Stem Cell Research

Possibility Of Embryonic Stem Cell Transplant Rejection Narrowed

Researchers have discovered a new strategy for making embryonic stem cell transplants less likely to be rejected by a recipient's immune system. The new strategy involves fusing bone marrow cells to embryonic stem cells. Once fused, the hybrid cells have DNA from both the donor and recipient, raising hopes that immune rejection of embryonic stem cell therapies can be avoided without drugs.

"Our study shows that transplanted bone marrow cells fuse not only with bone marrow cells of the recipient, but with non-hematopoietic cells, suggesting that if we can understand the process of cell fusion better, we may be able to target certain organ injuries with the patient's own bone marrow cells and repair the tissues," said Nicholas Zavazava, M.D., Ph.D., a University of Iowa researcher involved in the work.

Although the study holds promise for future embryonic stem cell therapies, the results may be even more far reaching. Zavazava and colleagues used two different mouse strains, one as the donor and the other as the recipient. When bone marrow cells were engrafted into the recipient, they tested for the presence of both donor and recipient cells and found three different types of cells: donor cells, recipient cells, and fused cells that had DNA from the donor and recipient. They then discovered that these cells could fuse with many different types of cells in addition to embryonic stem cells, including those from the liver, kidney, heart, and gut. Although more work is necessary to determine the exact clinical outcomes, the discovery raises the possibility that bone marrow cells could be fused to transplant organs to reduce the likelihood of rejection. They could also be fused to failing organs to support regeneration.

Adapted from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology announcement.

Researchers Transform Mouse Skin Cells Into Neurons, Skipping Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Stage

The future of regenerative medicine continues to depend on the type of stem cell that is proven most effective, most scalable, and most time and cost efficient to produce.  Approaches include embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, Induced pluripotent stem cells, from both autologous and allogeneic sources.  One of our Sector Companies, International Stem Cell Corp., is attempting to create a stem cell bank based on parthenogenic stem cells derived from unfertilized eggs (oocytes).  Such a bank would have the following advantages:

1. A scalable bank would contain a manageable number of stem cell lines that will be immunological matches for large patient populations of different ethnic origin.


2. Unlike induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells these would not involve extensive gene manipulation, which to this point in time have largely unknown biological impact.

We point this out in order to ask ourselves what the potential impact on such a stem cell bank might be from new study results obtained by researchers at Stanford University.  Since human iPS cells were first created in late 2007, the emphasis has been on developing these cells in a faster, cheaper way that also provides safe and predictable biological results when used in regenerative therapies.

But what if the iPS phase can be skipped entirely?  Will adult cells converted, for example, directly  into nerve cells be an eventual solution to Parkinson's Disease?  Or will parthenogenic, or some other more basic, more embryonic-like, cell provide the answer.  Perhaps both will be a solution and success in the market, as well as in therapy, will be a function of efficiency from origin to therapeutic use, and resultant lower cost. Perhaps neither will be universally useful in general therapy, but will be more effective for therapies in particular parts of the body.  At this stage no one knows for sure.  What we do know is that knowledge is expanding rapidly as shown in this current Stanford study.

Stanford researchers have succeeded in transforming mouse skin cells in a laboratory dish directly into functional nerve cells with the application of just three genes. The cells make this transition without first becoming a pluripotent type of stem cell.

Researchers Generate Abundant Functional Blood Vessel Cells From Embryonic And Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers have developed a new technique -- and described a novel mechanism -- for turning human embryonic and pluripotent stem cells into plentiful, functional endothelial cells, which are critical to the formation of blood vessels. Endothelial cells form the interior "lining" of all blood vessels and are the main component of capillaries, the smallest and most abundant vessels.

The new approach allows scientists to generate virtually unlimited quantities of durable endothelial cells -- more than 40-fold the quantity possible with previous approaches.

"This technique is the first of its kind with serious potential as a treatment for a diverse array of diseases, especially cardiovascular disease, stroke and vascular complications of diabetes," said Dr. Shahin Rafii, the study's senior author and Arthur B. Belfer Professor in Genetic Medicine and co-director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Rafii is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Researchers first screened for molecular factors that come into play when stem cells turn into endothelial cells. Their findings led them to a strategy that significantly boosts the efficiency of producing these cells.

They then tracked the differentiation process in real-time using a green fluorescent protein marker developed by Dr. Daylon James, the study's first author and assistant research professor in the Department of Reproductive of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. They found that when they exposed stem cells to a compound that blocks TGF-beta (a growth factor involved in cell specialization) at just the right time during cell culturing, the propagation of endothelial cells dramatically increased.

Molecule Identified That Inhibits Stem Cell Differentiation

It turns out that stem cells have need for long-term memory to help them know who they are and what they should become. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now identified a molecule involved in keeping skin stem cells on the straight and narrow path.

“We’re starting to understand the molecular mechanism of cellular memory,” said Paul Khavari, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology. “How a stem cell remembers what it is, and why it might go astray.”

The molecule, called DNMT1, helps the stem cells know whether to self-renew to create more stem cells, or to differentiate into specialized, non-dividing adult skin cells. It’s important because too much self-renewal can lead to cancer, and too little can inhibit wound healing.

Much ado is made over pluripotent cells — such as embryonic stem cells and their laboratory doppelgangers, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells — which have the potential to differentiate into any of the body’s different cell types. But adult stem cells, while more limited in their ability to create new types of cells, still have important roles in the body. They’re particularly vital in skin, blood and other tissues that must constantly regenerate new cells.

Biologists Develop Efficient Genetic Modification Of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

One of the non-ethical problems with embryonic stem cell research has been the lack of efficient ways to study genetics using these cells.  Now, using bacterial artificial chromosomes  (BACs) to swap in defective copies of genes, researchers have successfully transferred a defective copy of the gene p53, which suppresses cancer, into a human embryonic stem cell line.

