Stem Cells

Priming the immune system with induced pluripotent stem cells prevented or slowed the development of cancer in mice, Stanford researchers found.

Three Stanford faculty members were awarded $6 million to support research into a blistering skin disease, transplanted stem cells and novel ways to grow blood stem cells.

New discoveries about the circadian-clock machinery in the precursors to fat cells may explain why shift workers are prone to metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, a Stanford study finds.

The Stanford research suggests that any conclusions about stem cell function based on studies of stem cells in lab dishes may now need to be reconsidered in light of the fact that the cells’ biology changes during isolation.

Stanford scientists have found a cell that creates the two different compartments in the mouse lung. They hope their discovery could lead to better therapies for people with lung disease.

“Humanized” mice are used to study human immune responses, but they are inadequate for stem cell studies, say Stanford researchers. Optimized models are needed for clinical decision-making.

Stanford researchers have found that a metabolite stimulates mouse muscle stem cells to proliferate after injury, and anti-inflammatory drugs, frequently taken after exercise, block its production and inhibit muscle repair.

Pretreatment with a stem-cell-activating protein significantly enhances healing in mice, Stanford researchers say. The approach could eventually help people going into surgery or combat heal better from injuries they sustain.

After three patients were blinded following a treatment marketed as a stem cell clinical trial, Stanford ophthalmologist Jeffrey Goldberg calls for increased patient education and regulation.

The grants to Stanford researchers target stem cell-based therapies for autoimmune disorders, liver disease and cystic fibrosis.

Growing organs from one species in the body of another may one day relieve transplant shortages. Now researchers show that islets from rat-grown mouse pancreases can reverse disease when transplanted into diabetic mice.