During Kumbh Mela in 2015, microbial diversity dropped by nearly 37.5% while bacterial load increased by about 130-fold at five bathing sites in Nashik from where samples were collected prior to and during the event. The study also found an increase in infectious diseases and drug-resistant microbe genes in the river water samples collected during … Continue reading NCCS finds mass bathing during Kumbh Mela alters bacterial load, diversity
National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS)
Podcast: Making bone marrow transplantation more successful
Vaijayanti Kale from NCCS explains how micro-vesicles containing certain factors increase homing and engraftment potential of hematopoietic stem cells. These micro-vesicles also help in expanding hematopoietic stem cells before transplantation. The micro-vesicles are secreted by mesenchymal stem cells when treated with a nitric oxide donor.
NCCS’ new approach makes bone marrow transplantation more successful
NCCS researchers have found a way to expand hematopoietic stem cells before transplantation and also improve the engraftment potential. Mesenchymal stem cells treated with a nitric oxide donor secreted micro-vesicles containing certain factors that increase the engraftment potential of hematopoietic stem cells. One of the reasons why the efficiency of bone marrow transplantation gets compromised is due to … Continue reading NCCS’ new approach makes bone marrow transplantation more successful
Multidrug-resistant microbe repository to come up at NCCS
NCCS will soon start receiving and preserving multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi from across the country. A decision is yet to be taken on microbes resistant to which antibiotics should be accepted. Samples collected from across the country will reveal how MDR microbes spread and evolve with time. Soon, the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) … Continue reading Multidrug-resistant microbe repository to come up at NCCS
NCCS finds dual mechanism that helps embryonic stem cells maintain pluripotency
NCCS researchers have found two mechanisms that turn off the expression of endocytosis-associated genes, thus helping the stem cells to maintain their pluripotency. The dual mechanism functions in such a way that even if one mechanism fails, the other can function as a back-up. Understanding of the mechanism will be helpful in regenerative medicine using iPS cells. … Continue reading NCCS finds dual mechanism that helps embryonic stem cells maintain pluripotency
NCCS’ novel approach improves success rate of bone marrow transplantation
Researchers from Pune’s National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) have found that co-culturing aged haematopoietic stem cells with young mesenchymal stromal cells will rejuvenate the stem cells and improve their functionality. When done prior to transplantation, the rejuvenation will help improve the engrafting efficiency of stem cells. This novel method will expand the pool of donors for bone … Continue reading NCCS’ novel approach improves success rate of bone marrow transplantation
Pune researchers’ anti-leishmanial drug compound shows promise
Researchers at Pune’s National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS) have identified a coumarin derivative for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Since Leishmania donovani (which causes Kala-azar) and Leishmania major (which causes cutaneous leishmaniasis) share 95 per cent similarity in their genome, the coumarin derivative developed by the researchers may be used for treating Kala-azar as … Continue reading Pune researchers’ anti-leishmanial drug compound shows promise
Indian researchers use a novel drug to inhibit skin cancer in mice
Researchers at the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) have been successful in isolating cancer stem cells that cause skin cancer. They have also been able to demonstrate that a compound (Andrographolide) isolated and purified from a herb (Andrographis paniculata) that is found in India to be effective in inhibiting tumour growth — both … Continue reading Indian researchers use a novel drug to inhibit skin cancer in mice
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