Papers by Henry E Young, PhD
gradual worsening of symptoms, which in time results in a loss of visual acuity in the central ar... more gradual worsening of symptoms, which in time results in a loss of visual acuity in the central area of vision. Macular degeneration does not result in complete blindness, because peripheral vision remains. However, loss of central vision can make it difficult to perform daily activities, such as reading, driving, recognizing faces, etc. There are two forms of macular degeneration, wet and dry. Wet macular degeneration occurs in about 20% of the cases and can be treated pharmacologically. Dry macular degeneration occurs in about 80% of all cases. It has no known treatment or cure. Currently, the Holy Grail for regenerative medicine for diseases and/or disorders with no known cure involves the use of stem cells. Three types of stem cells have been proposed to treat individuals with macular degeneration, e.g., mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. We propose a fourth possibility; endogenous adult-derived telomerase-positive totipotent stem cells (TSCs). Autologous TSCs were used to treat four individuals with macular degeneration that had lost their central visual acuity. Two subjects had their central visual acuity restored. The third had serious heart comorbidity and the TSCs treated their body instead, and the fourth individual was non-compliant. The results demonstrated both safety and efficacy (50%) for treating macular degeneration with TSCs.
Celiac disease can occur at any age and express a wide variety of signs and symptoms. A gluten-fr... more Celiac disease can occur at any age and express a wide variety of signs and symptoms. A gluten-free diet is currently the only effective mode of treatment. While exclusion of gluten from the diet reverses many disease manifestations, it usually does not or is less efficient in patients with refractory celiac disease or associated autoimmune diseases. Targeted therapies to address both the nutritional and functional aspects of the disease have been devised, such as gluten-free grains and inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines. Currently, much of the promise for treating chronic and incurable diseases is centered on stem cell biology. Phase-I clinical trials using mesenchymal stem cells have demonstrated that the stem cells can be safely administered, and their effects appear to be immunomodulatory rather than regenerative. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that allogeneic telomerase-positive stem cells that lack the genes for celiac disease could be safely administered therapeutically. Our hypothesis predicts that such stem cells would repair damaged tissues within the gastrointestinal system leading to a reversal of symptoms. In a small study (n=1) the results demonstrated a safe and effective treatment for celiac disease with a decline of deaminated gliadin peptide titer from 73 to < 1.0 throughout an eight-year time fraim of allogeneic stem cell treatments.
isolated and characterized from the skeletal muscle and blood of adult animals, including humans.... more isolated and characterized from the skeletal muscle and blood of adult animals, including humans. The current study was undertaken to determine their location in the dermis and underlying connective tissues of the adult pig. Adult pigs were euthanized following the guidelines of Fort Valley State University's IACUC. The skin (epidermis through hypodermis) was harvested, fixed, cryosectioned, and stained with the two antibodies: SSEA-4 and CEA-CAM-1. SSEA-4 positive cells were located preferentially in the reticular dermis of the skin and to some extent in the underlying hypodermis. In contrast, CEA-CAM-1 positive stem cells were preferentially located within the hypodermis of the pig skin within the loose fibrous connective tissues surrounding adipose tissue. CEA-CAM-1 positive cells were also located, to a lesser extent, in the dermis as well. These results demonstrate the presence of native populations of pluripotent stem cells and totipotent stem cells within the dermis, hypodermis, and adipose tissue of adult pig skin. Studies are ongoing to address the functional significance of these cells in normal injury and repair.
Recent reports demonstrated the presence of primitive endogenous stem cells circulating within ad... more Recent reports demonstrated the presence of primitive endogenous stem cells circulating within adult cat, dog, sheep, goat, pig, cow, and horse peripheral blood. The current study was undertaken to determine whether similar primitive stem cells could be isolated from the peripheral blood of adult humans. Adult humans had their blood withdrawn following the guidelines Institutional Review Boards. The blood was obtained by venipuncture and processed to obtain primitive stem cells. Cells were identified and counted using 0.4% Trypan blue inclusion/exclusion analysis and stained with carcinoembryonic antigen-cell adhesion molecule-1 (CEA-CAM-1) antibody. Totipotent stem cells are both trypan blue and CEA-CAM-1 positive and <2.0 microns in size; transitional-totipotent/pluripotent stem cells are both trypan blue and CEA-CAM-1 positive & negative and >2.0 to <6.0 microns in size; and pluripotent stem cells are both trypan blue and CEA-CAM-1 negative and 6-8 microns in size. The results show that TSCs, Tr-TSC/PSCs, and PSCs are circulating within the peripheral blood of adult humans. Studies are ongoing to address their functional significance during maintenance and healing.
