There are many benefits to the introduction of iPSC-derived therapies including improved patient quality of life, decreased clinical drug attrition rates, and reduced pressure on healthcare systems. However, there is still much work to be done before these therapies can become clinically available [1,2]. In this post, we will explore three challenges currently facing the widespread introduction of iPSC therapies to regenerative medicine.
Stem cell therapeutics promise to solve many medical and scientific problems. However, the introduction of these therapies is limited by our lack of knowledge about their effects in humans. In this post, we will review four future applications of clinical-grade induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in medicine and research – including their use in drug discovery and regenerative therapeutics.
Precision medicine is rapidly having an impact on how drugs are discovered and developed, how patients are diagnosed and treated, and how health care delivery is channeling its resources to maximize patient benefits. In this post, we describe 5 key benefits of the movement and its potential to revolutionize the future research and medical landscape.
Oral administration continues to be the most common route of drug delivery. As pharmacological development costs continue to rise, ADME/DMPK researchers are keen to pursue models which can more effectively predict human bioavailability. In this post we will explore why accurate prediction of gastrointestinal (GI) permeability is important, and list four key benefits to using fresh human tissue to estimate drug permeability.
Ussing chambers represent a flexible and cost-effective means of investigating mucosal drug transport or drug-mediated effects on tissue behavior, including ion transport, drug metabolism and absorption. In this post, we will describe how the Ussing system can be used to accurately predict the bioavailability of test articles before clinical trial.
Many stem cell projects expand to a point where standard culture methods—plates, dishes, flasks, etc.—no longer yield sufficient cells to meet the growing needs for differentiation and regenerative medicine. At this point, larger scale options are required. Traditional bioreactors provide large volume cell culture of liters to hundreds of liters, but they are expensive to buy and expensive to operate. New small scale bioreactors fill the niche between these two extremes perfectly, providing increased cell production over plates or dishes, while being cost-effective to buy and operate.
Regenerative medicine promises a healthier workforce and increased quality of life. However, the introduction of regenerative therapies will require careful regulatory and technical considerations from both researchers and clinicians. In this blog post, we describe four informative TED Talks that explore the future of regenerative medicine and the limitations preventing its introduction.
Planning an immunocytochemistry (ICC) project can be tricky as it requires careful selection of compatible antibodies, fluorochromes, and blocking reagents. In this article our scientists have provided a step-by-step guide for single staining of iPSCs, plus trouble-shooting tips to optimize your results.
In celebration of our distributorship with NeuCyte, REPROCELL catches up with NeuCyte’s Head of Neuroscience, Dr Daniel Haag, to discuss the benefits of SynFire technology. Read on to find out the science behind this technology, and how using human neural models can benefit your drug discovery and toxicology research.
What is Spinocerebellar Ataxia?
Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a group of inherited, genetically heterogeneous disorders which are characterised by ocular motor abnormalities, cognitive dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy and progressive cerebellar ataxia. In general, the prevalence of SCA is between 2-7/100,000 individuals with more than 30 subtypes being identified, each caused by a mutation of a different gene.
PolyQ SCAs including SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, SCA7 and SCA17 are caused by an extensive CAG sequence repeat which encodes for expanded polyglutamine residues within the ATXN3 gene. The only currently approved treatment option for patients suffering with this debilitating, progressive disease is Ceredist, however this only provides palliative treatment in reducing or relieving frequency and severity of symptoms. Stem cell therapy is offering hope, with evidence of potential efficacy being demonstrated in a phase I/II clinical trial using stem cells isolated and cultured from human adipose tissue.
