International group unveils trove of embryonic stem cell data
“You could call this an encyclopedia of embryonic stem cells,” said Martin Pera, director of the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and member of the International Stem Cell Initiative (ISCI) steering committee.
The study, which appears in the July 2007 issue of Nature Biotechnology and is available online, compared 59 lines of stem cells from 17 laboratories around the world and assessed the similarities and differences in the expression of many common molecular markers.
Researchers also identified certain cell surface antigens and developmentally regulated genes that characterize all human embryonic stem cell lines isolated to date, despite the cell lines’ variety of genetic backgrounds and growth conditions. The similarities identified in the study will help set benchmarks for future stem cell work, Pera said.
The next phase of the initiative will be to assess the various forms of culture media upon which stem cells are grown, as well as address the genetic stability of stem cell lines, Pera said. The huge scope of research the ISCI addresses necessitates the large-scale international collaboration between stem cell research entities, he says.
The study will be an excellent springboard for future stem cell characterization and research, leaders of the ISCI said.
The ISCI is a working group of the International Stem Cell Forum, which aims to encourage collaboration and support in the development of new stem cell applications as well as promote good research practices. U.S. research entities, including the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, are heavily involved in the forum.
“Work on this scale would not have been possible without a large, coordinated international effort,” Pera said. “More laboratories are joining the ISCI even now for the next phase of its work. It is unique in the embryonic stem cell field in terms of international collaborative studies—there is nothing like the ISCI.”
Pera said an overarching goal of the forum and the initiative is to spark more large-scale collaboration and cooperation in the hunt for stem cell knowledge and its potentially lifesaving applications.
“I hope that the ISCI will create a precedent for future international collaborations in stem cell research,” Pera said.
“The role for such effort lies in addressing questions where data from large numbers of stem cell lines from many different laboratories are required to reach overarching conclusions about the properties of stem cells or the techniques used to study them,” he added.
Peter W. Andrews, Nissim Benvenisty, Barbara B. Knowles, Ronald D. G., Martin F. Pera, Janet Rossant, Henrik Semb, Glyn N. Stacey, Steve K. W. Oh, “Characteristics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines: Results from the International Stem Cell Initiative.” Nature Biotechnology, July 2007: Vol. 25, No. 7 (803-816).
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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