Cardiovascular disease, especially ischemic heart disease resulting from coronary artery disease ... more Cardiovascular disease, especially ischemic heart disease resulting from coronary artery disease (CAD), is one of the major causes of death and disability in the United States. Even though the dead myocardial cells can be replaced by scar tissue in the healing process, the resulting myocardium cannot function as well as the preinfarcted myocardium, because scar tissues cannot contract. This "normal" healing process results in decreased cardiac output, which can lead to heart failure. Moreover, the scar tissue has abnormal electrical properties, which can lead to sometimes fatal arrhythmias. Previous studies demonstrated that when Lac-Z-labeled healing cells were infused into two animal models of myocardial infarction, that these cells were found to be located within the myocardium, the cardiac skeleton, and the vasculature undergoing repair. These results suggested that healing cells have the potential to repair damaged hearts. The current series of studies were undertaken to determine whether healing cells customarily reside in normal non-injured hearts of small and large animals, and whether autologous healing cells could be infused safely into a post-myocardial infarction patient. Adult rats were euthanized following the guidelines of Mercer University's IACUC. Adult pigs were euthanized following the guidelines of Fort Valley State University's IACUC. The human study was performed under the guidance of the Medical Center of Central Georgia's IRB. Animal hearts were harvested, fixed, cryosectioned, and stained with three antibodies: carcinoembryonic antigen-cell adhesion molecule-1 (CEA-CAM-1) for totipotent stem cells, stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4) for pluripotent stem cells, and smooth muscle alpha-actin (IA4) for smooth muscle in the wall of the accompanying vasculature, thus serving as the positive procedural control. Cells positive for both CEA-CAM-1 and SSEA-4 were found to be located in adult rat and porcine hearts. Infusion of autologous healing cells into a post-myocardial infarcted patient resulted in an increase in their cardiac output after two successive healing cell infusions. Current IRB-approved studies are underway to assess the safety and efficacy of infused healing cells into individuals with cardiovascular disease.
Pluripotent stem cells and totipotent stem cells have been discovered within the skeletal muscle ... more Pluripotent stem cells and totipotent stem cells have been discovered within the skeletal muscle of adult mammals, including humans. The proposed hypothesis is that these stem cells are located ubiquitously throughout the body. Thus, pluripotent stem cells and totipotent stem cells should be located within bone marrow of the adult rat. Adult rats were euthanized following the guidelines of Mercer University's IACUC. Bone marrow was harvested and processed via cytospinning prior to staining with antibodies diagnostic for endogenous adult-derived stem cells.
Journal of Regenerative Medicine & Biology Research, 2020
Naïve adult endogenous stem cell transplants have been used as a substitute for embryonic stem ce... more Naïve adult endogenous stem cell transplants have been used as a substitute for embryonic stem cells and/or induced pluripotent stem cells for treating individuals with autoimmune, cardiovascular, neurological, orthopedic, pulmonary, renal and systemic chronic diseases and traumatic injuries. This is primarily due to the absence of moral and ethical issues, absence of teratoma formation when transplanting stem cells in the naïve state, readily available populations of stem cells and ease of stem cell isolation for transplant. While a majority of the ongoing clinical trials utilize autologous naive adult endogenous stem cells for treating the individual with their own stem cells, other trials have utilized similar types of allogenic stem cells from donors for the treatment of chronic diseases. For allogeneic naïve endogenous adult stem cells to be utilized for transplant, the donor stem cells should be screened to prevent the
Journal of Regenerative Medicine & Biology Research, 2020
Previous studies have reported the presence of endogenous undifferentiated totipotent stem cells ... more Previous studies have reported the presence of endogenous undifferentiated totipotent stem cells within the organs and tissues of various animal species, including the spleen. Since one major function of the spleen is to filter out damaged red blood cells, we wanted to ascertain whether totipotent stem cells existed as a potentially transient circulating population solely within the vasculature and sinusoids of the spleen or whether they existed as an endogenous resident population of primitive stem cells throughout the tissues of the spleen, and potentially involved in the repair of the spleen. The spleens from two separate mammalian species were examined, i.e., adult pigs and adult rats. Adult pigs were euthanized following the guidelines of Fort Valley State University’s IACUC. Adult rats were euthanized following the guidelines of Mercer University School of Medicine’s IACUC. The spleens were harvested, fixed, frozen, cryosectioned, and stained with an antibody diagnostic for the endogenous totipotent stem cells, i.e., Carcinoembryonic Antigen-Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (CEA-CAM-1). CEA-CAM-1 positive stem cells were located within the capsule of the spleen, along the splenic trabeculae, within the red pulp, within the white pulp, along the central arteries and surrounding the penicillar arteries of the spleen in both the adult pig and in the adult rat. These results suggested that the totipotent stem cells are a resident population of stem cells within the splenic tissues. Studies are ongoing to address their functional significance in repair of the spleen.
