, paving the way for broader exploration of how stem cells function and how they can be harnessed to treat a wide range of currently incurable diseases.

The ruling has been welcomed by the Obama Administration, which attempted to lift the ban in 2009, and by the nation's top researchers in the field, including Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF.

"This is a victory not only for the scientists, but for the patients who are waiting for treatments and cures for terrible diseases," Kriegstein said. "This ruling allows critical research to move forward, enabling scientists to compare human embryonic stem cells to other forms of stem cells, such as the cell lines which are derived from skin cells, and to pursue potentially life-saving therapies based on that research."

Kriegstein said the ruling will make a significant difference for stem cell research in general, including at UCSF, where the majority of stem cell investigators receive some funding from the National Institutes of Health for their research, as well as from private sources and from the state. The ruling enables those scientists to integrate research from various funding sources, thereby more quickly addressing the causes and therapies for diseases.

Kriegstein was one of two University of California scientists to file a Declaration in September 2010 in support of the UC Board of Regents' motion to intervene in the August lawsuit, Sherley v. Sebelius.

Sherly v. Sebelius had argued that when the Obama Administration lifted a ban on federal funding for the research in March 2009, it had violated the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment which barred using taxpayer funds in research that destroyed embryos.

In response, a U.S. District Court judge temporarily ordered a ban on the use of federal money for the research until the court battle could be resolved.

The Appeals Court decision put the Dickey-Wicker question to rest, ruling that the amendment was "ambiguous" and that the NIH "seems reasonably to have concluded that although Dickey-Wicker bars funding for the destructive act of deriving an ESC (embryonic stem cell) from an embryo, it does not prohibit funding a research project in which an ESC will be used," according to the 2-1 decision.

"I am very happy with this decision, although I am surprised that it wasn't a unanimous vote," Kriegstein said. "In my opinion, the evidence in favor of pursuing this research is overwhelming compared to the arguments submitted to stop the research."

UCSF is one of two universities, along with the University of Wisconsin, that pioneered human embryonic stem cell research in the United States, beginning in the late 1990s.

UCSF has developed one of the largest programs in the nation, primarily funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a voter-supported initiative that provided $3 billion to fund statewide research in lieu of federal funding for it. Funding from the NIH, private philanthropy and other state sources also have been critical for the program.

UCSF also launched the nation's first stem cell PhD program in 2010, for which the first class already has been chosen and will begin in fall 2011.

Source:
Kristen Bole
University of California - San Francisco

Age Of Obama Stem Cell Research Continues With Government Funding

Stem cell research began with a goal of being able to cure persons based on their own unique genetic make-up and healing inefficiencies by using harvested cells. This week, a federal appeals court said the Obama led federal government can continue to fund research involving human embryonic stem cells. The 2-1 ruling overturned a trial judge's injunction in August 2010 that barred funding for the research. Since 1996 and the last Bush Administration, Congress has barred federal funds for research in which human embryos are destroyed.

There are enormous scientific challenges, but the most debated points of discussion, government intervention and personal doubt, come from intense ethical inclusions such as privacy, consent and at times the withdrawal of that consent to use embryos for example in this evolving treatment application.

One of President Barack Obama's first acts on science policy after taking office was to expand stem-cell research beyond limits set by President George W. Bush in August 2001. While Mr. Bush had limited research on embryonic stem cells to a small number of then-existing cell lines, Mr. Obama in March 2009 opened up federal funding to research using cells derived from embryos that were created by in-vitro fertilization for reproductive purposes and were no longer needed.

Supporters of the research say the stem cells, which can develop into any type of body tissue, could help treat ailments from diabetes to heart disease. There is a tremendous amount of preclinical testing that still needs to be done however, despite court ordered pauses in research or not.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said:

"My hope is that the legal wrangling ends here. Because if the last few years have proven anything, it is that our fight to preserve funding for stem cell research,one of the most promising areas of medical research available today, must continue."

Treatments utilizing a variety of therapeutic options are potentially available, and seem to all be very promising. There is evidence supporting the therapeutic use of stem cells for acute and chronic diseases, but the adaptation of preclinical work to in-practice clinical application is a key challenge to the work as the results of several randomized clinical trials indicate.

Opponents question the morality of using cells derived from embryos in a process that destroys them, saying that amounts to taking a human life.

The court majority this week, and in an opinion by Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, said that barring the funding would be a substantial blow to researchers.

