Ceramidase and cell differentiation
AssigneeIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
InventorsEdward H. SCHUCHMAN, Calogera M. SIMONARO
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to methods of producing chondrocytes, improving the phenotype of a chondrocyte population, promoting chondrogenesis, maintaining a cell population in a differentiated state or increasing the number of cells of a population in a differentiated state, producing a population of differentiated cells, and treating certain diseases or disorders. Each of these methods involves treating a cell population with, and/or culturing a cell population in, a ceramidase.
Claims31
A method of producing chondrocytes, said method comprising:
- selecting a population of cells having the potential to differentiate into chondrocytes, and
- treating the selected cell population with a ceramidase to transform one or more of the cells in the selected population into chondrocytes.
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A method of improving the phenotype of a chondrocyte population, said method comprising:
- selecting a population of chondrocytes having a poor chondrocytic phenotype,
- treating the selected cell population with a ceramidase to improve the chondrocytic phenotype of the population.
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A method of promoting chondrogenesis, said method comprising:
- selecting a population of bone marrow cells in need of differentiation into chondrocytes;
- first treating the population of bone marrow cells with a ceramidase to enrich mesenchymal stem cells within the bone marrow cell population;
- and
- second treating the population of enriched mesenchymal stem cells with a ceramidase, or a ceramidase and TGFβ, to promote differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes.
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A method of maintaining a cell population in a differentiated state or increasing the number of cells of a population in a differentiated state, said method comprising:
- selecting a cell population in need of being maintained in a differentiated state or a cell population in need of an increased number of cells in a differentiated state, and
- treating the selected cell population with a ceramidase to maintain or increase the number of differentiated cells in the selected cell population.
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A method of producing a population of differentiated cells, said method comprising:
- selecting a population of stem cells capable of differentiating into a desired population of differentiated cells,
- selecting a differentiation medium capable of stimulating differentiation into the desired differentiated cells, and
- culturing the population of stem cells in the differentiation medium and ceramidase to stimulate differentiation into the population of differentiated cells.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.