"This will help open up the whole human embryonic stem cell field. Otherwise, there are really few efficient ways you can study genetics through them," said Yang Xu, professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego who directed the research.

BACs are synthesized circles of human DNA, which bacteria will replicate just like their own native chromosomes. Commercially available BACs can be modified within bacterial cells to insert altered copies of specific genes. Once the modified BACs are introduced into human cells, they will sometimes pair up with a matching segment of a human chromosome and swap segments of DNA, a process called homologous recombination.

Ethnic Origin Of Stem Cells Found Important To Safety And Effectiveness Of Specific Future Drugs

Analysis of a variety of human embryonic stem cell lines determined that the cells originated largely from Caucasian and East Asian populations, with little representation from populations originating in Africa.  The lines analyzed are currently in use in research laboratories around the world.  In response to these results, scientists from Scripps Research Institute used skin cells from an individual of West African Yoruba heritage to create a new stem cell line, the first to carry the genetic profile of this ethnic group.

Why is this important? Research has shown that discordance between the ethnic origin of organ donors and recipients can influence medical outcomes for tissue transplantation, and that the safety and effectiveness of specific drugs can vary widely depending on ethnic background.

"Ethnic origin is a critical piece of information that should come with every cell line," said Scripps Research Professor Jeanne Loring, who is senior author of the paper resulting from this research. "Everyone who works with stem cells should be doing this kind of analysis."

One of our Sector Companies, International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) announced a collaboration with Dr. Jeanne Loring and Scripps Research in November of last year.  ISCO has developed a parthenogenetic homozygous stem cell line and is hopeful that this research will provide immune-matched stem cells for human transplant which will allow the building of a "stem cell bank" that could offer on-demand delivery of stem cells matched to a patient’s own immune system.

"Knowing that a big push in the future is using stem cell lines in the clinic and in drug development, there's a need to have an ethnically diverse population of cells," added Louise Laurent, assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and research associate at Scripps Research, who is first author of the paper with Caroline Nievergelt, also an assistant professor at UCSD.

China's Star Rising Despite World Skepticism Of Its Past Stem Cell Research Approaches

Despite world skepticism of China's research approach to stem cell therapies, Medical Tourism continues to grow as China's government pours generous dollars into research on regenerative medicine and aggressively recruits high-caliber scientists trained abroad in pursuit of its ambition to become a world leader in the field.  This According to a study by the Canadian-based McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health (MRC).  As a result of its expanded investment, Chinese contributions to scientific journals on RM topics leapt from 37 in year 2000 to 1,116 in 2008, exceeded only by the contributions of experts in the USA, Germany, Japan and the UK.

The accomplishment is all the more interesting given that China's international credibility has been and still is severely hindered by global concerns surrounding Chinese clinics, where unproven therapies continue to be administered to thousands of patients, including an increasing number of desperate Westerners fueling Medical Tourism which has become a growth industry.

"When you look at the issue of stem cells in China, you see the Yin-Yang of a scientific powerhouse mixed with controversial clinical application of stem cell therapies," said Dr. Peter Singer, MRC's Director. "The overall picture at the moment is ambiguous but in the future, given the measures that have been put in place, the science can be expected to rise and the controversy to fall."

Until May 2009, clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of stem cell therapies were not required in China. Now proof of safety and efficacy through clinical trials is required by China's Ministry of Health for all stem cell and gene therapies.

The change was made after international experts, joined by top Chinese researchers, protested that treatment centers were acting "against commonly accepted principles of modern scientific research" and successfully called on China to regulate new treatments and ensure patient safety.

Despite the new rules, however, stem cell treatments are still available at over 200 hospitals across China to patients of diseases such as ataxia, Lou Gehrig's disease, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, diabetes, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, autism, cerebral palsy, stroke, optic nerve hypoplasia and many others.

"To our knowledge, Chinese policy makers and ethicists are working out the regulation details,” says Ms. McMahon, the study's lead author. "Once that is accomplished, we still expect a delay, during which the therapies currently administered by clinics and hospitals will be evaluated individually to determine whether they meet the criteria of China's Ministry of Health."

Dr. Michael West, Dr. Robert Lanza, Biotime Inc., Advanced Cell Technology, And International Stem Cell Corp.: Comments, As All Move Forward Toward A Stem Cell Therapy

Both Biotime Inc. (BTIM) and International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO.OB) have licensed extensive patent rights from Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC.PK), all in the stem cell research and stem cell therapy arenas.  Both continue to move toward product development while adding intellectual property to that licensed from ACTC, making the combined intellectual property of the three entities easier to evaluate than that of the individual companies. 

Advanced Cell Technology, motivated by the need for operating capital, licensed most of its rather broad stem cell intellectual property -- mostly developed by Dr. Robert Lanza -- to ISCO and BTIM over a period of years.  Then, about a year ago, ACTC took the next step which was to find a joint venture partner, a South Korean Company. ACTC contributed its remaining intellectual property to the joint venture, all except that pertaining to stem cell research for eye diseases.  The company has recently filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy.  Advanced Cell Technology's market capitalization is approximately $75 million.

Both Biotime and International Stem Cell follow a business model that calls for the sale of cell culture products to researchers in the stem cell research arena in order to promote the development of proprietary stem cell treatments.

Dr. Michael West, CEO of Biotime, is one of the early rock stars of stem cell research.  He has not only been around a long time (a founder of Geron and a former CEO of Advanced Cell Technology), he is one of a small group in the field that can increase the market value of his company -- if only momentarily -- by giving a speech at a conference.  He has managed to accomplish several things for Biotime this year.  These things have little to do with product development but have a lot to do with the business structure of Biotime as it sets itself up for the development of anticipated stem cell therapies.  This business structuring has also had a lot to do with the market capitalization of Biotime Inc., particularly the actuality and future possibility of raising capital directly in the subsidiaries.  Since September 30th of this year Biotime's market capitalization has increased by $30 million or roughly 30%.

