Functional blood vessels from hESCs durable for at least 151 days

A really pushing-the-limits paper published by the Scadden lab as a Brief Communication in Nature Biotechnology Advance Online, just like the De Coppi, Atala et al. paper on human amniotic stem cells in January. This time human embryonic stem (hES) cells were differentiated into endothelial cells using a scalable step-by-step two-dimensional method, avoiding the formation of three-dimensional (3D) embryoid bodies from the cells and the inefficient spontaneous differentiation. The selected culture cells were labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) to track their in vivo life after transplantation into immunodeficient (SCID) mice (see the green visualization on the picture). The differentiated cells were able to form functional blood vessels in vivo and “contributed to arborized blood vessels that integrated into the host circulatory system and served as blood conduits for 150 d”. Zack Z Wang, Patrick Au, Tong Chen, Ying Shao, Laurence M Daheron, Hao Bai, Melanie Arzigian, Dai Fukumura, Rakesh K Jain & David T Scadden: Endothelial cells derived from human embryonic stem cells form durable blood vessels in vivo

Significance: Scalability in tissue engineering,

80 year old Lokey’s $33 million donation for Stanford Stem Cell Labs

Such a Californian story: Lorry I. Lokey, the founder of Business Wire will give a minimum of $33 million to help build a home for Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Lokey says: “The important thing to me is that stem cells might not only extend life, but also improve the quality of life, as so many people suffer in their later years,” said Lokey, who will turn 80 in March. “But I think stem cells will have applications across the entire life span.” Lokey’s contribution to the School of Medicine—its largest single gift to date from an individual—will launch construction of new stem cell laboratories on campus where scientists will probe the power of these elusive cells in treating conditions as diverse as cancer, stroke and diabetes. Lokey launched Business Wire in San Francisco in 1961 with $2,000 of his own money. It quickly grew to become a news industry powerhouse, now distributing an average of 17,000 corporate and academic press releases a month. “The biotech revolution has become so important to the quality of life,” he said. “To me, the biotech field is going to be very, very hot for the next generation.” Link