Breastmilk to provide stem cells

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

"The benefit of obtaining stem cells from breastmilk is that they can be accessed non-invasively." Image: ChepeNicoli/iStockphoto Human breastmilk has the potential to help people suffering from diseases including Parkinson's disease and diabetes, according to a researcher at The University of Western Australia. Dr Foteini Hassiotou presented her findings at the National finals at the 2011 AusBiotech Conference in Adelaide and was the national winner of the AusBiotech-GSK Student Excellence Awards. Dr Hassiotou, a member of the UWA Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group, has discovered that human breastmilk contains stem cells which are able to turn into not only breast cells, but also cells of the bone, cartilage, fat, brain, liver and pancreas, depending on the medium in which they are grown. "The benefit of obtaining stem cells from breastmilk is that they can be accessed non-invasively, unlike getting them from the bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood," she said. "If we can understand the properties of these cells and their role in the breast and in the breast-fed baby, we can use them as models for breast cancer research and in innovative stem cell therapies. "Stem cell therapy is a very promising technology.  Every year there are more than 1,000 stem cell transplants in Australia and over 60,000 around the world.  The limitations of the current therapies are that the transplanted stem cells are accessed using invasive methods and have limited differentiation potential.  Breastmilk offers a new exciting opportunity for stem cell therapies, with the potential to benefit not only the mother and child, but also other people." Dr Hassiotou said that she is currently examining the in vivo transplantation potential of milk stem cells into animals. Her supervisors are Winthrop Professor Peter Hartmann, head of the 30-year old Human Lactation Research Group of UWA, and Professor Luis Filgueira, an expert in cell development and function. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Cervical cancer rates higher in Aboriginals

MARY-ANNE ROMANO, SCIENCENETWORK WA

To date, cervical cancer is the 18th most common cause of death from cancer for women in Australia. Image: janulla/iStockphoto A new international study has found that Aboriginal women have a significantly higher rate of cervical cancer and dying from it than non-indigenous women in Australia. The study, ‘Cervical cancer in Indigenous women: The case of Australia,’ published earlier this month in Maturitas, has found that Indigenous women have 2 to 5 times higher age standardised incidences and have a 3 to 18 times higher death rate from cervical cancer. According to the WA Cancer Registry, there have been 19 incidences of cervical cancer and 15 deaths in WA from 2005 to 2009. Head researcher on the study, Dr Geordan Shannon of Cambridge University, says the research highlights the massive health inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women. “These health inequalities lead to higher mortality among Indigenous people at a younger age and subsequently lead to a gap in life expectancy of about 12 years,” she says. According to Dr Shannon, cervical cancer is an example of an inequity in Australia’s health outcomes. “Such high incidences and subsequent mortality from cervical cancer is a shocking outcome for Indigenous women who live in such a well resourced country with a great health system.” One of the main reasons for these high figures is attributed to poor screening amongst Indigenous women, with about half to two-thirds the cervical screening participation of non-Indigenous Australian women. This is echoed by the WA Cervical Cancer Prevention Program (WACCPP) who, through their own ongoing research, says Indigenous women are less likely to have regular pap smears. In addition, WACCPP Program Manager Nerida Steel, says there are other factors that may limit indigenous women from engaging in regular cervical screening practices. “There is a sensitivity in discussing the topic in Aboriginal communities, embarrassment, anxiety or fear about the procedure,” she says. “A difficulty in accessing services, for example, transport, a lack of a female GP, trained pap smear provider or trained female Aboriginal Health Workers are also issues.” For Ms Steel, gaining an insight into why indigenous women do not take preventative steps is an ongoing commitment. “WACCPP is committed to developing culturally safe and appropriate strategies to increase participation of cervical screenings among Aboriginal women in Western Australian communities,” she says. These approaches include employing full-time Aboriginal Health Promotion Officers to liaise with both metropolitan and rural indigenous women and holding culturally appropriate education sessions for indigenous women and health professionals. To date, cervical cancer is the 18th most common cause of death from cancer for women in Australia. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Study finds ‘dengue genes’

AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH

"2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk from dengue infection, yet we still do not have any specific treatments or licensed vaccines." Image: Henrik_L/iStockphoto Researchers in South East Asia have identified two genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to severe dengue. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, offers clues to how the body responds to dengue infection.   Dengue is globally the most common mosquito-borne infection after malaria, with an estimated 100 million infections occurring annually. Symptoms range from mild to incapacitating high fever, with potentially life-threatening complications. No clinically-approved vaccine or specific treatments exist for the disease.   In children, severe dengue is characterised by increased vascular permeability, a state in which blood plasma is able to ‘leak’ from blood vessels to surrounding tissues. This is a potentially deadly complication that can lead to dengue shock syndrome – a life-threatening form of hypovolemic shock caused by a decrease in the volume of blood plasma. Epidemiological studies have suggested that certain populations are more susceptible to severe dengue, implying that some people’s genetic make-up makes them more susceptible to the disease.   To test this hypothesis, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Vietnam Research Programme and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, together with researchers from the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a research institute under A*STAR, conducted the first ever genome-wide association study to compare the genomes of children with severe dengue against population controls. Initially, they compared 2,008 patients against 2,018 controls. They then replicated their findings in an independent follow-up sample of 1,737 cases and 2,934 controls.   The findings are published in the journal Nature Genetics. The researchers identified changes in the DNA code located within two genes – MICB on chromosome 6 and PLCE1 on chromosome 10 – that appeared to increase a child’s susceptibility to dengue shock syndrome.   MICB is known to play a role the body’s immune system and the researchers believe that a variant of this gene may affect the activation of natural killer cells or CD8 T-cells, two types of cells that play a key role in combating viral infection. If these cells are not properly functioning, their ability to rid the body of the dengue virus becomes impaired. This hypothesis is consistent with evidence that increased viral loads occur in the tissues of patients with severe dengue.   Mutations in PLCE1 have previously been linked to nephrotic syndrome, a childhood disease characterised by impairment of the normal barrier and blood filtering functions of cells in the kidney. The researchers believe that PLCE1 may also contribute to the normal functioning of the vascular endothelium, the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels, with some variants of PLCE1 predisposing an individual to leakage from the blood vessels, the hallmark clinical feature of dengue shock syndrome.   Professor Cameron Simmons, senior author of the study from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam, said: “Dengue is a potentially life-threatening disease. Our study confirms epidemiological evidence that some people are naturally more susceptible to severe forms of the disease than others. Our findings offer tantalising clues as to why this should be the case and open up new avenues for us to explore to help us understand the disease.”   Dr Khor Chiea Chuen, first author of the study, added: “This study implicates genetic variation within our natural killer cells as a highly suspicious culprit for increased susceptibility to severe Dengue. This is extremely surprising as prior to this it was thought that defects in other components of the immune response, such as. T-cells, B-cells or dendritic cells, were responsible. However, they did not show up in our large, well-powered genome scan.”   Combating infectious diseases is one the strategic priorities of the Wellcome Trust. Much of this work is carried out at a local level in regions where disease is endemic. This includes several major overseas programmes, including the Wellcome Trust’s Vietnam Research Programme.   Joint senior author Dr Martin Hibberd, Senior Group Leader at the GIS, said: “This study has shown the value of international collaboration, with team leaders from the Genome Institute of Singapore and the Oxford University Clinical Reseach Unit in Vietnam, working together to understand the mechanisms leading to severe dengue disease.”   Commenting on the research, Professor Danny Altmann, Head of Pathogens, Immunology and Population Health at the Wellcome Trust, said: “The World Health Organization estimates that two-fifths of the world’s population – 2.5 billion people – are at risk from dengue infection, yet we still do not have any specific treatments or licensed vaccines. This study, the first of its kind for dengue, is a step along the road towards understanding and eventually combating this deadly disease.” Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.