This is what has increased Biotime's market capitalization:

Magnetism And Nanotubes May Be Means Of Directing Stem Cells To Specific Point Where Treatment Is Needed

In August, University College London researchers demonstrated a technique whereby endothelial progenitor cells – a type of stem cell shown to be important in vascular healing processes – were magnetically tagged with a tiny iron-containing clinical agent, then successfully targeted to a site of arterial injury using a magnet positioned outside the body.

The result was a five-fold increase in cells at a site of vascular injury in rats. The team also demonstrated a six-fold increase in cell capture in an in vitro flow system (where microscopic particles are suspended in a stream of fluid and examined to see how they behave).

Dr Mark Lythgoe, UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging and lead researcher said, "Because the material we used in this method is already FDA approved we could see this technology being applied in human clinical trials within 3-5 years. It’s feasible that heart attacks and other vascular injuries could eventually be treated using regular injections of magnetized stem cells. The technology could be adapted to localize cells in other organs and provide a useful tool for the systemic injection of all manner of cell therapies. And it’s not just limited to cells – by focusing tagged antibodies or viruses using this method, cancerous tumors could be much more specifically targeted.”

Panagiotis Kyrtatos, also from the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging and lead researcher of the study, added: “This research tackles one of the most critical challenges in the biomedical sciences today: ensuring the effective delivery and retention of cellular therapies to specific targets within the body."

Now, Rice University and the Texas Heart Institute have received a two-year $1 million Challenge Grant to develop an advanced stem-cell-tracking technology based on an ultrasensitive class of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents invented at Rice in 2005.

The grant's purpose is the refinement of cell-tracking nanotube technology that could make magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) up to 40 times more sensitive than existing MRIs and help guide adult stem cells within the human body to repair damaged hearts.

Unraveling The Mechanisms Behind Organ Regeneration

The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine—the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease—has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.

Some time ago we posted about Max Planck Institute research on Salamanders.  Salamanders regrow lost limbs and Elly Tanaka at Planck has been studying how they do so. Tanaka and colleagues found that salamander regeneration begins when a clump of cells called a blastema forms at the tip of a lost limb. From the blastema come skin, muscle, bone, blood vessels and neurons, ultimately growing into a limb virtually identical to the old one.

But here's the surprise: Rather than having their cellular clocks fully reset and reverting to an embryonic state, cells in the salamanders’ stumps became slightly less mature versions of the cells they’d been before.  In other words they don't revert to pluripotency.

Now researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an essential cellular pathway in zebrafish that paves the way for limb regeneration by unlocking gene expression patterns last seen during embryonic development. They found that a process known as histone demethylation switches cells at the amputation site from an inactive to an active state, which turns on the genes required to build a copy of the lost limb.

Salk Institute researchers, lead by Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte Ph.D, used zebrafish, a small fish from the minnow family, to study limb regeneration. "If you amputate the tail of the zebrafish, it regenerates in about a week, seemingly with no effort and leaving no scar," explains Scott Stewart Ph.D. "What's more, it regenerates a perfect copy and—like growing grass—it will do this over and over again." In other words, the zebrafish has the same regenerative capacity as the salamander.

Johns Hopkins and Harvard Add To Previous 2009 Findings On Differnces Between Induced Pluripotent And Embryonic Stem Cells

In July 2009, UCLA and Broad Institute researchers analyzed induced pluripotent stem cell lines derived with newer methods that didn't require integration of the reprogramming factors. Their analysis showed different molecular signatures between iPS cells and their embryo-derived counterparts, and these signatures showed a significant degree of overlap with those generated with integrative methods.

"We can’t explain this, but it appears something is different about iPS cells and embryonic stem cells,” said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. “The differences are there, no matter whose lab the cells come from, whether they’re human or mouse cells or the method used to derive the iPS cells. Perhaps most importantly, many of these differences are shared amongst lines made in various ways.”

Then in September came work regarding the differences between induced and embryonic stem cells done by UCSD and the Salk Institute. 

By creating iPSCs from human neural stem cells without the use of viruses, UCSD and Salk scientists learned something that moved toward an explaination of some of the questions raised by the UCLA/Broad Institute results. What they found was this: While the genetic transcriptional profile of the new iPSCs was closer to that of embryonic stem cells than to human neural stem cells, the iPSCs still carried a transcriptional "signature" of the original neural cell.

"While most of the original genetic memory was erased when the cells were reprogrammed, some was retained," said lead researcher Alysson R. Muotri, UCSD Stem Cell Program researcher who added that in the past it wasn't known if this retinue was caused by the use of viral vectors.

Although genetically identical to the mature body cells from which they are derived, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are notably special in their ability to self-renew and differentiate into all kinds of cells. Now researchers from Johns Hopkins and Harvard have detected a remarkable if subtle molecular disparity between the two: Turns out they have distinct "epigenetic" signatures; that is, they differ in what gets copied when the cell divides, even though these differences aren't part of the DNA sequence.

China And California Announce Collaboration To Advance Stem Cell Research toward Stem Cell Therapy

In a step taken to broaden the potential pool of expertise that can be applied toward research in a specific area, a new agreement between the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) will make it easier for researchers in both California and China to obtain joint stem cell research funding. 

Researchers in both jurisdictions will be invited to form teams that will apply jointly for funding through a process that builds upon routine CIRM and MOST procedures. For those that are approved, CIRM will fund the California researchers and MOST will fund the Chinese researchers.

“One of CIRM’s primary goals is to accelerate the field of stem cell research as a whole, and in some instances we can do this more effectively through collaborations that involve the best scientific endeavors, regardless of geography,” said Alan Trounson, President of CIRM. “China is developing a major national program in stem cells and regenerative medicine that can be effectively matched with California’s excellence in stem cell science that is rapidly evolving in academic and biotechnology settings. I would expect major developments for patients to occur through this new partnership.”

