Blog | HemaCare

Gene editing technology along with stem cells helped scientists develop a miniature scale kidney

In the past, researchers already developed complex kidney structures using stem cells. Now, the main aim of kidney tissue engineering is to develop new therapies to repair kidney damage and thus reduce the need for dialysis and transplantation. Recently, scientists at University of Washington in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have grown mini-kidneys in the laboratory [1]. The ex-vivo kidney could be used to study abnormalities in kidney development, chronic kidney disease, and the effects of toxic drugs on acute and chronic kidney conditions.

iPSC technology helps scientists model liver-stage malaria in a dish

Malaria is a parasitic disease which kills millions of lives worldwide. The life cycle of the parasite revolves between a mosquito vector and a human host. Malaria is transmitted when Anopheles mosquitoes bite a human being and release hundreds of sporozoites into the bloodstream of the host. After entering into the bloodstream, parasites migrate to the liver, where they can either remain dormant or initiate an asexual multiplication cycle to produce thousands of merozoites. The newly formed merozoites attack red blood cells and further initiate the asexual replication cycle. Some of the merozoites differentiate into male and female gametocytes, which are the only parasite form that can be transmitted from humans to the mosquito vector.

Scientists have developed an accelerated protocol to generate functional oligodendrocytes for the treatment of multiple sclerosis

In one of our previous blogs we have described that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by brain inflammation, which arises when the nervous system is attacked by the body’s own immune cells. MS can develop because of viral infection, genetic defects or environmental factors. As yet, the exact etiology of the disease is unfortunately unknown.

In the first part, we outlined the steps in differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to pancreatic β cells. Here, we discuss how patient-specific pluripotent stem cells provide better therapeutic options.

Management of diabetes is a major health concern and recent research in pluripotent stem cells shows promise in effective therapy. We provide a comprehensive outlook in our three part series.