Recent Patents on Regenerative Medicine - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2012

Collagens are a major constituent of the extracellular matrices of many biological tissues. Their structural and biological roles in animal tissues have inspired the development of regenerative therapies that incorporate collagen as a base material, thus providing a naturally recognisable surface for cell attachment and proliferation. In this review, recent collagen-related patents / patent applications are divided into three Read More

The main living element of the human body is the skeletal muscle. It is composed of myofibres and satellite cells, the adult stem cells responsible for skeletal muscle regeneration. Increasing confirmation suggests that satellite cells represent a heterogeneous population of cells with regenerative capacity and plasticity. Recent publications indicate numerous new findings in satellite and stem cells, from their developm Read More

The ability of cancer cells to divide indefinitely whilst supporting tumor growth, metastasis and invasiveness resembles the behavior of stem cells. Here, we overview the role of Polycomb (PcG)-dependent epigenetic silencing mechanisms in stem cell biology and cancer, focusing on two major PcG components, Ezh2 and Bmi1. In a recent patent, stem cell PcG targets were shown to be more prone to cancer-specific promoter D Read More

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease in which oligodendrocytes and neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) are affected. MSA is characterized by abnormal α-synuclein inclusions in oligodendrocytes, which are diagnostic of MSA. Formation of α-synuclein inclusions may be the primary lesions that eventually compromise neuronal function and viability. But little is known about the cellular m Read More

The establishment of the first culture of a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line as immortal and capable of producing virtually every cell of a human body generated high expectations regarding their potential use in regenerative medicine and research applications. The achievement of generating immortal pluripotent cells from adult tissues further raised those expectations, by ideally eliminating ethical and safety conc Read More

Finding a cure for every single disease has been the ultimate dream of mankind throughout history. To this end, generation after generation has witnessed innumerable attempts to rewrite and revise the “book of cures.” Despite the unfinished journey to find treatment for all known diseases, several universal agreements with regard to what constitute the most likely successful strategies have been reached. First, to develop a Read More

Bone grafting has come a very long way since a Dutch surgeon used pieces of a dog's skull to repair a soldier's cranium in the 17th Century. Current technology aims to deliver a scaffold that combines the unique osteogenic properties of ceramic biocomposite materials to make the best mimic of physiologic conditions. To do so, a scaffold must provide: i) A three-dimensional platform allowing for osteogenic cellular attach Read More

The recent patents annotated in this section have been selected from various patent databases, and are relevant to the articles published in this journal issue. The patents are categorized in fast emerging areas of regenerative medicine e.g. stem cells, human embryonic stem, gene therapy, tissue engineering, regenerative biomolecules, use of biomaterials for treating disease and injury, and tissue/ organ regeneration relate Read More