Samuel B. Casey, a lawyer for the plaintiffs who oppose the research, said the ruling was a narrow one on the question of a preliminary injunction and didn't address most parts of the case:

"Scientists have pushed for federal funds to support embryonic stem-cell science because they believe it offers great promise in treating a host of diseases through tissue transplantation primarily. Privately funded research has continued, but federal money is the biggest source of funding for such projects. "

The National Institute of Health spent $1.4 billion on stem-cell research in 2010, including both embryonic and nonembryonic stem cells. The more-optimistic predictions about medical breakthroughs have failed to pan out so far, as scientists struggle to turn the basic research into practical therapies.

Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health stated:

"This is a momentous day not only for science but for the hopes of thousands of patients and their families who are relying on N.I.H.-funded scientists to pursue life-saving discoveries and therapies that could come from stem cell research."

Read the 34 page reversal document in its entirety HERE.

Written by Sy Kraft
Copyright: Medical News Today

Pig Stem Cell Transplants: The Key To Future Research Into Retina Treatment

A team of American and Chinese scientists studying the role of stem cells in repairing damaged retina tissue have found that pigs represent an effective proxy species to research treatments for humans. The study, published in Stem Cells, demonstrates how cells can be isolated and transplanted between pigs, overcoming a key barrier to the research.

Treatments to repair the human retina following degenerative diseases remain a challenge for medical science. Unlike species of lower vertebrates the human retina lacks a regenerative pathway meaning that research has focused on cell transplantation.

"The retina is the light sensitive tissue surrounding the inner surface of the eye. Its outer layer is made up of rods and cone photoreceptor cells which convert light signals," said lead author Douglas Dean from the University of Louisville. "Traditionally transplant studies have focused on mice and other rodents because of the variety of genetic material they represent, however mouse retina tissue is rod dominant, which is significantly different to the human eye."

Dr Dean's team turned their attention to pigs because, as with humans, the swine eye contains a cone dominant central visual streak, making it a closer anatomical and physiological match.

"Studies into swine models have been hampered in the past," said Dean, "because the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) needed for such transplants have not been isolated from pigs, while their compatibility with a host's photoreceptor cells had not been demonstrated."

Dr Dean's team gathered iPSCs from swine skin fibroblasts and demonstrated that these cells differentiated in culture and could be integrated with the cells of a second pig's retina.

While only a small section of the retina was transplanted for this study the results could open a new avenue of research into degenerative conditions as researchers have a more effective human proxy species to work with.

"Our results demonstrate that swine stem cells can be integrated into a damaged swine neural retina," concluded Dean. "This research now lays a foundation for future studies of retinal stem cell transplantation in a swine model."

Full citation: Zhou. L, Wang. W, Liu. Y, Fernandez de Castro. J, Ezashi. T, Telugu. B, Roberts. M, Kaplan. H, Dean. D, "Differentiation of Swine iPSC into Rod Photoreceptors and Their Integration into the Retina", Stem Cells, Wiley-Blackwell, DOI: 10.1002/stem.637

Source:
Alpha Med Press
Wiley-Blackwell

 

Stem Cell Research May Lead To New Treatments For Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Spinal Cord Injury

Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
A group of scientists at Marshall University is conducting research that may someday lead to new treatments for repair of the central nervous system.

Dr. Elmer M. Price, who heads the research team and is chairman of Marshall's Department of Biological Sciences, said his group has identified and analyzed unique adult animal stem cells that can turn into neurons.

Price said the neurons they found appear to have many of the qualities desired for cells being used in development of therapies for slowly progressing, degenerative conditions like Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis, and for damage due to stroke or spinal cord injury.

According to Price, what makes the discovery especially interesting is that the source of these neural stem cells is adult blood, a readily available and safe source. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which have a tendency to cause cancer when transplanted for therapy, adult stems like those identified in Price's lab are found in the bodies of all living animals and do not appear to be carcinogenic.

"Neural stem cells are usually found in specific regions of the brain, but our observation of neural-like stem cells in blood raises the potential that this may prove to be a source of cells for therapies aimed at neurological disorders," Price added.

So far, the group at Marshall has been able to isolate the unique neural cells from pig blood. Price said pigs are often used as models of human diseases due to their anatomical and physiological similarities to humans. In the future, his lab will work to isolate similar cells from human blood, paving the way for patients to perhaps one day be treated with stem cells derived from their own blood.

The team's research was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Cellular Physiology. The lead author of the article is Dr. Nadja Spitzer, a research associate in Price's lab. Other contributors include Dr. Lawrence M. Grover, associate professor of pharmacology, physiology and toxicology at Marshall's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine; and Gregory S. Sammons and Heather M. Butts, who were both undergraduate students when the research was conducted.

The study was supported with funding from the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the National Institutes of Health.

Source:
Ginny Painter
Marshall University Research Corporation