Neuroscience, Aging, & Stem Cells

You’re invited to “get real” for stem cell research

by Kristina Meek on March 1, 2012 at 8:46 am | 0 Comments

Bring It! sets the stage for fun and a great cause. Last year's Bring It! Orlando lit up the Hard Rock Live.

Many people from all walks of life are excited to see where stem cell research will lead us. Will it one day allow us to cure paralysis, regenerate tissue damaged by heart disease, or replace beta cells in diabetics… or all of the above? You may not be a scientist conducting research in a lab like our Stem Cell Research Center, but now is your opportunity to use your unique talents to help pursue these dreams. That is exactly what Sanford-Burnham’s annual fundraiser, Bring It! invites participants to do.

Sanford-Burnham in San Diego will host its fourth annual Bring It! event, in collaboration with HeadNorth, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Activity Center on April 27, 2012. This year’s theme, Get Real for Stem Cell Research, asks teams of enthusiastic supporters to showcase their knowledge of reality T.V. and thirst for fame to dominate the competition.

Making art out of science

by Andrea Moser on February 24, 2012 at 9:35 am | 0 Comments

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Erin Singer (right), with Ilyas Singec, Ph.D. and Rajesh Ambasudhan, Ph.D., two scientists in Sanford-Burnham’s Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research Center

Most interns come and go within a few months, learning from hands-on experience and making important contacts for the future. Erin Singer, who recently completed her second Sanford-Burnham internship, has created a visually stunning image of stem cells that will be displayed at the Institute in the building housing the Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center. The image illustrates the beauty of human biology and serves as a reminder of Erin’s contributions to the important research conducted at the center.

Disarming the botulinum neurotoxin

by Heather Buschman on February 23, 2012 at 11:01 am | 1 comment

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Rongsheng Jin, Ph.D., assistant professor at Sanford-Burnham

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and collaborators at the Medical School of Hannover in Germany recently discovered how the botulinum neurotoxin, a potential bioterrorism agent, survives the hostile environment in the stomach on its journey through the human body. Their study, published February 24 in Science, reveals the first 3D structure of a neurotoxin together with its bodyguard, a protein made simultaneously in the same bacterium. The bodyguard keeps the toxin safe through the gut, then lets go as the toxin enters the bloodstream. This new information also reveals the toxin’s weak spot—a point in the process that can be targeted with new therapeutics.

“Now that we better understand the structure of the bacterial machinery that was designed for highly efficient toxin protection and delivery, we can see more clearly how to break it,” said Rongsheng Jin, Ph.D., assistant professor in Sanford-Burnham’s Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center and senior author of the study.

Unusual alliances enable movement

by Guest Blogger on February 9, 2012 at 6:57 am | 1 comment

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Rongsheng Jin, Ph.D (second from the right) and researchers in his laboratory

provided by Georgia Health Sciences University

Some unusual alliances are necessary for you to wiggle your fingers, researchers report.

Understanding those relationships should enable better treatment of neuromuscular diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, which prevent muscles from taking orders from your brain, said Lin Mei, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics at Georgia Health Sciences University.

During development, neurons in the spinal cord reach out to muscle fibers to form a direct line of communication called the neuromuscular junction. Once complete, motor neurons send chemical messengers, called acetylcholine, via that junction so you can text, walk, or breathe.

Two Sanford-Burnham researchers named AAAS Fellows

by Communications Staff on December 23, 2011 at 6:00 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. John Reed and Dr. Stuart Lipton

Sanford-Burnham is a highly collaborative institute, embracing opportunities to connect with scientists nationwide, so perhaps the greatest honor our researchers can receive is the recognition of their peers. Our CEO John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., and Director of our Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center, Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., have been named as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. This year’s honorees were formally announced today in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science.

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Stem cell “Collaboratory” opens in La Jolla

by Heather Buschman on December 2, 2011 at 3:36 pm | 0 Comments

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Dr. Robert Wechsler-Reya (left) and Dr. Evan Snyder at the grand opening of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. Both of these stem cell researchers will soon relocate their labs to the new "collaboratory." (Photo credit: Mark Dastrup)

“Patient advocates: this is our day!” Lorraine Stiehl shouted, rallying the crowed assembled on November 29 to witness the grand opening of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, a new 150,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art research facility located in the Torrey Pines Mesa life science research cluster in La Jolla, a northern coastal area of San Diego, Calif.

Ms. Stiehl is a patient advocate coordinator for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the $3 billion stem cell agency created after California voters approved ballot measure Prop 71 in 2004. CIRM, and patient advocates like Ms. Stiehl, have played a huge role in bringing the Sanford Consortium to fruition. CIRM contributed $43 million to the project and patients are the reason that the consortium’s scientists are doing what they do—working to advance our understanding of stem cell biology and ultimately find new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and many other conditions.

