[Michael Whiston]

Michael Whiston  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hello from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.   newbielink:http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/ [nonactive]

I had a heart attack on the 30th. of Nov. 09 and was asked to help with a Stem Cell research program at St. Micheal's Hospital.

They hooked me up to a dialysis's machine, it was wired differently, to extract only white cells.  After the white cells have been retrieved they were to be feed, in a Petri dish, changed in some way into a heart tissue cell and in a couple of weeks they would be reintroduced into the original host.

I was lead to understand that this was being studied elsewhere but have heard nothing.  Maybe you've heard something?

Michael Whiston

What do you think?

[Amtamarap]

I am not very conversant with blood cell treatment for heart. A friend of mine had problems with her hip. Doctors suggested hip replacement surgery which she did not accept. Through internet she found out about blood cell treatment. Finally she found a clinic in Mexico offering this treatment. She had it done there and now she seems to be much better with her hip problem.

[rosy]

Not my area of expertise, but this looks relevant.. and NIH are I believe a reliable source.

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/scireport/chapter9.asp

[Paul.D]

Heart failure is regarded as one of the major forms of cardiovascular diseases, it is responsible for high mortality and in many cases invasive treatment methods for example cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support are often needed.

However, recently, cell therapy procedures are growing in popularity as a new approach for treating heart failure. There are several types of cells that have the potential to be used for cardiac repair. These cells include; somatic stem or progenitor cells (such as: skeletal myoblasts, MSC, MNC, EPC and cardiac stem cells) and embryonic stem (ES) cells. These can be easily expanded in culture and therefore provide an attract tool for heart failure. Some of the specific cardiac markers can then be detected using laboratory methods such as ELISA assays. These tests are relatively easy to perform and can provide a reliable and accurate result.

[evan_au]

How are blood cells used as stem cells for cardiac repair?

When we think of blood cells, we often think of the red blood cells, which are more numerous (and much more visible).

However, mature red blood cells contain no DNA, and so they cannot be "reprogrammed" into stem cells, and they cannot multiply.

This is why the treatment starts with white blood cells, which do contain DNA.
However, this DNA must be reprogrammed so the cell no longer thinks it is a white blood cell, but thinks it is a heart stem cell.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell

[puppypower]

White blood cells contain our entire human DNA.  At the same time, they are self sufficient. In that sense, they are what we would be, if humans were a single cell organism.

This may be an inexpensive way to send people deep into space; small payload. Once they reach the final location, you  use the to grow full sizes versions go humans, or for growing spare parts.

[puppypower]

All cells of the human body have the same DNA. However, there are many different types of differentiated cells. The way this is possible is connected to configurational potential and equilibrium in water.

All the materials outside the nucleus of the cell; cytoplasm of each differentiated cell, sets a material capacitance which impacts the potential of the cellular water. This water potential causes the nucleus and DNA to form an equilibrium dynamic shape; differentiated DNA.

A mother cell doubles her differentiated material capacitance, so her daughter cells will have the specific configurational capacitance needed to induce the same configurational equilibria in their DNA. They look like mom. The reason this works is the DNA, itself is set up as a gradient. One aspect of each chromosome remains packed, except during cell cycles; on ice. At the other extreme are genes that are easy to unpack and serve as templates with all types of bells and whistles; boiling. Between these extremes are various levels of packing and dynamics. By dialing in the water potential, you set a dynamic equilibrium configurational shape that averages to the water potential. All the details fine tune the configurational potential.

In terms of the human body, all cells, except blood cells, see an external combination of circulatory and nerve tissue. These two systems, create a gradient in terms of the external water for all the cells. The blood is full of high energy food materials and has a slight negative charge. This adds potential to the water. The nerve tissue is based on sodium and potassium ions; positive charge, and net lowers the potential of the water; sodium ions are kosmotropic. The ratio of these two inductions, locally, tunes the external water to the needs of the local cell differentiation. The water will become balanced from outside to inside. Damage to a local nerve configuration a cause long term changes.

The white blood cells are unique in that they don't have nerve attachments. They tend to be externally slanted to the high energy blood side of the gradient. The impact of this can be seen with red blood cells. Red blood cells lose their DNA. The DNA is the most hydrated molecule in the cell. If you lose this, that means the internal water potential equilibrium goes up; food or blood side increases the potential to where the DNA is not in equilibrium.

The white blood cells retain their DNA, but like the red blood cells, are induced to higher potential by the blood. They start out with lower potential with equilibrium changing with time. Disturbances in the body by bacteria and virus will  impact the nerve responses of the fixed cells. This attracts the white blood cells, driven by their need to lower water potential. In other words, the water is running the show and tries to balance impact of the blood on the white blood cells by being attracted to odd nerve signals. 