Bioengineered 'Patch' Formed To Create Heart Stem Cell Treatment

In addition to combining appropriatly selected stem cells with necessary growth factors, one of the problems in coming up with stem cell treatments has been the necessity of providing a 'structure,' or 'scaffold' to give cells and growth factors a framework that fools them into thinking they're in a natural environment for growth.  This is particularly true where organ regeneration is concerned.  While generally in the very early stages, organ regeneration remains the holy grail of stem cell research.  A fair amount of the initial effort in this regard, both by academic labs and both private and publicly traded stem cell companies, has been directed to regenerating portions of the heart, in particular that damaged by scar tissue.

To that end, Duke University bioengineers have created a novel mold of unique design to fashion a three-dimensional "patch" made up of heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes. The new tissue grown in the mold exhibited the two most important attributes of heart muscle cells -– the ability to contract and the ability to conduct electrical impulses. The mold looks much like a piece of Chex cereal in which researchers varied the shape and length of the pores to control the direction and orientation of the growing cells.

As a result, Duke bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living "heart patch" to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.

Understanding The Differences Between Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells And Embryonic Stem Cells

In July we posted about genetic differences found between Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells and embryonic stem cells.  Researchers at UCLA and the Broad Stem Cell Institute had performed microarray gene expression profiles on embryonic stem cells and iPS cells to measure the expression of thousands of genes at once, creating a global picture of cellular function.

When the molecular signatures were compared, it was clear that certain genes were expressed differently in embryonic stem cells than they were in iPS cells. The researchers then compared their data to that stored on a National Institutes of Health data base, submitted by laboratories worldwide. They analyzed that data to see if the genetic profiling conducted in other labs validated their findings, and again they found overlapping but distinct differences in gene expression.

UCLA and Broad researchers then analyzed cell lines derived with newer methods that do not require integration of the reprogramming factors. Their analysis again showed different molecular signatures between iPS cells and their embryo-derived counterparts, and these signatures showed a significant degree of overlap with those generated with integrative methods.

"We can’t explain this, but it appears something is different about iPS cells and embryonic stem cells,” said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a study author..“And the differences are there, no matter whose lab the cells come from, whether they’re human or mouse cells or the method used to derive the iPS cells. Perhaps most importantly, many of these differences are shared amongst lines made in various ways.”

In the latest step forward, San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla have developed a safe strategy for reprogramming cells to a pluripotent state without use of viral vectors or genomic insertions.

UCSD Research Sheds Possible Light On Geron Spinal Stem Cell Treatment Prospects

Geron Corp.'s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in patients with acute spinal cord injury was placed on hold by the FDA while new animal study data supplied by the company is evaluated (Geron's explanation of the submitted data is at the bottom of this post).

Prior to the hold, Geron was in the process of initiating a Phase I multi-center trial that is designed to establish the safety of GRNOPC1 in patients with "complete" American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade A subacute thoracic spinal cord injuries.

While the FDA approval of Gerron's IND was to establish the safety of embryonic stem cells in a therapeutic setting, Gerron's goal was not only to establish safety but "the restoration of organ and tissue function achieved by the injection of healthy replacement cells," according to Thomas Okarma, Ph.D., M.D., Geron's president and CEO. "The ultimate goal for the use of GRNOPC1," he added, "is to achieve restoration of spinal cord function by the injection of hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells directly into the lesion site of the patient's injured spinal cord."

Now, also moving one step closer to developing a possible therapy for repairing spinal cord injuries, scientists at the University of California San Diego say they have successfully guided regenerating nerve axons to cell targets, where they re-establish connections essential to any recovery.

“With this advance, we've shown it's possible to direct an axon to find the correct target from among potentially millions of incorrect ones in the spine and brain and make the right connection,” said Dr. Mark Tuszynski, a professor of neurosciences and part of a research team from UCSD, the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UCLA.

Wisconsin Research Team Creates Retinal Cells From Skin Cells

A few weeks ago we posted about University of Florida researchers chemically inducing bone marrow stem cells to become retinal cells. Now University of Wisconsin researchers have broadened the Florida result.

The University of Wisconsin retina project began by using embryonic (ES) stem cells, but incorporated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells as they became available. Ultimately, Wisconsin researchers were able to grow multiple types of retinal cells beginning with either ES or iPS cells, each of which provided a highly enriched population of very primitive cells with the potential to become retinal cells.

In normal human development, embryonic stem cells begin to differentiate into more specialized cell types about five days after fertilization. The retina develops from a group of cells that arise during the earliest stages of the developing nervous system. The Wisconsin team took cells from skin, created induced pluripotent stem cells, and then coaxed them into becoming retinal cell types.

Technique Enables Efficient Gene Targeting In Human Embryonic And Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Use of a novel technique has allowed researchers to efficiently and precisely modify or introduce genes into the genomes of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.  The method uses proteins called zinc finger nucleases and may create methodology for determining how embryonic stem cells mature into adult stem cells, thereby improving research methods in each.

For years, scientists have easily swapped genes in and out of mouse ESC or iPS cell genomes, but have had a notoriously difficult time disrupting or inserting genes into their human equivalents.

“It’s not clear where this hurdle of genetic manipulation lies; it could be purely technical, but it could also be an inherent difference between human and mouse cells,” says Dirk Hockemeyer. Hockemeyer and Frank Soldner are first authors on the study and postdoctoral researchers in stem cell pioneer Rudolf Jaensich’s laboratory at the Whitehead Institute. “Other people have genetically manipulated these human cells, but the process has been extremely laborious and extremely time consuming. Using the zinc finger nucleases makes the process very easy,” says Hockemeyer.

Living Cells React To Guiding Light; Advance Could Enhance Stem Cells' Power

In the world of cord blood stem cells, adult stem cell and embryonic research, or any other evolutionary arena of stem cell research, we have yet to see a contribution from the College of Optics and Photonics or like named department at a major research institution.

Now, researchers have shown for the first time that light energy can gently guide and change the orientation of living cells, demonstrating that optically induced torques can affect components within cells that drive their motility -- their ability to move spontaneously -- and change the orientation of cells within lab cultures.