“You see 150,00 square feet of new research space,” Ms. Stiehl continued. “We see 150,000 square feet of hope, 150,000 square feet of empowerment.”

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Dedicated to Christopher Reeve: Hot Topics in Stem Cell Biology 2011

by Heather Buschman on November 8, 2011 at 9:48 am | 1 comment

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Sanford-Burnham's Dr. Evan Snyder, the event's organizer and one of the speakers

Some of the world’s premier stem cell researchers will engage in a spirited discussion of what’s happening right now in stem cell research on Monday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Sponsored by EMD Millipore, the 8^th Annual Christopher Reeve Hot Topics in Stem Cell Biology gathering will be held in conjunction with Neuroscience 2011, the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting. Throughout the evening, each researcher will highlight a single research topic followed by a brief discussion. This unique, rapid-fire forum moves beyond the scientific stump speech to showcase the state-of-the-art in stem cell research.

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Stem Cell Awareness Day at Sanford-Burnham

by Heather Buschman on October 13, 2011 at 11:53 am | 0 Comments

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Brandon Nelson, manager of Sanford-Burnham's Stem Cell Research Center, welcomes visitors.

On October 5, we opened our La Jolla campus to the San Diego community in honor of Stem Cell Awareness Day. Despite the rain and wind, a number of people from the San Diego Blood Bank, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, local schools, and elsewhere dropped by to learn about stem cell research and the promise these special cells hold for discovering the root causes of disease, finding new treatments, and ultimately improving the human condition.

Using stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease

by Heather Buschman on September 26, 2011 at 7:13 am | 0 Comments

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Neurons derived from embryonic stem cells

When neurons that make a chemical called dopamine are slowly destroyed, nerve cells in that part of the brain cannot properly send the messages that would normally control muscle function. As the damage gets worse with time, a person experiences tremors and movement becomes difficult. This is Parkinson’s disease.

In short, Parkinson’s patients need more dopamine. Or, better yet, new neurons that produce dopamine on their own. In a paper published August 25 in the journal PLoS ONE, a team led by Dr. Stuart Lipton, director of Sanford-Burnham’s Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research Center, demonstrates how this therapeutic approach might be possible.

Recycling fat to live longer?

by Heather Buschman on September 6, 2011 at 9:00 am | 0 Comments

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Germline-less C. elegans nematodes with an autophagy marker shown in green. (Image courtesy of the Hansen lab)

Aging is generally accepted as a universal fact of life, but how do humans and other organisms age at the molecular level?

At Sanford-Burnham, a team led by Dr. Malene Hansen uses a type of worm called Caenorhabditis elegans to work out the molecular underpinnings of the aging process. Recently, they found that two cellular processes—lipid metabolism and autophagy—work together to influence worms’ lifespan. Autophagy, a major mechanism cells use to digest and recycle their own contents, has become the subject of intense scientific scrutiny over the past few years, particularly since the process (or its malfunction) has been implicated in many human diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. (See Autophagy 101.)

The Hansen group’s latest study, published online September 8 in Current Biology, provides a more detailed understanding of the roles autophagy and lipid metabolism play in aging.

“The particular worm model we used in this study is known to live longer than normal worms, but we didn’t completely understand why,” said Dr. Hansen, assistant professor in Sanford-Burnham’s Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center and senior author of the study. “Our results suggest that increased autophagy has an anti-aging effect, possibly by promoting the activity of a fat-digesting enzyme. In other words, it seems that recycling fat is a good thing—at least for worms.”

Autophagy 101

by Bruce Lieberman on September 5, 2011 at 7:34 am | 0 Comments

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An autophagosome full of degraded old cell parts, as viewed under an electron microscope. (Image by Malcolm Woods, The Scripps Research Institute)

Every well-run house needs someone to clean up the clutter, prune the hedges, and rake up the leaves, even whip up something to eat when the refrigerator is empty. In the life of a cell, those kinds of jobs are handled by an incredible process called autophagy.

Biologists first observed autophagy in the early 1960s as a mechanism by which cells break down their own components and recycle the parts. Autophagy, which literally means “to eat oneself,” is essential to cell survival, particularly when food is scarce.

But there’s a much larger role for autophagy than just helping a cell survive starvation. The process helps cells dispose of malfunctioning parts, clean up clutter, and defend against invading pathogens.

A visit from Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

by Kristina Meek on September 2, 2011 at 8:58 am | 0 Comments

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CEO Dr. John Reed (left) and Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

Sanford-Burnham often welcomes public figures or community leaders onto its campuses to share the work taking place at the Institute. Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, U.S. Representative for California’s 52nd congressional district, expressed his gratitude at having drug discovery illuminated for him during a recent visit to the Institute’s La Jolla campus.

