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CellDesign Announces Stem Cell
Products
CellDesign, Inc. announced March 12 the introduction of a new set of
novel stem cell-based products for researchers studying obesity and
diabetes. These commercially available products, based on the
development of two human adult stem cell lines designated as ACT-I and
ACT-II, can be used to generate unlimited supplies of human white and
brown fat, respectively, the company said.
The results of studies of the
products will be presented at StemConn09 on March 24 in New Haven. (Click here for more on
StemCONN.)
The announcement was made at at press conference and reception at the
company's New Haven headquarters that included John DeStefano, Jr., the Mayor of New Haven,
and Joan McDonald, Connecticut's Commisioner of Economic and Community
Development, as well as scientists
and businessmen from the Connecticut life sciences community. (View
article in the New Haven Register.)
"CellDesign’s work is
tangible evidence that stem cell research is
thriving in Connecticut," said Paul Pescatello, CEO of CURE. "Through
the efforts of Governor Rell and legislative leadership, Connecticut
was the first state to award funds for stem cell research," he said.
"This vital funding has aided Yale University, the University of
Connecticut, and Wesleyan University in establishing stem cell research
centers that are attracting top scientists to the state. The
commercialization of stem cell-based products such as the ones launched
by CellDesign today will enable the broader scientific community to
study diseases like diabetes and obesity. What CellDesign has
accomplished with ACT-I and ACT-II is especially heartening since
bringing stem cell technology to the market is one of the core goals of
the state’s funding program."
The ACT-I stem
cell line was isolated from biomaterial obtained from liposuction and
the ACT-II stem cell line was derived from the matrix of umbilical cord
tissue. Both tissue sources, routinely discarded as medical waste, were
obtained with informed consent of the donors.
Both the ACT-I
and ACT-II cell lines were used to create lineage-committed
progenitors, provided as cryopreserved cells, that can be reliably
differentiated into either white or brown adipocytes.
Adipocytes are fat cells that are very important in the study of
metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, and fat gain in humans.
CellDesign has developed a set of complementary cell culture media and
user-friendly methodology to recover, differentiate and maintain these
cell lines. Their AdipoDesign Kits were developed specifically to
support the differentiation of ACT-I and ACT-II progenitor cells into
adipocytes.
By using the AdipoDesign Kits, scientists can develop human adipocytes
more quickly and easily than other methods. CellDesign has done
extensive testing to qualify the AdipoDesign Kits and ensure that
researchers can reproducibly generate robust quantities of functionally
mature human adipocytes, the company said.
The launch of
CellDesign’s first stem cell-related products derived from the adult
human stem cell lines ACT-I and ACT-II marks an important milestone for
the company and the state of Connecticut.
The
commercialization of the world's first human brown fat model was
realized as a result of a recent collaboration between CellDesign and
Dr. Gerald Shadel, Professor of Pathology and Genetics at the Yale
School of Medicine. Dr. Shadel is the recipient of the 2007 ASIP Amgen
Outstanding Investigator Award for his pioneering insights into human
disease pathology based on his studies on expression and maintenance of
mitochondrial DNA.
His lab performed key biochemical characterization studies of the stem
cell-derived brown adipocytes for markers of mitochondrial biogenesis
and gene expression. "We were very excited when we found that the human
stem cell-derived brown adipocytes produced by CellDesign expressed
mitochondrial UCP-1 (Uncoupling Protein-1), a hallmark of mitochondrial
biogenesis and regulation in brown fat," Dr. Shadel said.
He continued, "A large amount of uncoupled mitochondria is a key
metabolic feature which allows brown adipocytes to burn energy in order
to give off heat, distinguishing them from white adipocytes. This
innovative brown fat model and CellDesign's complementary white fat
model represent important new tools in helping us understand the role
of mitochondria biogenesis and function in stem cell fate decisions."
Based on these studies, CellDesign and Dr. Shadel have co-authored a
grant application for a Group Project Award which was recently
submitted to the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Grants Program.
"Insights from these studies will open new therapeutic avenues to
control obesity and diabetes," said Dr. Shadel.
The core
scientific team at CellDesign, John Hambor (CEO), Marsha Roach (VP of
Research) and Rob Heckel (Director of Product Development), previously
worked together on developing stem cell-based assays for drug discovery
applications at Pfizer in Groton, CT. Their former supervisor, Dr. John
McNeish, now Executive Director of Pfizer’s new Regenerative Medicine
Research Unit, was an early adopter of employing stem cell tools for
drug screening.
"While we were together at Pfizer, we did pioneering work in this area
over the last decade, including executing the world’s first stem
cell-based high throughput drug screen. This technology shows great
promise for biomedical science and for finding new treatments for many
debilitating diseases, especially those which have been difficult to
approach such as diabetes and obesity,” Dr. McNeish said.
He continued, "based on the accomplishments of our past joint
efforts, I am not surprised by their rapid success in bringing new,
innovative stem cell tools to the market place."
CellDesign, Connecticut’s first stem cell company, was incorporated in
May of 2008.
CellDesign now
offers two unique AdipoDesign Kits based on their ACT-I and ACT-II
human stem cell lines. Both AdipoDesign Kits provide complete
reagents including lineage-committed progenitor cells and cell culture
media optimized for their recovery, maintenance and
differentiation. Using these kits, researchers can routinely
produce either white or brown adipocytes from committed progenitor
cells derived from ACT-I or ACT-II stem cells, respectively, the
company said.
Recently, Pfizer Senior Scientist Jay Lillquist evaluated the
AdipoDesign models for human white and brown fat in his research on
diabetes. "The human white and brown adipocytes produced by the
AdipoDesign Kits show physiologically relevant responses in a variety
of assays including those that measure lipolysis, the insulin signaling
pathway, insulin-mediated glucose uptake and the production of
adipokines such as leptin and adiponectin,” he said. Lillquist added
that “the kits are very easy to use and reproducibly generate robust
numbers of either white or brown adipocytes.”
For more
information on CellDesign, visit their website at www.celldesign.com. |
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