Helen Blau

Helen Blau
FRS
Blau in 2013
Born
Helen Margaret Blau

London, England
Nationality
  • British
  • American
Other namesHelen M Blau
Alma mater
SpouseDavid Spiegel
Children2
FamilyEve Blau (sister)
Scientific career
FieldsDevelopmental biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cell biology
InstitutionsStanford University Medical School
WebsiteBlau Lab website

Helen Blau FRS is a cell biologist and stem cell researcher famous for her work on muscle diseases, regeneration and aging. She is the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and the Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University.[1] Blau is known for overturning the prevailing view that once a cell assumes a certain specialty in the body — or differentiated state —such as a skin or liver cell, it cannot be changed. Her research established that the fate of mammalian cells can be altered.[2][3][4][5] Her finding that specialized cells can be triggered to turn on genetic programs characteristic of other differentiated states provided early evidence that mammalian cellular reprogramming was possible and opened the door to the use of reprogramming in stem cell biology.[6]  Her work set the stage for the development of induced pluripotent stem cells and associated stem cell therapies.[7]

Blau is also known internationally for her work on adult stem cells and how they maintain, repair and rejuvenate tissues, in particular muscle.[8][9][10][11][12]  She revealed the role of the microenvironment of the niche, most notably tissue stiffness, in regulating stem cell function and showed how stem cell function declines in aging and hereditary muscle wasting diseases. She discovered ways to rejuvenate aged stem cell function.  Blau discovered a new class of aging-associated enzyme she termed a “gerozyme” and showed that pharmacological targeting of the gerozyme in aged muscle tissue can rejuvenate tissue structure and metabolism and increase strength.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Laboratories & Leaders". Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  2. ^ Blau, H. M.; Chiu, C. P.; Webster, C. (April 1983). "Cytoplasmic activation of human nuclear genes in stable heterocaryons". Cell. 32 (4): 1171–1180. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(83)90300-8. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 6839359.
  3. ^ Chiu, C. P.; Blau, H. M. (July 1984). "Reprogramming cell differentiation in the absence of DNA synthesis". Cell. 37 (3): 879–887. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(84)90423-9. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 6744415.
  4. ^ Chiu, C. P.; Blau, H. M. (February 1985). "5-Azacytidine permits gene activation in a previously noninducible cell type". Cell. 40 (2): 417–424. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(85)90155-2. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 2578323.
  5. ^ Blau, H. M.; Pavlath, G. K.; Hardeman, E. C.; Chiu, C. P.; Silberstein, L.; Webster, S. G.; Miller, S. C.; Webster, C. (1985-11-15). "Plasticity of the differentiated state". Science. 230 (4727): 758–766. Bibcode:1985Sci...230..758B. doi:10.1126/science.2414846. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 2414846.
  6. ^ Blau, H. M.; Baltimore, D. (March 1991). "Differentiation requires continuous regulation". The Journal of Cell Biology. 112 (5): 781–783. doi:10.1083/jcb.112.5.781. ISSN 0021-9525. PMC 2288865. PMID 1999456.
  7. ^ Yamanaka, Shinya; Blau, Helen M. (2010-06-10). "Nuclear reprogramming to a pluripotent state by three approaches". Nature. 465 (7299): 704–712. Bibcode:2010Natur.465..704Y. doi:10.1038/nature09229. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 2901154. PMID 20535199.
  8. ^ Sacco, Alessandra; Doyonnas, Regis; Kraft, Peggy; Vitorovic, Stefan; Blau, Helen M. (2008-11-27). "Self-renewal and expansion of single transplanted muscle stem cells". Nature. 456 (7221): 502–506. Bibcode:2008Natur.456..502S. doi:10.1038/nature07384. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 2919355. PMID 18806774.
  9. ^ Gilbert, P. M.; Havenstrite, K. L.; Magnusson, K. E. G.; Sacco, A.; Leonardi, N. A.; Kraft, P.; Nguyen, N. K.; Thrun, S.; Lutolf, M. P.; Blau, H. M. (2010-08-27). "Substrate elasticity regulates skeletal muscle stem cell self-renewal in culture". Science. 329 (5995): 1078–1081. Bibcode:2010Sci...329.1078G. doi:10.1126/science.1191035. ISSN 1095-9203. PMC 2929271. PMID 20647425.
  10. ^ Cosgrove, Benjamin D.; Gilbert, Penney M.; Porpiglia, Ermelinda; Mourkioti, Foteini; Lee, Steven P.; Corbel, Stephane Y.; Llewellyn, Michael E.; Delp, Scott L.; Blau, Helen M. (March 2014). "Rejuvenation of the muscle stem cell population restores strength to injured aged muscles". Nature Medicine. 20 (3): 255–264. doi:10.1038/nm.3464. ISSN 1546-170X. PMC 3949152. PMID 24531378.
  11. ^ Ho, Andrew T. V.; Palla, Adelaida R.; Blake, Matthew R.; Yucel, Nora D.; Wang, Yu Xin; Magnusson, Klas E. G.; Holbrook, Colin A.; Kraft, Peggy E.; Delp, Scott L.; Blau, Helen M. (2017-06-27). "Prostaglandin E2 is essential for efficacious skeletal muscle stem-cell function, augmenting regeneration and strength". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114 (26): 6675–6684. Bibcode:2017PNAS..114.6675H. doi:10.1073/pnas.1705420114. ISSN 1091-6490. PMC 5495271. PMID 28607093.
  12. ^ Porpiglia, Ermelinda; Mai, Thach; Kraft, Peggy; Holbrook, Colin A.; de Morree, Antoine; Gonzalez, Veronica D.; Hilgendorf, Keren I.; Frésard, Laure; Trejo, Angelica; Bhimaraju, Sriram; Jackson, Peter K.; Fantl, Wendy J.; Blau, Helen M. (2022-12-01). "Elevated CD47 is a hallmark of dysfunctional aged muscle stem cells that can be targeted to augment regeneration". Cell Stem Cell. 29 (12): 1653–1668.e8. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2022.10.009. ISSN 1875-9777. PMC 9746883. PMID 36384141.
  13. ^ Palla, A. R.; Ravichandran, M.; Wang, Y. X.; Alexandrova, L.; Yang, A. V.; Kraft, P.; Holbrook, C. A.; Schürch, C. M.; Ho, A. T. V.; Blau, H. M. (2021-01-29). "Inhibition of prostaglandin-degrading enzyme 15-PGDH rejuvenates aged muscle mass and strength". Science. 371 (6528): eabc8059. doi:10.1126/science.abc8059. ISSN 1095-9203. PMC 7938328. PMID 33303683.
  14. ^ Bakooshli, Mohsen A.; Wang, Yu Xin; Monti, Elena; Su, Shiqi; Kraft, Peggy; Nalbandian, Minas; Alexandrova, Ludmila; Wheeler, Joshua R.; Vogel, Hannes; Blau, Helen M. (2023-10-11). "Regeneration of neuromuscular synapses after acute and chronic denervation by inhibiting the gerozyme 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase". Science Translational Medicine. 15 (717): eadg1485. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.adg1485. ISSN 1946-6242. PMC 10763629. PMID 37820010.