While earlier studies of cell manipulation have emphasized shielding the cell from the power of  light, University of Central Florida researchers Aristide Dogariu, an optical scientist at the College of Optics and Photonics, and Kiminobu Sugaya, a stem cell researcher at the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, focused on using that energy to stimulate the cells’ natural tendencies.

Implantable Bone-Like Material From Stem Cells: One Step Closer To Therapeutic Application

A lot of research is underway in an attempt to create bone-like materials, derived from stem cells, to implant into patients who have damaged or fractured bones, or who have had parts of diseased bones removed. The idea is that, ultimately, these bone-like materials could be inserted into cavities so that real bone could meld with it and repair the bone.

Researchers have found they can grow small ‘nodules’ of what appears to be bone-like material in the laboratory from different types of bone cells and stem cells. However, the need to thoroughly explore and understand the in-depth chemical properties and structure of the bone-like materials being grown is alive and well.

Imperial College London researchers have compared the ‘bone-like’ material grown from three different commonly used clinically relevant cell types and have discovered significant differences between the quality of bone-like material that these can form.

The Eyes Have It: Stem Cell Sector Public Companies vs. Newly Established, Closely-Held, Big Pharma Financed Competitors

Stem cell research is advancing in five arenas:

1. Universities


2. Publicly traded companies


3. Closely held companies with university affiliations


4. Publicly traded companies with University affiliations


5. Closely held or publicly traded stem cell companies with research funding through big pharma partnerships. 

Category five is really small.  So far.  But as research in the stem cell field progresses into scalability and the potential for commercial therapies, researchers will increasingly be in demand by big pharma.  It will be a good fit because researchers will be looking for money.

EyeCyte Inc., founded by Dr. Martin Friedlander of Scrips Research Institute and his former post-doc student Mathew Ritter, now EyeCyte's research and development manager, is our current example of a stem cell start up venture funded by big pharma.

EyeCyte, Inc., is an early stage stem/progenitor cell‐based ophthalmology research and development company based in La Jolla, California. Building on research into the causes of, and potential treatments for, retinal disease by Professor Martin Friedlander, M.D., Ph.D. and his laboratory at Scripps, EyeCyte will use the properties of blood and bone marrow‐derived progenitor cells from patients to pursue the development of treatments for acquired and inherited retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, retinal vascular occlusive disease, agerelated macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa.

Questions Raised By Chinese Mice From iPS Cells Experiment; UCLA's Recently Reported iPS vs. Embryonic Cell Differences Is One Of Them

The mainstream press has adopted broad coverage of mice produced from Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells by two separate Chinese laboratories.  The technique the two teams of Chinese researchers used is called tetraploid complementation. With the tetraploid approach the host cells can form only the placental tissues; all the animal's tissues must come from the iPS cells injected into the blastocyst, or very early embryo.

Until these experiments in China, researchers have never been able to produce living animals via this approach, a result that has created doubts about the true pluripotency of iPS cells. But even with these dramatic results, questions remain, at least one major one suggested by recent research on the differences between iPS and embryonic stem cells conducted at UCLA.

Similarities Between Salamander Limb Regeneration And Stem Cell Repairs Of Damaged Human Muscle?

It turns out that the genes that make muscle stem cells in the embryo are surprisingly not needed in adult muscle stem cells to regenerate muscles after injury, a result that seems to relate to a parallel finding in salamander limb regeneration.

“The paired-box genes, Pax3 and Pax7 are involved in the development of the skeletal muscles," explained lead researcher Christoph Lepper, a predoctoral fellow at Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Embryology. "It is well established that both genes are needed to produce muscle stem cells in the embryo. A previous student, Alice Chen, studied how these genes are turned on in embryonic muscle stem cells. I thought that if they are so important in the embryo, they must be important for adult muscle stem cells. Using genetic tricks, I was able to suppress both genes in adult muscle stem cells. I was totally surprised to find that the muscle stem cells are normal without them.”

Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, the Carnegie finding brings to mind a recent research result from the Max Planck Institute regarding salamanders.  Salamanders regrow lost limbs and Elly Tanaka at Planck has been studying how they do so. Tanaka and colleagues found that salamander regeneration begins when a clump of cells called a blastema forms at the tip of a lost limb. From the blastema come skin, muscle, bone, blood vessels and neurons, ultimately growing into a limb virtually identical to the old one.

But here's the surprise: Rather than having their cellular clocks fully reset and reverting to an embryonic state, cells in the salamanders’ stumps became slightly less mature versions of the cells they’d been before.  In other words they don't revert to pluripotency.

NIH Stem Cell Rules Seriously Flawed, Says Stanford Expert

On Monday the National Institutes of Health released their final guidelines detailing what types of human embryonic stem cell research will qualify for federal funding. Although the rules permit federal funding of research on embryonic stem cell lines produced from excess early embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics, they disallow federal support of two key techniques used to derive embryonic stem cells in animals: that of transferring the genetic material from one cell into an egg without a nucleus, and that of stimulating an unfertilized egg to divide.

"In terms of extending the classical embryonic stem cell lines that can be used with federal funding, this is an important step forward," said Stanford University School of Medicine stem cell researcher Irving Weissman, MD. "However, the policy banning funding of other stem cell lines produced by transferring the genetic material from a patient to an egg is a terrible disappointment. It seems inconsistent with the president's promise to allow scientific facts to determine science policy." On March 9, President Barack Obama made a statement about his administration’s approach to science policy, in which he vowed to ensure "that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda, and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

Differences Found Between Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells And Embryonic Stem Cells

One of the arguments for federal funding of embryonic stem cells -- in light of the progress being made in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell technology -- is pretty straight forward.  Researchers have used 'embryonic-like' to describe the result of induced regression on adult cells, usually skin cells. The reason embryonic-like is used is that we have not been sure whether they were identical to embryonic stem cells.  In fact, we don't know enough about how embryonic stem cells become every cell in the body to know exactly what 'embryonic-like' means.

