International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO), www.internationalstemcell.com,
together with colleagues from ViaCyte (formerly Novocell), announced the
successful derivation from its human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs)
of enriched cultures of definitive endoderm (DE). DE can be further
developed into pancreas or liver cells. These new results create a
platform for the development by ISCO of therapeutic products that have
great potential to overcome the problem of rejection of transplanted
cells by the patient's own immune system.
The results are described in a new article that will appear in Differentiation,
the official journal of the International Society of Differentiation,
published by Elsevier. The article concludes that, "Creation of the
definitive endoderm lineages from hpSC represents the critical first
step toward the development of hpSC-based cellular therapies for
diseases of the liver or pancreas."
The article also describes improvement in an earlier published
differentiation protocol. This new method extends ISCO's portfolio of
intellectual property, demonstrating for the first time that the
pre-treatment of undifferentiated cells by trichostatin A (TSA)
significantly improves the efficacy of the differentiation procedure.
"This work represents a step forward in our ability to direct the
differentiation of hpSCs to cell populations of sufficient purity for
their eventual use to produce commercially viable populations of
endoderm lineage cells such as liver and pancreas," said Nikolay
Turovets, PhD, ISCO's Director of Research and Therapeutic Development,
and the paper's co-author.
The published work was carried out in collaboration with scientists from
ViaCyte, a leader in the direct differentiation of pluripotent stem
cells toward definitive endoderm and pancreatic cells. The ViaCyte team
was led by Dr. Baetge, currently Director of the Nestlé Institute of
Health Sciences S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland, and Dr. D'Amour, ViaCyte's
Director of Stem Cell Biology, both pioneers in the development of
endoderm from human embryonic stem cells.
Andrey Semechkin, PhD, ISCO's CEO and the paper's co-author, said: "The
fact that hpSC could be differentiated into progenitors of pancreatic
and liver cells has now become a proven scientific fact. This data
establishes hpSCs as a useful source of starting material in stem-cell
based technologies and demonstrates excellent progress in therapeutic
research."
According to earlier published scientific data, the most efficient
method for deriving pancreatic and liver cells from human pluripotent
stem cells is a method of direct differentiation that utilizes treatment
of the stem cell cultures by specific signals directing differentiation
toward particular lineages. Therefore it is extremely important that
stem cells used for the differentiation process are able to respond to
such signaling. Dr. Semechkin commented, "In this published paper we
report for the first time that hpSCs can respond to well characterized
differentiation signals. Moreover, we demonstrate that these unique
cells respond to similar signaling factors and demonstrate gene
expression dynamics and transitions that simulate properties of DE
differentiation during vertebrate development and closely follow
differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to DE. These data are
extremely important as they demonstrate that hpSCs have therapeutic
potential; however, parthenogenetic stem cells have an additional
benefit of superior immune-matching capabilities and don't pose the same
ethical questions associated with embryonic stem cells."
The Abstract of the paper is available on the Elsevier web site. The
title of the paper is: "Human parthenogenetic stem cells produce
enriched populations of definitive endoderm cells after trichostatin A
pretreatment."
Full text article can be obtained upon request to corresponding author,
Nikolay Turovets, PhD: nturovets@intlstemcell.com.
Additional information regarding ISCO's therapeutic projects is
available on the ISCO website: http://www.internationalstemcell.com/therapeutics.htm.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL CORPORATION (ISCO.OB):
International Stem Cell Corporation is a California-based biotechnology
company focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic
stem cells and the development and commercialization of cell-based
research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis,
results in creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized
oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or
destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the
first parthenogenic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of
therapeutic cells with minimal immune rejection after transplantation
into hundreds of millions of individuals of differing sexes, ages and
racial groups. This offers the potential to create the first true stem
cell bank, UniStemCell™, while avoiding the ethical issue of using
fertilized eggs. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and
growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary
Lifeline Cell Technology and cell-based skin care products through its
subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care. More information is available at ISCO's
website, www.internationalstemcell.com.
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements pertaining to anticipated technological developments and
potential therapeutic applications, and other opportunities for the
company and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the
future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by
management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that
are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that
contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates,"
"expects," "estimates,") should also be considered to be forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or
commercialization of potential products, uncertainty in the results of
clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain
future capital, application of capital resources among competing uses,
and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may
differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking
statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many
uncertainties that affect the company's business, particularly those
mentioned in the cautionary statements found in the company's Securities
and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any intent or
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Key Words: Stem Cells, Biotechnology, Parthenogenesis
International Stem Cell Corporation
Kenneth C. Aldrich, Chairman
760-940-6383
kaldrich@intlstemcell.com
or
Nikolay
Turovets, PhD
nturovets@intlstemcell.com |
