Dr. Spees is elucidating the differentiation capacity, migration patterns, cytokine/growth factor secretion, and fusion of adult stem cells with tissue endogenous cells to determine their ability to repair tissues. He works with experimental animal preparations to characterize progressive pulmonary hypertension, myocardial infarction, and fibrosis and their responses to adult stem cells. Currently, he is investigating mechanisms through which adult stem cells can preserve mitochondrial function in injured cardiomyocytes.  

Adult Stem Cell Core - Dr. Spees directs a new Adult Stem Cell Core in the Cardiovascular Research Institute. The Core provides unmanipulated as well as lentivirally- tagged adult stem cells from human and rodent sources to other investigators within the University of Vermont College of Medicine. It is anticipated that the Adult Stem Cell Core will act as a catalyst for collaborative discoveries in regenerative medicine and will lead to novel cell-based therapeutic strategies for cardiac and other diseases. 

Representative Publications from a total of 11:

Spees, J.L., Olson, S.D., Ylostalo, J., Lynch, P.J., Smith, J., Perry, A., Peister, A., Wang, M.Y., Prockop, D.J. Differentiation, cell fusion and nuclear fusion during ex vivo repair of epithelium by human adult stem cells from bone marrow stroma (hMSCs). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100:2397-2402, 2003.

Prockop, D.J., Gregory, C.A., Spees, J.L. One strategy for cell and gene therapy: Harnessing the power of adult stem cells to repair tissues. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 (suppl. 1):11917-11923, 2003.

Wang, G., Bunnell, B.A., Painter, R.G., Tom, S., Lanson, N.A., Spees, J.L., Bertucci, D., Weiss, D.J., Valentine, V.G., Prockop, D.J., Kolls, J.K. Adult stem cells from bone marrow stroma differentiate into airway epithelial cells: potential for cystic fibrosis therapy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102:186-191, 2004.

Gregory, C.A., Gunn, W.G., Reyes, E., Smolarz, A.J., Munoz, J., Spees, J.L., Prockop, D.J. How Wnt signaling affects bone repair by mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1049:1-10, 2005.

Gregory, C.A., Prockop, D.J., Spees J.L. Non-hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells: Molecular control of expansion and differentiation. Experimental Cell Res. 306:330-335, 2005.

Munoz, J.R., Stoutenger, B.R., Robinson, A.P., Spees, J.L., D.J. Prockop. Human stem/progenitor cells from bone marrow (MSCs) promote neurogenesis of endogenous neural stem cells in the hippocampus of mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102:18171-18176, 2005.

Spees, J.L., Olson, S.D., Whitney, M.J., D.J. Prockop. Mitochondria transfer between cells can rescue aerobic respiration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:1283-1288, 2006.

Gregory CA, Reyes E, Whitney MJ, Spees J.L. Enhanced engraftment of mesenchymal stem cells in a cutaneous wound model by culture in allogenic species-specific serum and administration in fibrin constructs. Stem Cells 24:2232-2243, 2006.

Lee, R.H., Seo, M.J., Reger, R.L., Spees, J.L., Pulin, A.A., Olson, S.D., Prockop, D.J. Multipotent stromal cells from human marrow home to and promote repair of pancreatic islets and renal glomeruli in diabetic NOD/scid mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A.103:17438-17443, 2006.

Iso, Y, Spees, J.L., Bakondi, B., Serrano, C., Pochampally, R., Song, Y-H, Sobel, B.E., Delafontaine, P., Prockop D.J.  Multipotent human stromal cells improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction in immunodeficient mice without long-term engraftment. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Com., in press.