Scientists from the Pierre & Marie Curie University in Paris have discovered a previously unknown type of muscle stem cell.  These cells, dubbed "PICs", appear to be as important for muscle regeneration and repair as satellite cells – the “stemlike” cells involved in the normal growth of muscle and regeneration following disease or injury. As such, PICs may have implications for treatment of muscle diseases like muscular dystrophies.

Scientists from San Raffaele Institute and the University of Milan have uncovered the developmental switch that turns embryonic into fetal muscle in mice.  The research, led by Graziella Messina and coordinated by Giulio Cossu, has been published in the February issue of Cell and identifies a single gene – called Nuclear Factor I X, Nfix – that acts as this switch.

Research efforts to help the world’s ageing population live longer healthier lives have been given a major boost with the announcement of six new transatlantic research projects aiming to understanding the biology of the ageing process.

OptiStem is an EU-funded research project that brings together stem cellⁱ biologists and clinical experts from 18 partner institutions in six European countries.

 

The project combines basic research about stem cells with pre-clinical work, and ultimately clinical trials. It will investigate the possible use of stem cells from adult tissues to treat degenerative diseases of epithelia and skeletal muscle.

One of the most promising areas of stem cellⁱ research involves transforming adult cells into embryonic stem-like cells. In a landmark study in 2006, Shinya Yamanaka and his colleagues at Kyoto University used genetic manipulation to turn mouse skin cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cellsⁱ – or artificially-created stem cells.

The Bioethics-Clinical Ethics Unit at the University of Marburg in cooperation with the Stem Cell Network North Rhine Westphalia and the Institute of Science and Ethics at the University of Bonn are currently conducting an internet survey on experiences and attitudes of scientists with German citizenship, working in the field of stem cell research in Sweden, UK and the USA.

Haematopoietic stem cells (HS cells) are the body's blood bank, giving rise to all types of blood cell including leukocytes and erythrocytes. Each time an HS cell produces a mature blood cell, it also produces a replica of itself, which continues to function as an "immortal" inexhaustible stem cell. This way, our supply of HS cells - a rare cell population lodging mainly in the adult bone marrow - is never used up.

In 2007, a highly publicized paper was published in the first tier scientific journal, Nature Biotechnology. The authors described the derivation of amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells. The authors presented evidence that AFS cells differentiate into several cell types, including neurons.