Researchers from the University of Tokyo have announced they have successfully grown kidneys and pancreas in mice missing the ability to grow their own said organs. According to Japan Today, the researchers injected embryonic stem cells from healthy mice into eggs of genetically engineered mice that do not grow kidneys and pancreases three days after fertilization and implanted the eggs into surrogate mice. The newborn mice turned out to have kidneys and pancreases and the researchers confirmed that they derived from the embryonic stem cells while vascular tracts and nerves were those of the host mice. Both types of organs functioned normally. Professor Hiromitsu Nakauchi, lead researcher, said a potential application of this technique in the future includes reproducing in reprogrammed swine the pancreas of a diabetic patient using stem cells produced from the patient’s skin tissue.

Embryonic stem cell research has been a very controversial issue. Interesting is the suggestion by Dr. Nakauchi that this technique could be used to take stem cells from a patient’s skin, not embryonic. If this was the case, I would fail to see how this would be an issue with anyone who is an opponent of embryonic stem cell research.

If I told you in the future you will be able breath into a device and know if you have cancer, would you believe me or would you ask me what new science fiction book I was talking about? Menssana Research would tell you that the future is now. They have developed and tested a new device that requires you to only breathe and then it can determine if you have cancer or other common ailments such as Tuberculosis. If successful in this endeavor, this will be a revolution in diagnostic testing and is the reason that Menssana Research has made Biotech Mashup’s top 15 picks for companies that have the potential to change medicine.

Diagnostic test using your breath is not a new idea. Spirometry, pulmonary lung function testing, is believed to date back as early as sometime between 129-200 A.D. when Galen did volumetric testing on a boy. In 1852, John Hutchinson, developed a water spirometer which is still in use today. Spirometry testing can be used to help determine a number of ailments such as, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and emphysema. Similar to volumetric testing but distinct in that biomarkers can be used for disease determination is the analysis of volatile compounds in breath. Many credit the technology basis of volatile diagnostic testing to Linus Pauling, who in 1971 found that normal breath contains volatile organic compounds. However, some argue that this credit should be given to Robert Borkenstein, who in 1954, developed the breathalyzer to measure the amount of blood alcohol in an individual. Regardless of who is to be given credit little else has advanced this form of diagnostic testing for the last 35 years.

Menssana Research Incorporated, founded by Doctor Michael Phillips, believes it is time for a leap forward. The Breathscanner is the first clinical device offered by Menssana. The concept behind the Breathscanner seems simple; collect a person’s breath and analyze the unique volatile organic compounds, VOCs, which can be indicative of disease. The reality though is different as the typical concentration of VOCs in a breath is very low and nobody knows what VOC profiles indicate disease. To address these problems Menssana put to use two analytical techniques known to have very good sensitivity, gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Using these instruments to analyze the VOCs in someone’s breath they have been able to put together what they have coined “breath methylated alkane contour, BMAC.” A person’s BMAC is a unique profile which can be used to determine someone’s risk for numerous diseases such as, heart transplant rejection, lung cancer, breast cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, and other diseases. The Breathscanner was recently shown at DARPA Tech 2007, and was a big hit.

In 2004, the FDA gave Humanitarian Device Exemption status to Menssana for a heart transplant rejection breath test. Even though HUD is intended to benefit patients in the treatment or diagnosis of a disease or condition that affects or is manifested in fewer than 4,000 individuals in the United States per year, this was a huge step for Menssana. Moving forward Menssana is well funded and pushing for commercialization of numerous new diagnostic tests. Speaking via email with Dr. Michael Phillips he was kind enough to respond to our request for information letting us know, “The next big things in breath testing will be:

The Lungscreen breath test for lung cancer: This has been validated in three published multicenter studies(…)It has a CE Mark that approves it for marketing in Europe. NIH has awarded us a $3M grant to perform a multicenter validation study in the USA in order to obtain FDA approval.

Breath test for breast cancer:  NIH funded us to perform a pilot study that demonstrated breath biomarkers of breast cancer (publications on our website). We are now evaluating a point-of-care breath test for breast cancer that will deliver results in minutes. No radiation, no breast compression, no pain – it is completely safe.

Breath test for pulmonary tuberculosis: NIH funded us to perform a pilot study that demonstrated breath biomarkers of pulmonary TB. We are currently analyzing the data from a large multicenter international validation study. Results soon, we hope.”

Biotech Mashup is very impressed with the work done by Menssana Research and how far they have come in developing this technology. However, we recognize that with the use of mass spectrometry and gas chromatography equipment for analysis, these types of test will still be required to be sent to a diagnostic laboratory thus taking days for the patient to know the test results. The diagnostics field is having a big push for results to be available in the office while you visit your doctor. We know Menssana may be addressing this as they are currently in development of a next generation system. We are eager for the day that we can walk into our doctor’s office and do a quick breath test to let us know if we are healthy or if we need immediate treatment.

Investigators at Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital have announced new research which has advanced the understanding of how cells undergo Apoptosis. Apoptosis is intentional programmed cell death and is believed to be one of the main reasons for the existence of cancer which hijacks apoptosis and prevents it from occurring. A report on this work can be found in the advanced online publication in Nature.

