StemJournal - Volume 2, issue 1

Authors: Meissner, Torsten B. | Cowan, Chad A.

Article Type: Position Paper

Abstract: The immune barrier to transplantation has widely been recognized as the ultimate hurdle to the translation of stem cell-based therapies. In particular the polymorphic nature of the human leucocyte antigens (HLA) poses an imminent barrier to the successful engraftment of cells from other than autologous sources. To make stem cell therapies available to a larger pool of patients and a commercially viable option several groups have attempted to create hypoimmunogenic “universal” donor stem cells that evaded immune detection. The goal of this commentary is to give a brief overview of the current approaches taken and discuss challenges that need …to be addressed to turn such cells into a viable commercial option. Show more

Keywords: Cell therapy, gene editing, graft rejection, transplantation

DOI: 10.3233/STJ-200002

Citation: StemJournal, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-5, 2020

Authors: Alvarez-Dominguez, Juan R. | Donaghey, Julie | Rasouli, Niloofar | Kenty, Jennifer H. R. | Helman, Aharon | Charlton, Jocelyn | Straubhaar, Juerg R. | Meissner, Alexander | Melton, Douglas A.

Article Type: Other

Abstract: Stem cell-derived tissues that recap endogenous physiology are key for regenerative medicine. Yet, most methods yield products that function like fetal, not adult tissues. Organoids are typically grown in constant environments, while our tissues mature along with behavioral cycles. Here, we show that inducing circadian rhythms in pancreatic islet organoids, by entraining them to daily feeding-fasting cycles, elicits their metabolic maturation. Our results show that rhythms can be harnessed to further functional maturation of organoids destined for human therapeutics.

Keywords: Organoids, insulin-secreting cells, islets of langerhans transplantation, epigenome, circadian rhythm

DOI: 10.3233/STJ-209001

Citation: StemJournal, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 7-13, 2020