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07/20/2004
Novel Unrestricted Somatic Stem Cells (USSCs) offer potential medical breakthrough
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BOSTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCell, Inc., a cellular therapy company dedicated to enabling the widespread application of human cells as medicine, and the International NETCORD Foundation, the leading international network of public umbilical cord blood banks, today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article in The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM). For the first time, using novel cells found in human umbilical cord blood, researchers have shown the ability to grow bone, cartilage, hematopoietic (blood), neural, liver and heart tissue in in vivo studies. The article is entitled, "A new human somatic stem cell from placental cord blood with intrinsic pluripotent differentiation potential" and is available in the July 19, 2004 issue, vol. 200, no. 2, of JEM.
Dr. Peter Wernet, the President of NETCORD, commented, "To our knowledge, we are the first group to demonstrate that neonatal somatic stem cells can be robustly expanded in vitro under pharmaceutical conditions to very large numbers and can differentiate, in vivo, into a number of tissue types and take on the properties and specific functions of the cells in those tissues." This discovery was made by Dr. Wernet, Dr. G. Koegler and scientists at ViaCell.
This article describes the isolation and expansion of ViaCell's proprietary USSC from human umbilical cord blood. This cell type can be expanded in number under culture conditions published in the article. The USSC has demonstrated a capacity to turn into several different cell types in vivo, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, heart, and blood cells. Previous experimental and clinical work has demonstrated the presence of blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells in cord blood. While USSC therapies in humans have not been demonstrated, ViaCell believes that USSCs found in cord blood are capable of reconstituting multiple other organ systems, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, and heart. This scientific work was performed by the University of Duesseldorf in a collaborative relationship with ViaCell's German subsidiary and was supported financially by the state of North Rhine Westfalia.
Dr. Brent Davidson, division head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Henry Ford Health System, commented that "thousands of families have banked stem cells from umbilical cord blood in the United States. While considerably more work is required, I believe that the demonstration that these cells using the non-controversial umbilical cord blood stem cell are able to differentiate into a broad range of tissues could prove to be a significant scientific advance. I am particularly encouraged that the results provide a proof of principle for use in many common illnesses possibly affecting a large portion of the population. "
Dr. Masood Khatamee, the executive director of the Fertility Research Foundation and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University's School of Medicine commented "The data demonstrating that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells capable of reconstituting multiple organ systems like the brain, bone, cartilage, liver and heart validate the importance of recommending the option of cord blood preservation to all of our patients. These data make it clear that cord blood stem cells have the potential to treat diseases that impact nearly every family."
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