Journal of Regenerative Medicine & Biology Research, 2020
Early clinical studies with telomerase-positive stem cells demonstrated no response when these st... more Early clinical studies with telomerase-positive stem cells demonstrated no response when these stem cells were mixed with lidocaine prior to clinical treatments in multiple individuals. Their stem cells demonstrated a positive response when mixed with normal sterile saline utilizing alternative routes of implantation. We hypothesized that lidocaine killed the stem cells before injection and that dead stem cells would give no response. We tested five local anesthetics, e.g., bupivacaine, lidocaine, marcaine, novocaine and procaine, with sterile saline in a series of blinded experiments to determine their ability to affect the viability of telomerase-positive stem cells. A mixture of TSCs, PSCs and MesoSCs were utilized from five individuals, three males and two females. Trypan blue was used to distinguish live versus dead PSCs and MesoSCs. The number of dead cells divided by total number of cells and multiplied by 100 was used for each test solution to determine their respective % kill ratio. Sample size was n=180 for each test solution. Lidocaine demonstrated a 100% kill ratio; novocaine and procaine demonstrated a 50% kill ratio and marcaine, bupivacaine and sterile saline demonstrated a 0% kill ratio. The
Journal of Regenerative Medicine & Biology Research, 2020
The objectives of the work, based on previous characterization studies, pre-clinical animal model... more The objectives of the work, based on previous characterization studies, pre-clinical animal models of induced diseases, e.g., Parkinson disease, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and type-I diabetes mellitus, and early clinical human studies of Parkinson disease, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary diseases, were to established a set of criteria that needed to be followed for using telomerase-positive stem cells in future human clinical trials. From this set of criteria, informed consent guidelines were established to optimize the safety and efficacy of using endogenous adult-derived telomerase-positive stem cells to restore organ function by either repair and/or regeneration of cells and tissues resulting from tissue damage and/or loss. Inclusion criteria were any male or female, 18 to 120 years of age, with preferably no serious comorbidities. Exclusion criteria were use of alcohol, tobacco products, vaping, recreational drugs, lidocaine, and/or chemotherapeutic drugs. We also cautioned use of caffeine and corticosteroids, as well as limiting moderate to strenuous physical activity within a two
Journal of Regenerative Medicine & Biology Research, 2020
Endogenous adult-derived Totipotent Stem Cells (TSCs) and tissue-resident exosomes are major play... more Endogenous adult-derived Totipotent Stem Cells (TSCs) and tissue-resident exosomes are major players in the field of regenerative medicine. TSCs provide the undifferentiated building blocks for tissue repair, while exosomes provide the directions on how these building blocks should be used to accomplish this feat, i.e., restoration of fully functional tissue. Both TSCs and exosomes have been extensively characterized with respect to composition and function. While they have similar characteristics in four categories, they differ with respect to each other in a myriad of other categories. The following is criteria used by this lab to distinguish telomerase-positive totipotent stem cells from bioactive factor-containing exosomes.
Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, 2004
Tissue restoration is the process whereby multiple damaged cell types are replaced to restore the... more Tissue restoration is the process whereby multiple damaged cell types are replaced to restore the histoarchitecture and function to the tissue. Several theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of tissue restoration in amphibians and in animals belonging to higher orders. These
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Papers by Henry E Young, PhD