Published:Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Updated:Tuesday, January 14, 2014 18:01

A new tool that could help facilitate future stem cell therapy has recently been identified by a UVM professor and his colleagues, according to UVMs College of Medicine.

The development of this tool could potentially help more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year.

Because stem cells have the potential to develop into a variety of cell types in the body, they may offer a renewable source of replacement cells to treat diseases, conditions and disabilities, and even regenerate damaged tissue and organs.

However, the field of regenerative medicine has struggled to successfully graft cells from culture back into injured tissue.

UVM Associate Professor of Medicine Jeffrey Spees, Ph.D., collaborated with the Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane University. His research team recently set out to develop ways to enhance graft success.

Dr. Spees and his team focused on a type of bone marrow-derived progenitor cell or biological cell that forms stromal cells or connective tissue cells.

They found that the medium contained Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and the hormone insulin, and together, they have a synergistic effect, Spees said to UVMs College of Medicine.

The group found that the protective ligands resulted in improved graft success, breaking the record for engraftment.

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New tool assists stem cell therapy