Monday, February 26, 2007

A new application for stem cells: FOOD FOR HUMANS


When I was at school in the UK (alas, many many years ago), I used to love writing short stories. Unfortunately, I no longer have the luxury of time to pursue this hobby.

Strange as it might sound, I won a school writing award for a story I submitted about harnessing biotechnology for food and the creation of transgenic animals for human health.

Admittedly at the time, I had read only very little about xenotransplantation or about food production, but my active teenage imagination took care of a lot of the details in the script. Without going into too many details about my short story, it somewhat resembles this article that I found on line, except that it includes my current favorite topic: stem cells.

I really thought the article was marvellous and have posted it here in its entirety. However, you could click on link just to check out the illustration that comes along with it.



Who needs animals? It's only a matter of time before lab-grown meat turns into the oink-less BLT

BY Ian Christe

It sounds like a sci-fi nightmare: giant sheets of grayish meat grown on factory racks for human consumption. But it's for real. Using pig stem cells, scientists have been growing lab meat for years, and it could be hitting deli counters sooner than you think.

Early attempts produced less-than-enticing results. Then, in 2001, scientists at New York's Touro College won funding from NASA to improve in vitro farming. Hoping to serve something, well, beefier than kelp on moon bases and Mars colonies, the scientists successfully grew goldfish muscle in a nutrient broth. And, in 2003, a group of hungry artists from the University of Western Australia grew kidney bean-size steaks from biopsied frogs and prenatal sheep cells. Cooked in herbs and flambéed for eight brave dinner guests, the slimy frog steaks came attached to small strips of fabric — the growth scaffolding. Half the tasters spit out their historic dinner. (Perhaps more significant, half didn't.)

Today, scientists funded by companies such as Stegeman, a Dutch sausage giant, are fine-tuning the process. It takes just two weeks to turn pig stem cells, or myoblasts, into muscle fibers. "It's a scalable process," says Jason Matheny of New Harvest, a meat substitute research group. "It would take the same amount of time to make a kilogram or a ton of meat." One technical challenge: Muscle tissue that has never been flexed is a gooey mass, unlike the grained texture of meat from an animal that once lived. The solution is to stretch the tissue mechanically, growing cells on a scaffold that expands and contracts. This would allow factories to tone the flaccid flesh with a controlled workout.

Lab-grown meat isn't an easy sell, but there could be benefits. Designer meat would theoretically be free of hormones, antibiotics, and the threat of mad cow disease or bird flu. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins could be blasted into the mixture or dispersed through veins. Revolting? You bet, but have you ever visited a sausage factory? Currently costing around $100,000 per kilogram, a choice cut of lab meat makes Kobe beef seem like a bargain. But meat-processing companies hope to start selling affordable factory-grown pork in under a decade. Bon appétit.



If I can find that story I childishly wrote so long ago, maybe I'll post it and we can do a two decade double-take... strangely it doesn't take a whole generation for technology to catch up and make what you read in a book or saw on TV a reality.

Stem Cell technological application may be a lot wider than we currently know.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Viacell ABANDONS Cord Blood Stem Cell Expansion Program

IS IT ENOUGH?

Whilst many cord blood banks rather unscrupulously hype up the possibilities of stem cell expansion (in order to get clients to store whatever they have and believe in their technology), I've always asked the StemLife team to take a very careful view of the science and the practical realities*.

[As a side note, here in Malaysia cord blood banks claiming to compete with us - operate on the cheap using non-FDA approved storage systems- promote the usage of vials as a storage medium on the pretext that cells can be selectively taken one vial at a time for future expansion. Read on to see why this is a disingenuous marketing ploy...]


THE CHALLENGES OF EXPANSION

The reason why StemLife has taken a cautious approach towards the expansion technology are three fold.

Firstly, in order to expand stem cells, you'll need enough cells -the more the better- in the first place. As a crude analogy, you'll need enough lactobacilli to make yoghurt (too little and it will take too long, allowing other bacteria to destroy the process).

Secondly, sterile technique is absolutely critical; when you're growing the cells, you have to make sure that it contains only the cells that you're growing and nothing else. This requires not only human precision, expensive facilities and sterile reagents, but most importantly, the money to maintain everything in exactly this pristine sterile condition (many, many zeros in any currency).

