Post-Bulletin
by Anne Halliwell

“If we’re going to successfully use reprogrammed stem cells to treat patients in the clinic, we need to ensure that they are safe and effective, that is, not prone to the risk of mutation and potential tumors,” Dr. Patricia Devaux, a Mayo Clinic molecular scientist and senior author of the article, said in the press release. “The measles virus vector has long been used safely at Mayo for treating cancer, so it is very safe. Now that we’ve combined a multiple-vectors process into one, it’s efficient as well.”

Reach: The Rochester Post-Bulletin is a daily newspaper that serves Rochester, Austin and its surrounding cities. The newspaper has a daily circulation of more than 30,000 and has more than 440,00 unique visitors to its website each month.

Context: Induced pluripotent stem cells, the workhorse of many regenerative medicine projects, start out as differentiated cells that are reprogrammed to pluripotent stem cells by exposure to a complex set of genetic cocktails. Mayo researchers now report that using the measles virus vector; they’ve trimmed that multi-vector process with four reprogramming factors down to a single “one cycle” vector process. They say the process is safe, stable, faster and usable for clinical translation. The findings appear in the journal Gene Therapy. “If we’re going to successfully use reprogrammed stem cells to treat patients in the clinic, we need to ensure that they are safe and effective, that is, not prone to the risk of mutation and potential tumors,” says Patricia Devaux, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic molecular scientist and senior author of the article. “The measles virus vector has long been used safely at Mayo for treating cancer, so it is very safe. Now that we’ve combined a multiple-vectors process into one, it’s efficient as well.” You can read more about the study on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Bob Nellis

Tags: Dr. Patricia Devaux, Induced pluripotent stem cells, Post Bulletin, regenerative medicine, Uncategorized