'Off-the-Shelf' Immunotherapy: Manufacture of CD8 T Cells Derived from Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Cellular immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment. However, autologous transplants are complex, costly, and limited by the number and quality of T cells that can be isolated from and expanded for re-infusion into each patient. This paper demonstrates a stromal support cell-free in vitro method for the differentiation of T cells from umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).

Progress in bio-manufacture of platelets for transfusion.

Blood transfusion services face an ever-increasing demand for donor platelets to meet clinical needs. Whilst strategies for increasing platelet storage life and improving the efficiency of donor platelet collection are important, in the longer term, platelets generated by bio-manufacturing processes will be required to meet demands. Production of sufficient numbers of in vitro-derived platelets for transfusion represents a significant bioengineering challenge.

Potent agonists of a hematopoietic stem cell cytokine receptor, c-Mpl.

Several growth factors feature prominently in the control of hematopoiesis. Thrombopoietin, a class I hematopoietic cytokine, plays critical roles in regulating hematopoietic stem cell numbers and also stimulates the production and differentiation of megakaryocytes, the bone marrow cells that ultimately produce platelets. Thrombopoietin interacts with the c-Mpl cell-surface receptor.

Importance of the C-terminal domain of Harc for binding to Hsp70 and Hop as well as its response to heat shock.

Hsp90 is a molecular chaperone that acts in concert with Hsp70 to mediate the folding of many important regulatory proteins (e.g., protein kinases) into functional conformations.

Structure of the insulin receptor ectodomain reveals a folded-over conformation.

The insulin receptor is a phylogenetically ancient tyrosine kinase receptor found in organisms as primitive as cnidarians and insects. In higher organisms it is essential for glucose homeostasis, whereas the closely related insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) is involved in normal growth and development. The insulin receptor is expressed in two isoforms, IR-A and IR-B; the former also functions as a high-affinity receptor for IGF-II and is implicated, along with IGF-1R, in malignant transformation.