Thirdly, knowledge of cellular morphology and function is also very important. No one I know would like to risk having cells injected into the heart forming liver or kidney tissue instead. This means identifying the cells and providing the assurance that the cells are indeed stem cells and nothing else.

Hence, any organization, private or public has to be prepared to have deep pockets and a lot of patience when venturing into this technology.


HOW DEEP ARE YOUR POCKETS?

I've been following Viacell's (VIAC) progress in this area for some time, not only because they were one of the first stem cell companies to announce their sincere interest and demonstrate their financial committment in this area, but also because I was kindly shown around their big and beautiful facilities two years ago in Boston.

It is unfortunate therefore to see this press release by Viacell on their decision to terminate the cord blood stem cell expansion project CB001 despite its apparent reported success but on the grounds that the process and product was unaffordable and commercially inviable due to other alternatives.

"What's the alternative?" I hear you ask. The reason why Viacell made the tough commercial decision to cut their losses was that the preferred methodology by transplanters in the US is a dual cord stem cell transplant (using 2 cord blood stem cell units instead of just 1). The results of the expanded product were as good as and in some ways slightly better in the initial trial, but I suspect that the cost did not justify only small improved outcomes. I would say that it was a wise commercial decision by Viacell, and an acknowledgement that what scientists dream and love to do, is not always feasible for clinical practice.

I learned this a long time ago when I was still in research, that what looks good on paper does not necessarily transform into a money spinner despite the winning ideas and long hours of toil.


A GOOD CEO KNOWS WHEN TO QUIT

By cutting the budget for this research and focusing on service improvements, Viacell expects to finally achieve profitability in 2008 for the first time since their listing a few years ago (this is probably also true of many of the other cord blood banks which have committed much of their funding to very costly research, sacrificing their bottom line).


"Given these results and the shift in the treatment paradigm in transplant medicine from single cord to two cord transplants, ViaCell has made the decision not to advance CB001 in future clinical trials. As a result of the reduced clinical and development costs related to CB001, along with anticipated continued growth in its operating business, ViaCell expects to become cash flow positive in the first half of 2008."


Now, Viacell intend to focus on cord blood stem cells for cardiac applications, which I think is probably more interesting and may pose less life-threatening consequences for patients.


"We are committed to continuing to grow our operating business, advancing ViaCyte(SM) through a pivotal clinical trial, which, if successfully developed, will leverage our sales and marketing infrastructure, and working to advance our cord blood-derived cardiac program," said Mr. Beer. "We are already generating cash flow within our ViaCord business and we anticipate continued growth in 2007. As a result, given our reduction in clinical and development costs related to CB001, we expect ViaCord's contributions to the overall operation will allow us to turn cash flow positive in the first half of 2008."


So if you are specifically told by any stem cell company that stem cell expansion technology is available today, they aren't lying, but don't forget to ASK them whether:

1. Your unit baby's cord blood unit has sufficient stem cells to be expanded,

2. Who's offering the service (full due diligence here) and how successful the treatments outcomes have been and what assurances they provide otherwise;

3. And, specifically at what cost.


STEMLIFE BELIEVES IN CHOICES

The way I read the cord blood stem cell tea leaves, if you banked a unit of stem cells and it is not enough, seek other matching units to combine with your own or consider joining StemLife's adult stem cell banking program.

We believe in continually providing affordable and accessible options to our clients... and making stem cell banking a more than once in a lifetime opportunity. :)



*We do not turn away clients who express their wish to proceed but provide them with a cautious advisory to indicate if the stem cell counts are below what we would normally expect. StemLife also provides a full refund for those clients who decide not to proceed to store, and we usually ask them to let us know when they'll be having the next baby (success second time round).

StemLife has a joint research project with the National University of Singapore at very initial stages which differs from Viacell's approach, you can read more about it here.

Friday, February 23, 2007

StemLife wishes our chinese readers Happy New Year!


Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year to all our chinese readers who celebrate the festival! Its the 3rd day of Chinese New Year (CNY has 15 days) and the StemLife office is back in full force (we're open for clients 24 by 7 but our staff do celebrate certain festivities:)).

The team has decorated the office beautifully whilst I've been away. Here's a sample picture of how the team has decorated the plants in the office.

