Patents
Loop peptide and TGF.alpha. for stimulating stem cell proliferation and migration
Patent Number: 7,365,172Stem cells need to be maintained in a quiescent state when they are not needed to make new cells. This is because if stem cells were consistently proliferating then there would be a high propability of mutations, thus leading to cancer. One of the methods that stem cells maintain themselves in a non-proliferating state is through autocrine secretion of inhibitory factors. ...
Methods of cancer therapy targeted against a cancer stem line
Patent Number: 7,361,336The concept of the cancer stem cell revolves around the notion that 99% of cells making a tumor mass, while deadly, are not the ones that keep the tumor growing. The <1% of cells of a tumor, which possess unique surface markers and functional activities are the ones that continually cause the tumor to keep growing. According to this idea, drug development in cancer for the past 50...
Multipotent neural stem cell compositions
Patent Number: 7,361,505Essentially, this patent covers: a) fetal and embryonic derived neurospheres; b) purified population of multipotent neural derived from juvenile or adult mammalian CNS tissue; and c) in vitro cell culture composition derived from mammalian CNS consisting of neurospheres.
Specific neurospheres include cells that resemble neuronal progenitor cells. The phenotype of...
Differentiation of specialized dermal and epidermal cells into neuronal cells
Patent Number: 7,361,506This patent covers ways of manufacturing cells that express dopaminergic neurons for implantation. Obviously one of the uses for these cells is treatment of Parkinson's.
While others have generated dopaminergic neurons from sources such as subventricular zone precursors, olfactory epithelium, and
Placental growth factor as a target for the treatment of osteoporosis
Patent Number: 7,357,929This patent covers the inhibition of placental growth factor as a method of treating osteoporosis. The one issued claim is restricted to inhibition of placental growth factor using an antibody or fragments of the antibody.
The inventor demonstrated inhibition of bone resorption in an animal model, as well as in vitro using anti-placental growth factor antibodies...
1 Comment
Device and method for culturing cells
Patent Number: 7,358,082This patent covers a method of culturing cells, including stem cells by providing flow conditions simular to what may be found in an in vivo system. The invention aims to meet the following goals: (1) supplying a substance uniformly to the cells to be cultured; (2) establishing a uniform flow for supplying a substance; (3) eliminating a dead space; and (4) preventing release of cell...
Method for rapid generation of mature dendritic cells
Patent Number: 7,354,909Dendritic cells are the most potent stimulators of the immune system. Generally it is the dendritic cell that picks up antigens and makes the decision whether the immune system should "get mad" and go after the antigen, or whether the antigen represents no substantial danger and therefore should be ignored. In some cases the dendritic...
Generating vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro from ES cells
Patent Number: 7,354,763This patent covers the generation of vascular smooth muscle cells from embryonic stem cells through specific culture conditions. In one embodiment the differentiation is induced through exposure to the cytokines TGF, angiopoietin, and platelet derived growth factor BB.
In the examples section the generation of SMA positive cells from embryonic stem cells is demonstrated, as...
High-throughput stem cell assay of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell proliferation
Patent Number: 7,354,729This patent covers specific conditions for assessing ability of hematopoietic stem cells to proliferate or become metabolically active after exposure to a test agent in vitro. Essentially the patent is useful for the screening of small molecules using high throughput systems for identification of hematopoietic stem cell modulators.
Specific hematopoietic stem cells covered in the...
Musculo-skeletal implant having a bioactive gradient
Patent Number: 7,351,423It is known that stem cells migrate towards injured tissue in response to chemotactic gradients. For example the basal SDF-1 gradient made by bone marrow stromal cells is why it is possible to achieve hematopoietic reconstitution by injecting donor cells intravenously. Similarly, SDF-1 acts as a gradient to call stem cells into damaged myocardium after a...