A virus is mostly DNA or RNA with a protein coat. The DNA or RNA of the virus contains material that is very hydrated in water. Viral DNA lowers the water potential. White blood cells eat virus to help lower their water potential. The white blood cell is not just doing us; body, a favor, but it is also doing itself a favor. If it overeats, too much virus can alter the internal configurational equilibrium and differentiate the DNA for new tasks. 

The lymphatic system is interesting between is lies between the nerve and circulatory potential. It is place that has a potential between the blood and nerve potential, where the white cells can lower their water potential and alter equilibrium compared to living in the blood. it is sort of like home versus work.

The little one cell you; white blood cell, goes to work in the blood mines. It is a stressful job that adds potential to the little you. The stress can change your behavior and even cause health problems, as equilibria changes. When you return to the lymphatic home base, you get to unwind and lower the stress potentials. You get to put on a different hat and come back to the old you.

One of the challenges with growing differentiated tissues for replacement parts is maintaining equilibrium so they can perpetuate for the long haul.

[evan_au]

A mother cell doubles her differentiated material capacitance

Please define what you mean by "capacitance" in this context?
How do you measure a doubling of cellular capacitance?
Please provide some measurement results.

[puppypower]

A mother cell doubles her differentiated material capacitance

Please define what you mean by "capacitance" in this context?
How do you measure a doubling of cellular capacitance?
Please provide some measurement results.

There are several ways to do this. The easiest way is to measure the Activity of the water. The Activity of pure water is defined as 1.0. As we add materials, and the water hydrogen bonds to these materials, the Activity lowers below 1.0 and can go as low as 0.0. As the mother cell produces her final materials, there is a transformation of raw materials into finished materials, altering the activity of water.

Configurational potential is more complicated than just that. It has a connection to entropy. Entropy is a measurable variable, even if there is debate as to how to explain what entropy actually is. Even without a consensus explanation it can still be measured, and is needed to close energy balances.

Measurements of entropy, over the years, has shown certain trends. One trend is entropy is a state variable meaning for any given state of matter, the measured entropy is always the same. Water at 25C and 1 Atmosphere always has the same measured value. Entropy is not exactly random, if you think in terms of changes of state. A random change of state, to a specific final state, will always have the same final measured entropy value.

Configurational potential, in terms of cellular materials, is connected to entropy being a state variable. For example, an enzyme shifting between two configurations, has two states and will have two measurable states of entropy, that are very specific at certain conditions. Since the enzyme is reversible, we can get back energy, that was tied up in entropy for an extra boost, by shifting states.

The entropy of the universe needs to increase; into more complex states. But on a smaller scale, like an enzyme, entropy can lower or increase, based on the state, changing the local energy balance. A change of state can change the entropy or a change of entropy can change the state, since each imply the other.

Materials like protein are induced into repeatable configurations by water. The hydrophilic is always on the surface and the hydrophobic on the core. This would be different in benzene. The net effect is the configurational state for the entropy is not just the protein, but the protein plus the bulk and local water activity. There is reversible and irreversible entropy in the protein-water configuration for both the water and the protein. The protein can reverse between open and closed, but is irreversible in terms of reversing inside and outside. The latter is second law.

Not all cellular materials are created equal in terms of activity and entropy. DNA is the most hydrated molecule in the cell. Its interaction with water lowers the activity of the local cellular water the most of all materials. Other materials, like membrane is the opposite. Here the water activity will stay higher. The result is a configurational and activity gradient for different zones in the cell. 

[chris]

The post above, beginning "All cells of the human body have the same DNA. However, there are many different types of differentiated cells." is absolute gibberish and should be disregarded.

Sorry to sound harsh, but what you have written there is utter nonsense. Please don't do this on a science forum.

[puppypower]

The post above, beginning "All cells of the human body have the same DNA. However, there are many different types of differentiated cells." is absolute gibberish and should be disregarded.

Sorry to sound harsh, but what you have written there is utter nonsense. Please don't do this on a science forum.

You are correct.

Almost all cells have the same DNA, but there are a few exceptions.[1]

Mature red blood cells which contain no DNA
The sperm and the egg that have half the amount of DNA
B cells in which some of the DNA has been rearranged to make antibodies.

These are all cells that are not permanently fixed in position, and therefore they are not always under direct nerve control. Their change in the DNA  are examples of why loss of local nerve control is more than likely responsible for many types of cancer.

Red blood cells, sperm and egg cells and B cells have healthy nervous defined secondary environments so configurational changes; equilibrium, is still part of the body's program. A fixed cell; lung, without a healthy nerve ending for control, is a non equilibrium environment with respect to the body's bigger picture. It will form a new configurational equilibrium that may cause it to go renegade.