During his tour, Congressman Hunter met with Brandon Nelson, manager of the Stem Cell Core, one of Sanford-Burnham’s valuable Shared Resources. Nelson presented some recent advances in stem cell biology, including how researchers are using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to generate heart and nerve cells. With this tool, scientists are able to model diseases in a dish and test potential new medicines. Congressman Hunter even took a look at beating cardiomyocytes (heart cells) under a microscope.

How to make to new neurons

by Bruce Lieberman on August 31, 2011 at 9:55 am | 0 Comments

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Neurons (Image courtesy of the Lipton lab)

Imagine the ability to take skin cells from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, convert them directly into brain cells, and then study how the disease progresses in those cells—which still contain the patient’s DNA—all in the lab, with minimal invasiveness on the part of the patient. Then imagine taking those same brain cells and testing novel but risky drugs that could cure the devastating disease—again, in the safety of a dish in the lab.

Researchers are on their way to achieving this remarkable milestone. Dr. Stuart Lipton at Sanford-Burnham, Dr. Sheng Ding at the Gladstone Institutes, and their collaborators recently figured out how to reprogram skin cells directly into functioning neurons. The study was published online July 28 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

“This technology should allow us to very rapidly model neurodegenerative diseases in a dish by making nerve cells from individual patients in just a matter of days, rather than the months required previously,” Dr. Lipton says in a statement released by the Gladstone Institutes.

The paper is one of several recent studies that are all zeroing in on a long-sought-after advance in stem cell science: the potential to obtain unlimited numbers of brain cells from an easily accessible tissue such as the skin.

Developments to Watch: New frontier in Alzheimer’s disease

by Communications Staff on August 24, 2011 at 10:26 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Evan Snyder (right) interviews Dr. Stuart Lipton in Medscape's "Developments to Watch"

Medscape, a physician-oriented website run by WebMD, visited Sanford-Burnham’s La Jolla campus this summer to record interviews with researchers from both Orlando and San Diego for a new online video program called Developments to Watch. The talk show-like discussions are hosted by Dr. Evan Snyder, who directs the Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology Program at Sanford-Burnham. The first episode, A New Frontier in Alzheimer’s Disease, is now available. In the video, Dr. Snyder speaks with Dr. Stuart Lipton, director of the Del E. Web Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center, about his work on Alzheimer’s disease. They discuss what new findings—and potential treatments—are on the horizon and how they might impact patients.

A user name and password are required to access Medscape, but the site and content are free. New installments will be added monthly.

Watch the video, then come back here to let us know what you think!

For more about our research on Alzheimer’s disease, check out these blog posts:
Getting to the root of Alzheimer’s disease
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Earlier
New Partnership Targets Brain Conditions
Safely Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Saying NO to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases

Getting to the root of Alzheimer’s disease

by Heather Buschman on August 17, 2011 at 5:47 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Stuart Lipton

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by abnormal proteins that stick together in little globs, disrupting cognitive function (thinking, learning, and memory). These sticky proteins are mostly made up of beta-amyloid peptide. A better understanding of these proteins, how they form, and how they affect brain function will no doubt improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. To this end, a research team led by Dr. Stuart Lipton‘s group found that beta-amyloid-induced destruction of synapses—the connections that mediate communication between nerve cells—is driven by a chemical modification to an enzyme called Cdk5. The team found that this altered form of Cdk5 (SNO-Cdk5) was prevalent in human Alzheimer’s disease brains, but not in normal brains. These results, published August 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, suggest that SNO-Cdk5 could be targeted for the development of new Alzheimer’s disease therapies.

Cdk5 is an enzyme known to play a role in normal neuronal survival and migration. In this study, Dr. Lipton and colleagues found that beta-amyloid peptides, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, trigger Cdk5 modification by a chemical process called S-nitrosylation. In this reaction, nitric oxide (NO) is attached to the enzyme, producing SNO-Cdk5 and disrupting its normal activity.

Top Stories - Neuroscience, Aging, & Stem Cells

You’re invited to “get real” for stem cell research

Making art out of science

Disarming the botulinum neurotoxin

Unusual alliances enable movement

Two Sanford-Burnham researchers named AAAS Fellows

Stem cell “Collaboratory” opens in La Jolla

Dedicated to Christopher Reeve: Hot Topics in Stem Cell Biology 2011

Stem Cell Awareness Day at Sanford-Burnham

Using stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease

Recycling fat to live longer?

Autophagy 101

A visit from Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

How to make to new neurons

Developments to Watch: New frontier in Alzheimer’s disease

Getting to the root of Alzheimer’s disease

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