Researchers from East China Normal University and Fudan University presented the discovery of a new oral compound, Z-526, being developed as a treatment to alleviate chemotherapy-induced cachectic muscle loss.
Researchers from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and Shaoxing People's Hospital presented preclinical data for the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibitor STX-0119, which has been previously validated in models of cancer.
Researchers from Shandong University and affiliated organizations have presented data from a study that aimed to assess the role of endosome-associated trafficking regulator 1 (ENTR1) in adipogenesis.
Astellas Pharma Inc.’s subsidiaries Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AIRM) and Universal Cells Inc. have entered into a research collaboration with Osaka University to develop a pluripotent stem cell-derived cartilage organoid cell therapy for the treatment of intervertebral disc degenerative disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by bone and cartilage destruction, where immune cells such as macrophages, among others, play a crucial role in RA pathogenesis.
Myogenica Inc., a University of Minnesota startup company, has obtained IND approval from the FDA for Myopaxon, an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived muscle stem cell product to regenerate skeletal muscle. A planned study will evaluate intramuscular injections of Myopaxon in non-ambulatory adult patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have found that CCN3, a hormone secreted by neurons in the brain, is responsible for maintaining bone strength during lactation.
The big advantage of cell culture to model diseases is its throughput. “You can play the disease over and over again in the dish,” Clive Svendsen told the audience at the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting held in Hamburg last week. That high throughput, however, is not particularly useful if the cell lines themselves do not accurately model the disease. Cancer cell lines are used in many cell culture experiments far beyond cancer for their ability to grow. But they are “highly abnormal,” Bill Skarnes told the audience at an innovation showcase, as well as quite unstable. “I don’t think the [HEK-293] cell line is the same in your lab as it is in the lab next door,” Skarnes said.