Jan Paul Medema, Professor of Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, will give a presentation at the 4th International Stem Cell Research & Therapeutics, Apr 17-18, 2008 in Boston, MA.
Dr. Medema will discuss colon cancer stem cells, their resistance and differentiation. A novel paradigm in tumor biology suggests that cancer growth is driven by stem-like cells within a tumor. Dr. Medema will describe the identification and characterization of such cells from colon carcinomas using the stem cell marker CD133 that accounts around 2% of the cells in human colon cancer. The CD133+ cells grow in vitro as undifferentiated tumor spheroids and they are both necessary and sufficient to initiate tumor growth in immunodeficient mice. Xenografts resemble the original human tumor maintaining the rare subpopulation of tumorigenic CD133+ cells. Further analysis revealed that the CD133+ cells produce and utilize IL-4 to protect themselves from apoptosis. Consistently, treatment with IL-4R antagonist or anti-IL-4 neutralizing antibody strongly enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of standard chemotherapeutic drugs through selective sensitization of CD133+ cells. This suggests that colon tumor growth is dictated by stem-like cells that are treatment resistant due to the autocrine production of IL-4.
The conference also features presentations from other leading organizations such as FDA, Geron, Joint Committee on Health Care Financing (by Senator Richard Moore), Merck, MIT, Novartis, Pfizer, Sangamo BioSciences, Sanofi Aventis, Stemagen, UCSB, University of Van Amsterdam, Whitehead Institute, and many more. The full agenda is available online at www.gtcbio.com.
GTCbio’s 4th Stem Cell Research & Therapeutics will take place on April 17-18, 2008 in Boston, MA and will cover Stem Cell Biology, Adult Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Differentiation of Stem Cells, Epigenomics & Reprogramming of Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine & Therapeutics, Stem Cell Imaging, Regulatory Aspects & Funding Opportunities, Cancer Stem Cells, and Stem Cell Applications in Drug Discovery.
For more information including a detailed agenda, exhibitor opportunities and registration information visit http://gtcbio.com/userAgenda.aspx?id=120
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GTCbio organizes conferences specifically for the biomedical and biopharmaceutical industries. Our goal is to facilitate the exchange of biopharmaceutical and biomedical intelligence between industry leaders, academic and government organizations, and the financial community.
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