Stay alert to the latest and greatest on stem cells. Enjoy this week’s “3 Bullet Thursday,” a weekly post that we do to update you on interesting and important events within the world of stem cells.
1. The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa published a landmark study this week in Nature Medicine identifying that Duchenne muscular dystrophy is actually a stem cell disease. The findings were shocking, because it has always been assumed that the muscle weakness produced by the disease results from defects of the muscle fibres. It is now known that the disease also stems from defects in the function of muscle stem cells, which could lead to new treatment approaches.
2. In a world first, vocal cords that can stretch, vibrate, and make sound were grown in the lab. Could this be early hope for the millions worldwide suffering from impaired vocal cords?
3. The most astonishing news of the week came from Dr. Rubin and colleagues, who identified that cytochalasin D can alter gene expression in the nuclei of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and induce them to become osteoblasts (bone cells). What makes this shocking is that cytochalasin D acts to break up the actin cytoskeleton, which theoretically, would terminate a cell’s ability to become a bone cell and prompt it to become a fat cell. However, Dr. Rubin discovered that cytochalasin D instead causes broken up actin to be trafficked into the nuclei of MSCs, where it induces cells to become osteoblasts. This finding that could potentially lead to exciting new methods for growing bone, repairing fractures, or reversing osteoporosis.
Bonus: In major news yesterday, Merck KGaA announced it had completed its acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation for $140 per share, a deal valued at $17.0 billion. Merck will now offer 300,000+ products, making it the new behemoth within the $130 billion life science industry.
Happy Thursday!
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