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WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Minerva Biotechnologies, a leading cancer and stem cell development company announces publication of their latest research article in the journal Stem Cells: “A Primitive Growth Factor, NME7-AB, Is Sufficient to Induce Stable Naïve State Human Pluripotency; Reprogramming in This Novel Growth Factor Confers Superior Differentiation” DOI: 10.1002/stem.2261.
This article reports a major breakthrough for stem cell research and stem cell therapies – a simple method of inducing naïve state pluripotency in human stem cells. Professor Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of four genes that can reprogram an adult’s cell to go back in time to become that person’s own stem cell. Minerva discovered a primitive growth factor, NME7-AB, that continues this reprogramming to an even earlier, embryonic-like point called the ‘naïve’ state. Human stem cells cultured in the lab are in a later state called ‘primed’. Because naïve stem cells have not yet started to differentiate, they are easily directed to develop into mature cells for transplants. Although others have converted primed stem cells to a naïve state, their methods are difficult, expensive and often introduce karyotype abnormalities. They require cocktails of biochemical inhibitors, transgenes, LIF, FGF2, and mouse feeder cells or their conditioned media. Minerva Biotechnologies has now demonstrated that a recombinant, truncated form of the human NME7 protein quickly and easily induces a stable naïve state in human stem cells without the need for inhibitors, transgenes, feeder cells, or any other growth factor. Importantly, reprogramming in NME7-AB is 50-100 times more efficient than reprogramming in FGF2 based media and does not require feeder cells.
A simple method for inducing the naïve state in human stem cells will have a profound effect on the study of basic science and on future stem cell therapies. Minerva’s naïve stem cell system will streamline low cost, high throughput stem cell production, improve the quality of stem cell derived cells and render genetic editing routine.
Minerva markets three stem cell products: 1) growth factor NME7-AB; 2) antibody adhesion coating MN-C3; and 3) a synthetic MUC1*ecd peptide that induces differentiation and eliminates the risk of teratoma formation. Minerva’s naïve stem cell system is now being used by leading stem cell labs around the world.
Contacts
Minerva Biotechnologies
Cynthia Bamdad, 781-487-0200 X101
cbamdad@minervabio.com
or
John Rogers, 781-290-3842
jrogers@minervabio.com
or
Matt Britz, 781-244-7178
mbritz@minervabio.com
www.minervabio.com