James Ihle, Ph.D., and senior author describes the work, “This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis,(…)it provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis.” The researchers demonstrated in mouse lymphocytes that a protein, Hax1, is required to suppress apoptosis. Briefly, Hax1 interacts with the protease Parl which allows HtrA2 to be presented to Parl. Ultimately the presence of HtrA2 prevents Bax to become activated, and Bax is known as one way to initiate apoptosis.

This detailed look at the mechanisms behind apoptosis are extremely beneficial to further preventing cancer. Similar to pharmaceutical companies targeting Angiogenesis, Apoptosis drugs is believed to be another way to slow down or even prevent many forms of cancer. By figuring out ways to initiate apoptosis in cancer you effectively rid cancer, remember cancer is define as uncontrolled cell growth due to the lack of cells undergoing apoptosis. With this type of research the drug industry will be screening and targeting proteins found in this paper and hopefully have similar success stories such as Avastin from Genetech. 

A group of scientists from Cardiff University, University of London, and Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have reported in PLoS ONE, for the first time, that when birds eat small invertebrates contaminated with environmental pollutants, significant changes occur in both the bird’s behavior and their brain. Surprisingly, male European starlings that have been exposed to higher levels of natural and synthetic estrogen, found in sewage effluent, sing longer and more complex songs than their controlled male counterparts. What is so unique about this research is that the group of scientists were able to show that the key brain area controlling male song complexity (HVC) was significantly enlarged due to the pollution. Not surprisingly, female songbirds prefer to mate with birds who sing songs which are stronger and go on for a longer period of time, and thus choose males with higher pollution levels.

Although this seems beneficial in reality more harm than good is happening to these hyped up polluted birds. As predicted by the scientists, the birds that have exposure to pollutants have suppressed cell-mediated and humoral immune functions. As a result, females choose to mate with polluted male birds despite their reduced immune functions. The scientists conclude that “[O]ur data suggest that female starlings would bias their choice towards exposed males, with possible consequences at the population level.” 

Although we feel troubled by the fact that these birds are negatively affected by the sewage waste, it is surprising that the pollution improves the songbirds song – a key evolutionary function in these birds. Yet, we remain hopeful that the reporting of the pollution problem will subsequently save these songbirds and other species from extinction.

Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) reported on a recent study published in PLoS Genetics which found that genes that helped early humans adapt to cold climates may be driving metabolism-related diseases such as obesity or diabetes. U.S. researchers at the University of Chicago found a strong correlation between climate and genetic adaptations that influence the risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of related disorders such as obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. “Climate over a long period of time has shaped the distribution of genetic variants that may be associated with the risk of these common metabolic disorders,” said Anna Di Rienzo, a professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago. Anthropologists have long argued that differences in skin pigmentation, for instance, are related to early human migration. “There are all of these traits, body mass or skin pigmentation, that we know are strongly correlated with environmental variables,” Di Rienzo said. Di Rienzo and colleagues wanted to see if genes that were once useful for tolerating cold climates were playing a role in metabolic diseases. “To survive in these climates, they had to adapt,” said Di Rienzo.

To test the hypothesis that climate shaped variation in metabolism genes in humans, the team used a bioinformatics approach to select 82 candidate genes for common metabolic disorders. They then genotyped 873 tag SNPs in the genes in 1,034 people from 54 populations. They saw several clusters of different genetic variations related to metabolic syndrome in colder climates. Interestingly, one haplotype was associated with higher body mass index and altered concentrations of the hunger-satiety hormones ghrelin and leptin, suggesting that it conferred a selective advantage on energy metabolism. Biotech Mashup thinks that we might be able to use some of the SNPs from this study to better understand our hunger pains. Furthermore, the SNP tests offered by companies such as 23andme and Navigenics might be more insightful in light of these studies.

The New York Times is reporting that patients are submitting to underground genetic testing, but are not informing their doctors of the results because these patients have legitimate fears of insurance discrimination. With recent advancements in technology, companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme have been able to remove the last barrier, cost, for personalized genetic screening. 

The article addresses issues regarding privacy fears, in addition to the use of genetic results to prescreen policies/increase the cost of premiums by insurance companies.  An admittance by some insurance companies in a recent Georgetown University Health Policy Institute study is frightening; they admit they would raise premiums or deny coverage based on genetic results.

It is disheartening that fears of discrimination by insurance companies are hindering the advent of new genetic tests to help patients make informed medical decisions before undergoing treatment. Hope is on the horizon; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would make it illegal for insurers to deny coverage based solely on a genetic predisposition.  We wait for the passage of this act as this bill is before the congress for a seventh time. 

A collaborative team of researchers from the University of Georgia, the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, and Columbia University have shown for the first time that infectious disease from zoonotic sources, diseases passed to humans from animals, is on the rise.

The research team looked at incidents of disease from 1940 to 2004 and found a sharp increase, particularly during the 1980’s. Surprisingly the research claims that the current greatest threat of new diseases is from animal sources and not antibiotic drug resistance. Immediately

following this study Roche and Gucci announced a new partnership in designer clothing. In the press release the companies claim, Gucci will provide style and Roche the necessary protection.