|
Stem Cells From a Non-Controversial Source Show Lots of Therapeutic Promise As reported in the journal “Experimental Neurology” in the paper “Transplantation of Porcine Umbilical Cord Matrix Cells into the Rat Brain,” a team of K-State veterinary and animal science researchers extracted stem cells from the umbilical cord of a pig and inserted the cells into the brain of a rat. “We used umbilical cords as a source because that tissue is an abundant source of cells, and it is usually discarded regardless. We found that many of the cells in the tissue that is found between the umbilical blood vessels are stem cells that can be harvested in large numbers. Stem cells are primitive kinds of cells that can morph into several types of cells found in tissues that make up the body,” said Deryl Troyer, who worked on the project. The rat’s immune system did not detect or reject the foreign cells that had been transplanted from the pig, but instead, the rat incorporated the stem cells into its own physiology. After being injected into the rat’s brain the pig cells began to act like the rat’s own nervous system cells. They survived for six weeks in the rat’s body without the aid of immune suppressing drugs. Stem cell transfers from one organism to another are often rapidly rejected. Scientists call this response a hyperacute rejection. “We are very excited about the potential of these umbilical cord cells for therapeutic applications,” said Troyer. Stem cells have the ability to go into a part of the body – such as the brain or muscles – adapt and then begin to function like that particular tissue of the body. A stem cell can potentially go into a muscle and begin acting as a muscle cell, or go into the brain and begin functioning as a nervous cell. “Stem cells could one day be used routinely for treating degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s or heart disease,” said Troyer. “This is a mechanism to put in new stem cells that can replace ones that have been lost or damaged.” Parkinson’s, for example, is a disease caused by a shortage of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the human body. Stem cells could potentially go into the brain and replace or repair the cells assigned to produce dopamine, or they could rescue dying neurons to prevent the progression of the disease. The same scenario may be possible for other degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, or for spinal cord injuries, strokes, burns and arthritis. Co-authors with Troyer are Kathy Mitchell, J.E. Hix, S. Medicetty, S.Z. El-Zarkouny, David Greiger, and Mark Weiss. "We have also been studying human umbilical cord matrix cells, and human cells appear to have more potential than the ones derived from pigs," Troyer said. The Kansas State University team of researchers says their use of human umbilical cord matrix stem cells avoids the controversy surrounding some sources of stem cells. First, they use umbilical cord tissue, which is discarded after birth. Second, they harvest the stem cells after the birth, so the harvest does not affect the cell donor. The other, controversial stem cells, embryonic, are harvested from the embryo in a process that kills the embryo. At this time it is not known if the umbilical cord stem cells can form as many tissues as embryonic stem cells. Kansas State University received support for this research from two grants from the National Institutes of Health, a Kansas State Faculty Funding Award, and funding from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
Prepared by Nick VinZant
|