In another example of the kind of end run occasionally taking place in the rapidly expanding stem cell research arena, UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another.

Stem Cell Sector Companies: Who's Doing What On The Road To Workable Therapies?

A variety of approaches are being used by our Sector Companies to generate income (now and/or in the future) from stem cell regenerative medicine. Since the different approaches are difficult to compare, as well as in some cases being difficult to understand, we've put together a spread sheet indicating the various approaches and who's in what arena. The spread sheet is in PDF format:

• Stem Cell Sector Areas of Emphasis

While there are different degrees of business risk in the individual approaches, every one of these companies wants or has an off the shelf, scalable product, either a medical device for the stem cell arena (Cardiogenesis, Cytori, Thermogenesis), a logistical means of selling storage so that stem cells can be easily collected in a medical facility and transferred to the physical storage facility (Biomatrix Scientific, Cryo-Cell, Cytori, Neostem), or a broth containing the company's favorite stem cells, nutrients and other growth factors that can sustain a shelf life for use in a medical facilitlly when needed.

BioTime Awarded $4.7 Million Research Grant in What Might Be Dr. Micheal West's Greatest Coup Yet

Biotime, Inc. (BTIM), one of our Sector Companies, and its CEO, Dr. Michael West, are to be congratulated.  This $4.7 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine couldn't have been better timed if it had been a major part of Biotime's business plan.  The grant will fund research into Biotime's licensed ACTCellerate™ embryonic stem cell technology. The overall objective being to generate tools useful in applying ACTCellerate™ technology to the manufacture of patient-specific therapeutic products, which is where Biotime's business plan was headed anyway except it wasn't clear where the money was going to come from. Until now.

Stem Cell Scientist Expresses Concern Over Omission Of SCNT As Cell Source In New Draft Federal Stem Cell Research Funding Guidlines

Draft guidelines issued last week by the National Institutes of Health would prohibit federal funding for research on stem cell lines created through “therapeutic cloning” or somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Irving Weissman, MD, director of Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, said the SCNT technique is one way to create disease-specific human embryonic stem cell lines on which to conduct research and test therapies. He also took issue with the assertion that the NIH consulted existing guidelines from the National Academy of Sciences and the International Society for Stem Cell Research — both of which sanction the use of SCNT-derived cell lines — in coming up with its draft recommendations.

StemCells Inc., International Stem Cells Incorporated, Advanced Cell Technology: Degrees Of Separation In Stem Cell Research On Retinal Solutions

Talk about six degrees of separation, in the retinal field our sector companies are working with more like two. Three of our sector companies are currently working on stem cell solutions for diseases of the retina.  StemCells, Inc. (STEM) is collaborating with the Casey Eye Institute in preclinical studies on retinal degenerative diseases including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), which holds many patents but has either contributed them to a new joint venture or licensed its technology, is currently concentrating solely on stem cell retinal solutions. The company is, "focused on using proprietary technologies to generate stable cell lines including retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells for the treatment of diseases of the eye, including macular degeneration."

Here's what ACT has to say on its web site about its pre-clinical research:

Canadian Researchers Find Alternative Approach To Produce Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells have been around since November 2007.  They were produced originally using retroviruses to deliver reprogramming proteins into adult skin cells. From the beginning researchers seemed to agree that the retrovirus technique had to go.  Perhaps now it has.  The research, lead by Andras Nagy of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, was described in today's Washington Post as follows:

"Nagy and his colleagues in Toronto and at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland used a sequence of DNA known as a transposon, which can insert itself into the genetic machinery of a cell. In this case, the researchers used a transposon called "piggyBac" to carry four genes that can transform mouse and human embryonic skin cells into iPS cells. After the conversion took place, the researchers removed the added DNA from the transformed cells using a specific enzyme.

'PiggyBac carries the four genes into the cells and reprograms the cells into stem cells. After they have reprogrammed the cells, they are no longer required, and in fact they are dangerous," Nagy said. "After they do their job they can be removed seamlessly, with no trace left behind. The ability for seamless removal opens up a huge possibility.'"

Reflections On The Recently Reported Russian Nueral Stem Cell Tumor Case

In May 2001 at the age of 9 years, again in March 2002 and once more in July 2004 at the age of 12 years, a boy was taken by his parents to be treated in a Moscow hospital with a procedure involving a transplant of fetal stem cells into his brain. 

The boy suffers from a neurodegenerative hereditary disorder, ataxia telangiectasia (AT). AT is a childhood disease that causes degeneration of  those parts of the brain controlling muscle movements and speech. As a result of headaches an MRI was performed in an Israeli hospital in 2005 and a multifocal tumor was found in the boy's brain. Subsequent analysis proved the tumor could not have been generated by the boy's own cells and therefore had to originate with the transplanted stem cells. The following is from the story in TheScientist.com.

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO): The Technology - License Agreements With Advanced Cell Technology and Biotime, Inc.

Geron is getting the publicity of late as a result of the FDA's approval of a trial to determine the safety of its spinal cord embryonic stem cell application.  However, three much smaller (in terms of their market caps) firms in our stem cell sector may have research results in the embryonic arena equally as interesting.  Two of these firms, BioTime, Inc. and Advanced Cell Technology, have Dr. Michael West in common.  West was CEO of Advanced Cell Technology from 1998 to 2007 before becoming CEO of Biotime, Inc. These two companies and International Stem Cell Corp. are associated by license and product development agreements.

Geron Corporation (GERN) In The Cross Hairs

We recently posted about Geron's embryonic stem cell application for spinal trauma receiving the first FDA approval and the effect the announcement had on Geron's market capitalization and that of the other members of our stem cell sector.

Geron closed yesterday at $7.77 a share and opened this morning at $6.68, to which we say, "Welcome to the world of Biotech, stem cells and the NASDAQ."  Today's closing price was $6.38. This Thursday closing vs Friday opening value represented a market value decrease of over $86 million, a decrease that occurred while the markets were closed. 

