Regenerative Medicine

Knocking out a single gene reprograms part of the large intestine to function like the nutrient-absorbing small intestine, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

A single molecular switch is essential for blood stem cells to enter an activated, regenerative state in which they produce new blood cells, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Adding engineered human blood vessel-forming cells to islet transplants boosted the survival of the insulin-producing cells and reversed diabetes in a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. 

The distinct population of endothelial cells that line blood vessels in the insulin-producing “islets” of the human pancreas have been notoriously difficult to study, but Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have now succeeded in comprehensively detailing the unique characteristics of these cells. 

Endothelial cells with a distinct gene-expression signature play a key role in the development and repair of blood vessels throughout life, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. 

Stem cells from the human stomach can be converted into cells that secrete insulin in response to rising blood sugar levels, offering a promising approach to treating diabetes.

Endothelial cells—the cells that line blood vessels—grown alongside leukemia cells become corrupted and rescue the cancer cells from many chemotherapy drugs, a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators found.

Two genes working in concert sustain the integrity of healthy blood vessels, Weill Cornell Medicine investigators discovered in new research. 

Three distinguished Weill Cornell Medicine physician-scientists, Dr. Joseph J. Fins, Dr. Rainu Kaushal and Dr. Shahin Rafii, have been elected to the esteemed Association of American Physicians (AAP).

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified a key protein that induces the program to build specialized liver blood vessels. The discovery could lead to engineered replacement hepatic tissue to treat common liver diseases.

A protein that masterminds the way DNA is wrapped within chromosomes has a major role in the healthy functioning of blood stem cells, which produce all blood cells in the body, according to a new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have received a two-year $500,000 grant from JDRF to evaluate an innovative approach to islet cell transplantation, an experimental treatment for difficult-to-control type 1 diabetes. The research will be conducted in mouse models of this disease.  

Loss of the gene SATB2 contributes to changes in stem cells that typically develop into the inner lining of the colon, or large intestine, transforming them into a cell type that normally lines a portion of the small intestine called the ileum, according to new preclinical research from Weill Cornell Medicine. 

A type of cell derived from human stem cells that has been widely used for brain research and drug development may have been leading researchers astray for years, according to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Shahin Rafii, director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute and chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has received an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for an ambitious project to accelerate regenerative medicine technology.

A team led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists has pioneered a method for manufacturing functioning human blood vessels and demonstrated that they can carry blood in lab-grown model organs and tumors.

Molecules that coordinate the development of highly specialized blood vessels in the kidney have been identified by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Hofstra University. The findings pave the way toward new strategies for repairing damaged organs.