Helen Blau speaks on The Stem Cell Podcast

From the podcast website

Dr. Helen Blau is the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University. Dr. Blau’s research focuses on the basic molecular mechanisms of stem cells and muscle and their application to aging, regenerative medicine, and disease. Her lab aims to understand and apply biology to improve quality of life, and their current primary focus is on understanding the gerozyme 15-PGDH. She talks about the roles of NSAIDs and CD47 in muscle regeneration. She also discusses growing cultured meat and writing a children’s book!

To learn more about the gerozyme 15-PGDH and PGE signalling in recovery from injury and in aging:

Bakooshli MA, Wang YX, Monti E, Su S, Kraft P, Nalbandian M, Alexandrova L, Wheeler JR, Vogel H, Blau HM. Regeneration of neuromuscular synapses after acute and chronic denervation by inhibiting the gerozyme 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Oct 11;15(717):eadg1485. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adg1485. Epub 2023 Oct 11. PMID: 37820010.

Palla AR, Ravichandran M, Wang YX, Alexandrova L, Yang AV, Kraft P, Holbrook CA, Schürch CM, Ho ATV, Blau HM. Inhibition of prostaglandin-degrading enzyme 15-PGDH rejuvenates aged muscle mass and strength. Science. 2021 Jan 29;371(6528):eabc8059. doi: 10.1126/science.abc8059. Epub 2020 Dec 10. PMID: 33303683; PMCID: PMC7938328.

Ho ATV, Palla AR, Blake MR, Yucel ND, Wang YX, Magnusson KEG, Holbrook CA, Kraft PE, Delp SL, Blau HM. Prostaglandin E2 is essential for efficacious skeletal muscle stem-cell function, augmenting regeneration and strength. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jun 27;114(26):6675-6684. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1705420114. Epub 2017 Jun 12. PMID: 28607093; PMCID: PMC5495271.

To learn more about CD47:

Porpiglia E, Mai T, Kraft P, Holbrook CA, de Morree A, Gonzalez VD, Hilgendorf KI, Frésard L, Trejo A, Bhimaraju S, Jackson PK, Fantl WJ, Blau HM. Elevated CD47 is a hallmark of dysfunctional aged muscle stem cells that can be targeted to augment regeneration. Cell Stem Cell. 2022 Dec 1;29(12):1653-1668.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2022.10.009. Epub 2022 Nov 15. PMID: 36384141; PMCID: PMC9746883.