To put this in perspective, on February 6, following a run up in stock price that began with the FDA approval of its first phase trial, Geron's share price closed at $8.05 having increased from a closing price of $5.21 the day before the FDA announcement.

The Challenge Faced By Our Stem Cell Sector Research Companies

Our Stem Cell Sector consists by definition of either small or micro cap companies, most of which are involved in basic research toward producing a scalable, off-the-shelf product, or line of products, developed from adult or embryonic stem cells for use in either direct medical therapies, or in basic research by academic or other corporate institutions.  If they're not doing this, or in some cases even if they are, they're coming up with media and reagents that assist in such product development or research.

Companies researching stem cell therapies, whether from embryonic or adult cells, must cause their chosen stem cell to differentiate (change) into a specific type of cell necessary for the sought after therapy.  This is done by finding the right set of culture conditions (these consist of combinations of proteins, environmental factors, temperatures, salts, etc.) that change specific cell types into cells that cure targeted diseases or effect desired tissue repairs. 

With The First Embryonic Stem Cell Trial Announced, Where Does Stem Cell Research Stand? Where Does Big Pharma Stand?

"Bionic implants that can repair damaged nerves and other tissues in the human body have come a step closer, thanks to Edinburgh University researchers." This according to the Financial Times on Wednesday.  The paper went on to say the Edinburgh team announced it had discovered how to grow nerve cells and embryonic stem cells in detailed patterns on silicon chips.  We've come a long way in a short time, less than ten years. Big Pharma must be looking at developments such as these in a way that's somewhat analogous to a particularly intelligent ape watching an episode of CSI.

Geron Recieves FDA Approval To Begin World's First Human Clinical Trial of An Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapy

This is Monday after the Friday morning announcement of the first Phase I trial of an embryonic stem cell therapy.  At this writing Geron's market cap ($645M) is now greater than that of Osiris Therapeutics ($619M).  Osiris is in Phase III trials with Prochymal (not for spinal cord repair), a mesenchymal stem cell therapeutic application derived from adult bone marrow stem cells.  Everything points to Osiris obtaining approval to market Prochymal by the end of 2010.  Prochymal will in all probability be the first stem cell therapeutic application approved for market distribution.

Geron's market cap totaled $415 million at close of market on Thursday.  This morning it hit $650 million before ending the day around $645M.  This $230 million or so increase in market cap is the direct result of the FDA acceptance of the idea (based on the largest investigational drug application - 22,000 pages - ever submitted) that embryonic stem cells are safe enough to test in a small number of human beings (8 to 10 people is the test size).

Regenerative Medicine And Stem Cells, A Summary

Cell sources used to rebuild damaged tissues are the major issue in the development of regenerative medicine.  Three sources of cells can be tapped for transplant: differentiated tissues (refers to a technique developed at Harvard and posted here in August 2008, a better approach to the production of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells), adult stem cells (ASCs) and derivatives of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Adult stem cells regenerate epithelia, brain tissue, muscle, blood and bone. They have also been found in other tissues that normally scar after injury, such as myocardium, spinal cord and retinal tissues.

Dramatic Changes In DNA Caused By Stem Cell Specialization

As embryonic stem cells turn into different cell types, there are dramatic corresponding changes to the order in which DNA is replicated and reorganized.

These findings bridge a critical knowledge gap for stem cell biologists, enabling a better understanding of  the enormously complex process by which DNA is repackaged during differentiation -- when embryonic stem cells lose their functionally virgin status and become specialized  in function.

Plurinet: A New Strategy For Classifying Stem Cells By Their Molecular Machinery

Using a collection of about 150 human cell samples, researchers have revealed a protein-protein network common to pluripotent cells. Dubbed Plurinet, this network points to what may be one of the key building blocks of the machinery that enables these transformative cells to differentiate into multiple cell types.

"Our results offer a new strategy for classifying stem cells by their molecular machinery," said professor Jeanne Loring, Ph.D., director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Scripps Research Institute, who pursued this work along with an international team of researchers. "We show that pluripotence and self-renewal are under tight control by specific molecular networks."

Epigenetics Map To Assist Development Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Epigenetic code is a series of chemical switches added onto DNA to ensure cells can form different types of tissue (for example liver and skin) despite having identical DNA genetic code.

When DNA is copied from cell to cell, it is essential that the epigenetic code is copied accurately. If not, a liver progenitor cell may divide into another type of cell, such as a nerve or eye cell. A breakdown in this system might also mean that a gene for cell growth is accidentally switched on, for example, leading to unregulated cell growth and the development of tumors.

Advanced Cell Technology and Johns Hopkins Independently Announce Progress With Blood Stem Cells

The recent licensing of much of Advanced Cell Technology's intellectual property to Biotime Inc. seems to have dictated the timing of its latest research release.  ACT of course wants to show new research advancements to help in raising new capital in light of the licensing agreement.  This time, however, Johns Hopkins has inadvertently interfered by releasing their own announcement of research gains. 

The gist of the ACT announcement is this: "Our research has shown it is feasible to differentiate and mature human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into functional oxygen-carrying red blood cells (RBCs) under conditions suitable for scale-up.'  In other words, they can coax human embryonic stem cells into becoming red blood cells and suggest they know how to make as many of them as they wish to.

ACT's announcement goes on to say: 'The efficient and controlled differentiation of hESCs into homogeneous RBC populations has not been previously achieved. This paper describes for the first time the generation of RBCs from hESCs with oxygen-transporting capacity, and argues that the functional properties of these cells are similar to those of normal erythrocytes (red blood cells).' 

Thomson Team Will Attempt To Answer A Fundamental Mystery Of Stem Cell Biology

Scientists have had access to human embryonic stem cells for a decade. But precisely how this all-purpose cell gives rise to all other cells in the body remains a fundamental mystery of biology.