I've got some new entries I'd like to post and will get round to writing them this weekend. So check back for new information in a day or two.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Cord Blood Stem Cells Verdict: Same and Better than Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants from Other Sources


In my conversation with many doctors, there is often a disbelief that cord blood stem cells can be used for successful transplantation. Although, I've been doing my very best to inform them that many adults have also been treated with cord blood stem cells, and that the applications are not limited to pediatric leukemias, I guess the detractors always get more attention for their comments than the published evidence.

Now, I'm happy to see this news published in the prestigious medical journal BLOOD* which states the results of a study conducted by researchers in Japan who compared the outcomes of patients with leukemia or lymphoma who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplants from either cord blood, peripheral blood or bone marrow.

The results were succinctly stated as follows:

At three years mortality related to treatment was 9% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 13% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

At three years relapses occurred in 17% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 26% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

At three years cancer-free survival was 70% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 60% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

For patients who were at a standard risk of developing a recurrence, cancer-free survival at three years was 93% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants and 85% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

For patients who were at a high risk of developing a recurrence, cancer-free survival at three years was 56% for those treated with umbilical cord transplants, compared with 45% for those treated with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.

GVHD was less frequent after umbilical cord transplants compared with bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants.
The researchers concluded that umbilical cord transplants provide results that are comparable to or better than those achieved with standard allogeneic stem cell transplants utilizing peripheral blood or bone marrow stem cells from a related donor.



These results provide additional evidence that the use of umbilical cord stem cells may be an effective alternative to an allogeneic stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.


With these results, I'm hoping that haematologists will be considering cord blood stem cells as a source and option for patients equivalent terms, not just as a last resort as it is often currently viewed today. And, if all babies bank their own cord blood stem cells, this will avail them to those units as adults in the future**.



*Reference: Takahashi S, Ooi J, Tomonari A, et al. Comparative single-institute analysis of cord blood transplantation from unrelated donors with bone marrow or peripheral blood stem-cell transplants from related donors in adult patients with hematologic malignancies after myeloablative conditioning regimen. Blood. 2007;109:1322-1330.


**StemLife provides cord blood and adult stem cell banking services for individuals and families. If you've missed the cord blood stem cell banking service for your child, you can consider enrolling in our adult stem cell banking service. Do contact us if you'd like more information.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Giant Cartilage Weaving Stem Cell Machine

If you're into the whole bio-engineering scene or are planning to work in labs which create polymers for human regenerative use, this machine might interest you. Check out this cool photo of a giant stem cell scaffold weaving loom.


Our collaborators in the National University of Singapore have something like this in Prof. Seeram Ramakrishna's lab but I haven't had the privilege of seeing at work. Right now, they use it to spin the polymers made of gelatin and other organic substances but I don't think its for commercial application just yet.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center


Congratulations to the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center headed by Ms. Maha on the launch of the new logo yesterday!

I was kindly invited as a fellow scientific advisor to attend the launch yesterday morning at MARDI in Serdang and was delighted to see that there was a huge turnout for the event. There is no doubt in my mind that under Maha's leadership, that MABIC will make many in-roads where other larger organizations may find it difficult due to their affiliations.

If you'd like to know what's happening in the Biotechnology field from a non-governmental perspective, do check out MABIC's website.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Stem Cell News Updates- Hearts & Virgin & Astronauts...

I came back into the office this morning sporting a new flu bug and trying not to speak to anyone for fear that it might spread. Two bottles of anti-tussive Robitussin (manufactured locally by pharmaceutical manufacturer Pharmaniaga) and a whole tube of fizzy Redoxon later, the fever has fortunately been reduced to phlegmy obstruction in my eustachian tubes, nose and throat.

