http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Stromal cells, as distinct from hematopoietic cells, are an essential component of the bone marrow microenvironment and are necessary for the long-term maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vitro. Previous studies have shown that stromal cells regulate the proliferation and differentiation of HSCs through the production of diffusible hematopoietic regulatory factors and extracellular matrix, and through physical cell-cell interactions involving adhesion molecules and gap junction-mediated cell communication. However, the ability of stromal cells to support the expansion of HSCs and to maintain their self-renewal potential has generally been investigated in long-term, two-dimensional (2D) bone marrow culture systems (BMCS), and most of the reports have shown a decline in HSCs within 4𔃆 weeks in culture. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-d-long-term-bone-marrow-culture.html Medical research Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:20:01 EST news239428808 Whitehead Institute scientists have determined that master transcription factors determine the genes regulated by key signaling pathways. In this way, signaling pathways are targeted to genes that are most relevant to each cell type and tailor gene expression to control cell state, growth, differentiation, and death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-major-pathways-wired-genome-insight.html Medical research Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:57:16 EST news238938982 Researchers in Japan have discovered how a patient's neural stem cells could be used as an alternative source of the beta cells needed for a regenerative treatment for diabetes. The research, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine today, reveals how harvesting stem cells could overcome a lack of beta cell transplants from donors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-neural-stem-cell-transplant-tackle.html Medical research Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:17:11 EST news237179820 A protein that regulates cell differentiation in normal tissue may play a different role in colon and breast cancer, activating proliferation of damaged cells, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-knockout-protein-colon-tumor-formation.html Cancer Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:53:58 EST news236534025 Scientists at the Universities of Glasgow and Southampton have uncovered a new method for culturing adult stem cells which could lead to the creation of revolutionary stem cell therapies for conditions such as arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-stem-cell-breakthrough-heralds-era.html Medical research Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:39:47 EST news230200611 Research at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University could lay the groundwork for new muscular dystrophy treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-stem-cell-foundation-muscular-dystrophy.html Medical research Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:23:34 EST news229854023 A new study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that a cellular signaling pathway governs the differentiation of cells into fat tissue or smooth muscle, which lines the vascular system. Engaging this signaling pathway and its capacity to govern cell differentiation has important implications in preventing obesity and cardiovascular disease. The study is published in the June issue of Developmental Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-potential-therapeutic-obesity.html Medical research Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:40:01 EST news227273047 Scientists have known for years that neurogenesis takes place throughout adulthood in the hippocampus of the mammalian brain. Now Columbia researchers have found that under stressful conditions, neural stem cells in the adult hippocampus can produce not only neurons, but also new stem cells. The brain stockpiles the neural stem cells, which later may produce neurons when conditions become favorable. This response to environmental conditions represents a novel form of brain plasticity. The findings were published online in Neuron on June 9, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-brain-environmental.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:11:14 EST news227188831 After decades of studying the pathological process that wipes out large volumes of memory, scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research discovered a molecule called c-Abl that has a known role in leukemia also has a hand in Alzheimer's disease. The finding, reported in the June 14th issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, offers a new target for drug development that could stave off the pathological disease process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-protein-linked-alzheimer-disease.html Medical research Tue, 24 May 2011 15:47:09 EST news225470789 (Medical Xpress) -- Early in development, cells undergo a controlled demolition that helps to shape their raw, pliable material into the specialized forms they must have to do their jobs as adults. The process by which this occurs is also crucial later in the cell’s life, to take out potentially dangerous trash that routinely accumulates as it ages. New work from Rockefeller University has now provided a detailed genetic and biochemical understanding of how one protein helps modulate this sculptor and janitor of the cell, known as the proteasome. The findings improve our knowledge of how cells specialize, and could also lead to new tools for fighting cancer and degenerative disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-analysis-sperm-differentiation-reveals-mode.html Medical research Mon, 02 May 2011 06:57:47 EST news223538213