Stem cells and oxygen

Controlling stem cell expansion and differentiation is necessary for several of the expected future uses of human stem cells in regenerative medicine. The stem cell research group has chosen to concentrate on the possible role of oxygen tension for stem cell replication and differentiation. We aim at becoming able to deliver human stem cells derived from cord blood and other tissues and to determine how to take advantage of in vitro oxygen tension to control in vitro cell phenotypes. In 2002 the group?s work dealt with the technical development of stem cell storage with the aim of adhering to GLP and GMP rules. The basic laboratory research dealt with isolation of non-floaters from cord blood and identification of subpopulations. No conclusion has been reached as to the interpretation of the data. A task dealt with virus infection of the placenta trophoblasts as part of the problem with vertical transmission of virus from mother to cord blood. In collaboration with the company Pantheco, results on the cellular uptake of the synthetic DNA analogue PNA were published. The work demonstrates progress in the development of a method for this antisense compound?s slow uptake in human cells, which is a prerequisite for possible clinical use. Finally we demonstrated the presence of a hypoxia-responsive element of a human enzyme inhibitor of importance for blood coagulation. The stem cell group is funded by three networks: an EU international collaboration on optimising in vitro oxygen tension control (co-ordinator: Peter Ebbesen), a national stem cell network funded by the Danish Medical Research Council, and finally a biotechnology network with participation of private companies and funded by the National Agency for Enterprise and Housing. (Peter Ebbesen,Vladimir Zachar,Trine Fink; Uffe Koppelhus, University of Copenhagen; Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Humboldt University, Germany; Max Gassmann, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Ian Stratford, Victoria University of Manchester, England; Thomas Kietzmann, Georg-August-Universität, Goettingen, Germany; M.O. de Landázuri, Hospital de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain; Jorma Keski-Oja, University of Helsinki, Finland; Xavier Leverve, Joseph Fourier University, France; Erik Pettersen, University of Oslo, Norway; Lorenz Poellinger, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; Patrick Maxwell, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, England; Ferenc Tóth, University Medical School, Hungary; Gerald Urban, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany; Hans Will, Heinrich-Pette-Institut, Germany; Silvia Pastorekova, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic)