Ann Tsukamoto

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Ann Tsukamoto
Born (1952-07-06) July 6, 1952 (age 72)
California, United States
Alma materUniversity of California San Diego
University of California Los Angeles
Scientific career
FieldsStem cell biology
InstitutionsUniversity of California San Francisco
SyStemix, Inc.
StemCells, Inc.

Ann S. Tsukamoto Weissman [1] (born July 6, 1952) is an Asian American stem cell researcher and inventor. [2] [3] In 1991, she co-patented a process that allowed the human stem cell to be isolated and demonstrated their potential in treating patients with metastatic breast cancer. [1]

Tsukamoto’s research and contributions in the medical field have led to groundbreaking advancements in stem cell research, especially in understanding the blood systems of cancer patients. [4] Her work has shown potential treatments for cancers and neurological disorders, for which there were previously thought to be none. [1] [4] [5]

Career

Ann Tsukamoto was born in California on July 6, 1952. [6] She completed her bachelor's degree at the University of California San Diego and her Ph.D in immunology and microbiology at the University of California Los Angeles. [6] [7] [8] Ann did most of her postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco. [7] Here, she worked on the wnt-1 gene and developed a transgenic model for breast cancer. Wnt-1 was later discovered to be a key player in the stem cell self-renewal pathway. [8]

She joined the biotech company SyStemix from 1989 to 1997, [9] where she co-discovered the human hematopoietic stem cell (hHSC) and played a leading role in the launch of the clinical research program for this cell. The purified hHSC was shown to be cancer-free when isolated from the cancer-contaminated hematopoietic mobilized blood of patients with disseminated cancer, and it successfully regenerated the patients' blood-forming system after myeloablative chemotherapy. [8]

Ann joined StemCells Inc. in 1998, where she has held several leadership roles overseeing the isolation and application of human neural and liver stem cells for various diseases. [9] She led the scientific team that discovered the human central nervous system stem cell and identified a second candidate stem cell for the liver. Under her guidance, the human neural stem cell transitioned into early clinical development for all three components of the central nervous system: the brain, spinal cord, and eye. The biological potential and activity of these cells were demonstrated in some patients, mirroring the results observed in preclinical rodent studies. [8]

As of 2017, Tsukamoto is an inventor on seven issued U.S. patents, six of which are related to the human hematopoietic stem cell. [8] By 2021, she had reached a total of 13 patents. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haematopoiesis</span> Formation of blood cellular components

Haematopoiesis is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten billion to a hundred billion new blood cells are produced per day, in order to maintain steady state levels in the peripheral circulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stem cell</span> Undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells

In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation</span> Medical procedure to replace blood or immune stem cells

Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce additional normal blood cells. HSCT may be autologous, syngeneic, or allogeneic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hematopoietic stem cell</span> Stem cells that give rise to other blood cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis. In vertebrates, the first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within the (midgestational) aorta-gonad-mesonephros region, through a process known as endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. In adults, haematopoiesis occurs in the red bone marrow, in the core of most bones. The red bone marrow is derived from the layer of the embryo called the mesoderm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CD34</span> Cluster of differentiation protocol that identifies cell surface antigens.

CD34 is a transmembrane phosphoglycoprotein protein encoded by the CD34 gene in humans, mice, rats and other species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cell therapy</span> Therapy in which cellular material is injected into a patient

Cell therapy is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy, or grafting stem cells to regenerate diseased tissues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancer stem cell</span> Cancer cells with features of normal cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells that possess characteristics associated with normal stem cells, specifically the ability to give rise to all cell types found in a particular cancer sample. CSCs are therefore tumorigenic (tumor-forming), perhaps in contrast to other non-tumorigenic cancer cells. CSCs may generate tumors through the stem cell processes of self-renewal and differentiation into multiple cell types. Such cells are hypothesized to persist in tumors as a distinct population and cause relapse and metastasis by giving rise to new tumors. Therefore, development of specific therapies targeted at CSCs holds hope for improvement of survival and quality of life of cancer patients, especially for patients with metastatic disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult stem cell</span> Multipotent stem cell in the adult body

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells, they can be found in juvenile, adult animals, and humans, unlike embryonic stem cells.

Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. As of 2016, the only established therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone marrow transplantation, but the cells can also be derived from umbilical cord blood. Research is underway to develop various sources for stem cells as well as to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progenitor cell</span> Cell that differentiates into one or a few cell types

A progenitor cell is a biological cell that can differentiate into a specific cell type. Stem cells and progenitor cells have this ability in common. However, stem cells are less specified than progenitor cells. Progenitor cells can only differentiate into their "target" cell type. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HOXA9</span> Protein-coding gene in humans

Homeobox protein Hox-A9 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HOXA9 gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean J. Morrison</span>

Sean J. Morrison is a Canadian-American stem cell biologist and cancer researcher. Morrison is the director of Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI), a nonprofit research institute established in 2011 as a joint venture between Children’s Health System of Texas and UT Southwestern Medical Center. With Morrison as founding director, CRI was established to perform transformative biomedical research at the interface of stem cell biology, cancer and metabolism to better understand the biological basis of disease. He is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, has served as president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences and European Molecular Biology Organization.

Irving Lerner "Irv" Weissman is a Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology at Stanford University where he is the Director of the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine along with Michael Longaker.

Sally Temple is an American developmental neuroscientist in Albany, New York. She is a co-founder and scientific director for The Neural Stem Cell Institute and is a professor of Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology at Albany Medical College Temple is also the principal investigator in her laboratory that focuses on neural stem cells and therapies for neurological-related disorders

Adult mesenchymal stem cells are being used by researchers in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering to artificially reconstruct human tissue which has been previously damaged. Mesenchymal stem cells are able to differentiate, or mature from a less specialized cell to a more specialized cell type, to replace damaged tissues in various organs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haematopoietic system</span>

The haematopoietic system is the system in the body involved in the creation of the cells of blood.

Many human blood cells, such as red blood cells (RBCs), immune cells, and even platelets all originate from the same progenitor cell, the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). As these cells are short-lived, there needs to be a steady turnover of new blood cells and the maintenance of an HSC pool. This is broadly termed hematopoiesis. This event requires a special environment, termed the hematopoietic stem cell niche, which provides the protection and signals necessary to carry out the differentiation of cells from HSC progenitors. This stem-cell niche relocates from the yolk sac to eventually rest in the bone marrow of mammals. Many pathological states can arise from disturbances in this niche environment, highlighting its importance in maintaining hematopoiesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Goodell</span> American scientist

Margaret ("Peggy") A. Goodell is an American scientist working in the field of stem cell research. Dr. Goodell is Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, Director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (STaR) Center, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is best known for her discovery of a novel method to isolate adult stem cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musashi-2</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Musashi-2, also known as Musashi RNA binding protein 2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MSI2 gene. Like its homologue musashi-1 (MSI1), it is an RNA-binding protein involved in stemness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christa Muller-Sieburg</span> German-American Immunologist and Hematologist

Christa Edith Muller-Sieburg was a German-American immunologist and hematologist, whose work became central to the understanding of the clonal heterogeneity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Muller-Sieburg is known for her contributions to the purification of hematopoietic stem cells, the characterization of individual stem cell clones and her revision of the process of hematopoiesis.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Introducing the 2023 Alumni Award Honorees". University of California San Diego. 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  2. "Ann Tsukamoto". See Jane. April 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  3. Baum, C. M.; Weissman, I. L.; Tsukamoto, A. S.; Buckle, A. M.; Peault, B. (April 1, 1992). "Isolation of a candidate human hematopoietic stem-cell population". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 89 (7): 2804–2808. Bibcode:1992PNAS...89.2804B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2804 . PMC   48751 . PMID   1372992.
  4. 1 2 "BBC 100 Women: Nine things you didn't know were invented by women". BBC. September 4, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  5. "Dr. Ann Tsukamoto". Carlson Caspers. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Frauen sind anders. GENDERMEDIZIN: Männer auch" (PDF). Forum – das Magazin des Medizinischen Dienstes: 28–29. 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Luong, Julia (May 10, 2021). "Ann Tsukamoto: The Woman Inventor Whose Invention Saved Many". NOVA x Network. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Forum on Regenerative Medicine (June 16, 2017). Markowitz-Shulman, Ariel; Hammers-Forstag, Erin; Addie, Siobhan; Beachy, Sarah H. (eds.). Exploring the State of the Science in the Field of Regenerative Medicine: Challenges of and Opportunities for Cellular Therapies: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/24671. ISBN   978-0-309-45508-4. PMID   28301103.
  9. 1 2 BIOS 206 Brief Speaker Biographies (PDF). Standford University.