Now, an $8.9 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) will allow a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to embark on a five year quest to find the secrets of a stem cells' ability to morph into all of the cell types that make up the body.

GlaxoSmithKline - Harvard Stem Cell Institute Announce Collaboration Agreement

GlaxoSmithKline and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute today announced that they have entered into a five-year, $25 million-plus collaborative agreement to build a unique alliance in stem cell science, leading to the development of treatments and cures for a range of diseases.

GSK’s investment, one of the largest by a pharmaceutical company in stem cell science, will support innovative research at Harvard University and in at least four Harvard-affiliated hospitals in the areas of neuroscience, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases and obesity. In addition, GSK will fund an annual grant, which supports early stage research in stem cell biology, as part of Harvard Stem Cell Institute’s seed grant program.

Will RNAi Smooth The Way For Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells?

Scientists at UCSF have identified about two dozen genes controlling the fate of embryonic stem cells.  They've done so using RNAi techology.  “The genes we identified are necessary for embryonic stem cells to maintain a memory of who they are,” said Barbara Panning, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at University of California at San Francisco. “Without them the cell doesn’t know whether it should remain a stem cell or differentiate into a specialized cell.”

Panning and colleagues used a powerful technique known as RNA interference, or RNAi, to screen more than 1,000 genes for their role in mouse embryonic stem cells. RNAi refers to the process of using synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules to silence specific genes in a cell.  The technique produces results quickly.

Universities, Big Pharma Organize Toward Stem Cell Eye Disease Solutions

British Universities Collaborate On Age-Related Macular Degeneration Stem Cell Solutions

A groundbreaking surgical therapy capable of stabilizing and restoring vision in the vast majority of patients who currently suffer blindness through Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is to be taken to clinical trial by scientists and clinicians at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the University of Sheffield. The therapy, using cells derived from human embryonic stem cells to replace the faulty retinal cells that cause AMD, will be developed by the London Project to Cure AMD, a collaborative project launched today bringing together some of the leading specialists in the field.

Cell Successfully Removed From Four Cell Embryo; Result May Calm Ethical Debate

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cell lines from a single cell, or blastomere, of a 4-cell stage embryo.  Dr. Hilde Van de Velde, from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel,  reports it might be possible in the future to produce human embryonic stem cell lines at an earlier stage without destroying the embryo.  If this work leads where Dr. Van de Velde hopes, the world of Embryonic Stem Cell Research will move forth by giant steps since the primary ethical issue will cease to exist.

Primary Differentiation Gene Found For Heart Repair From Stem Cells

The gene that locks mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming heart parts and navigates them to the area where the heart forms has been isolated by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers are now trying to determine whether stem cells exposed to this gene (known as Mesp1) can help fix damaged mouse hearts.

"Finding out how to program an embryonic stem cell to, say, create or repair a human heart, is like playing a Mozart requiem on a piano with 5,000 keys when you have no music and have never heard the sound."  I don't remember who said that, but whomever it was should get the blue ribbon for embryonic stem cell research metaphor.  It pretty well encapsulates the difficulty in determining the process by which an embryonic stem cell differentiates into a cell with a particular function in the body.

Biotime Initiates International Embryonic Stem Cell Initiative, Inks Deal To Provide Stem Cell Lines

The current era of stem cell research began with James Thomson's production of the first embryonic stem cell line in 1998.  Since then, the potential for regenerative medicine has generated research world wide.  Ten years later we are still in the very early stages of both discovery and development. 

Dr. Michael West, currently CEO of Biotime Inc., a SC Digest sector company, is also Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he was Chairman of the Board, Chief Scientific Officer, and former CEO of Advanced Cell Technology Corporation.  Advanced Cell Technology, also a SC Digest sector company, specializes in stem cell research.  Dr. West also founded Geron Corporation, a third SC Digest sector company and one that focuses on creating drugs based on telomere and stem cell research.

A First: Embryonic Stem Cells Coaxed To Become Nerve Cells

One of the most difficult challenges in stem cell research is figuring out exactly what biological events cause stem cells to differentiate into specific, functioning cells in the body.  For nerve cells this mystery may now be solved. For the first time, researchers have genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain.

Stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease destroy brain cells, causing speech and memory loss and other debilitating consequences. Transplanting neuronal brain cells could restore at least some brain function, just as heart transplants restore blood flow.  But until now there has been no reliable method of coaxing stem cells to become nerve cells.

“We found that we could create new nerve cells from stem cells, transplant them effectively and make a positive difference in the behavior of the mice,” said Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research Center at The Burnham Institute. “These findings could potentially lead to new treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.”

Like Brazilian Counterparts, U.S. Catholic Bishops Condemn Embryonic Cell Research Contrary To Strong Public Opinion

According to a survey done by the Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins University, two-thirds of the American public either approve or strongly approve of human embryonic stem cell research. Even Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians – long considered the most hard-line opponents of embryonic stem cell studies – split evenly on approval for embryonic stem cell research.

Brazil's Supreme Court Turns Back Challenge to Embryonic Stem Cell Research

76% of Brazil's 170 million people declared themselves as Catholic in the 2000 census. A poll taken by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE) in January 2008 found 75% of Brazilians in favor of using embryonic stem cells for scientific research. Brazil's Catholic Bishops were not among that 75%.  Here's the statement condemning embryonic stem cell research issued during the 46th assembly of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops which took place recently. 

"The Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church defends the right to life, which is fundamental in any phase of development or condition in which it is found.  Human life cannot be made into an instrument, violated, or destroyed."

Clearly there is a disconnect between the Bishops and the overwhelmingly Catholic populace. The general controversy exploded as the result of legislation referred to as the 2005 Biosafety Law that allowed scientists in the most industrially advanced country in Latin America to conduct embryonic stem cell research. Specifically, the law allows the use, in scientific research and therapy, of embryonic stem cells obtained from human embryos produced through in vitro fertilization and frozen for more than three years, with the agreement of the progenitors.