I have full confidence that my stem cells are kicking into overdrive to produce the necessary lymphocytes and leukocytes to do battle, as evidenced by the phlegm (cellular war debris and aftermath). :)


BATTLE AGAINST BREATHLESSNESS & PAIN

Anyway, I had a quick look at the recent news in the stem cell arena and saw another update on the Gary Schaer trial at Rush Medical Center's Cardiac Catheterization Lab using CD34+ cells for heart disease, where the objective is to "stimulate the growth of new blood vessels to bring more blood and oxygen to the heart muscle, so that these patients will have a better quality of life and less chest pain". One of the reasons why I highlight this clinical application is because one of the big brand names, Baxter, is helping to bring together two specialties- cardiology and hematology. No longer are CD34+ a code language for hematologists to use alone, but these cells have been perhaps overlooked or underestimated in their capacity to regenerate. Their results have been like ours, which is good news to reinforce our work- the treatment is well tolerated and patients report having less chest pain and improved exercise capacity.

Many doctors I speak with are afraid of cross specialties, largely because to properly understand it requires an extensive undertaking in time to read up on one's own, or to have to fork out a decent amount of time (+ money) to receive further training in the area. I understand the reluctance and agree somewhat that these are special interest areas and think that it should probably be left up to those who are keenly interested or have been specifically trained so that it can administered safely and ethically.

Having said that, I also believe that it is possible that doctors who are interested in this subject area but neither have the time nor money to pursue it as a specific interest area, are able to garner the expertise through collaborating with a specialist organization like StemLife. Unlike other companies who found the business attractive and believed they could replicate our work after reading our prospectus, it does take more than cash to ensure committment, energy and drive to fuel passion and continuous knowledge assimilation.


MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND?

Whilst we're on the topic of spending wads of cash, I also read about Sir Richard Branson's very PR-driven announcement of initiating a cord blood stem cell bank in the UK. From the BBC news site:

Virgin says its service is unique because it will offer a charitable element, allowing the NHS to use some of stem cells the company stores. Sir Richard explained: "We will take an individual's cord blood and we will divide it in two. "So, part of it will go into a national blood centre that anybody can get access to. And the other half will be put aside for the child." He said this should help particularly high risk ethnic groups who are prone to conditions that can be treated with stem cells but who may have difficulty finding well-matched cord blood.

I found this to be interesting on the ownership and ethical prospect. The idea is marvellous, semi-altruistic (except for the fact that parents still have to pay a fee) but leaves behind quite a number of questions in my mind which I wonder how they will resolve. Here's a few ones that spring immediately to mind:

Parents have to pay 1500 British Pounds or (RM 10,500) to store their stem cells in Virgin's bank.

1. So if it is divided in 2, who owns which half and does the parent have the first right of refusal if someone needs it but they wish not to donate?
2. How will they ensure that the cord blood collected will be sufficient to be divided in half? (volumes are highly variable)
3. Does the NHS have to pay Virgin for the use of the stem cells?
4. With this new company, will the NHS now permit Virgin to collect the cord blood in their trust hospitals or will be specific ones only? (see previous blogs)
5. If the unit is half used and the donor now needs it, can they get a replacement for free?

According to the Virgin press release on this topic, Professor Colin McGuckin and his Newcastle team are involved with Sir Richard on this project and are his advisors. If the cord blood stem cells can also be used for research, it would guarantee their facility an endless supply of cells to work with for stem cell expansion or treatment. I'm not against entrpreneurs wishing to start up stem cell banks, but I do think that if new models are being thought up, I'm keen to know how they are being thought through.

Okay, this is turning out to be a rather long blog entry so bear with me for the last bit which I feel brings everything round and round and round.


STEM CELLS & SPACE TRAVEL: CORD BLOOD INTO A NEW DIMENSION



It turns out that this article mentioned that Prof. Colin McGuckin (yes, him again) has been awarded a USD 1 million grant to determine the potential of growing new body tissues to replace tissue damaged or turned cancerous by space radiation, using his zero-gravity simulator. He plans to put adult stem cells derived from astronaut's blood in a zero-gravity bio-reactor and using a cocktail of stimuli (ie cytokines), instruct the cells to grow into liver or muscle or any other tissue. The aim being to provide NASA with the means for a replacement body part for every astronaut on their travel to another planet (maybe Mars in 2030 or Uranus in 2090?).

This is exciting because it negates the effect of time on the wear and tear of the body. If you are a Star trek fan (and I'm talking The Next Generation here), you'll remember that cool wand that Dr. Beverly Crusher uses whenever one of the crew is injured to stimulate healing in a total of 5 seconds. Must be a stem cell activation factor.

And there weren't too many lives that she couldn't save :)