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Dampened hopes for transplanting bone marrow stem cells in heart attacks
May 06, 2004There is little, if any, evidence that adult stem cells can build other cells in an adult organism than those formed in the organs they themselves come from. At any rate, blood stem cells do not convert to heart muscle cells in a damaged heart, which was previously hoped. This has been shown by a research team from the Stem Cell Center at Lund University in Sweden in an article in Nature Medicine.
During the end of the 1990s and early 2000s scientists nourished great hopes that adult stem cells would be able to develop into all sorts of cells. If so, it would not be necessary to use the ethically more problematic embryonic stem cells. However, newer studies have shown that while adult stem cells are very good at producing different types of cells in their own respective organs, they have little or no ability to form cells in other organs.
"Both we and two American research teams have used various methods to replicate a study from three years ago that appeared in Nature. It was about transplanting blood stem cells to create new heart muscle cells to repair a heart after a heart attack. But all of our results univocally indicate that this is not possible," says Jens Nygren. He is a doctoral student and part of research team headed by Professor Sten Eirik Jacobsen at the Stem Cell Center.
What the Lund scientists have found is that the transplanted cells that remain in the infarcted area retain their identity as blood cells. On the other hand, outside the infarcted area a so-called fusion did occur between the transplanted cells and heart muscle cells.
Such fused cells can sometimes look as if they had been formed from a transplanted stem cell. In other words, fusions may explain the first promising studies: the scientists believed they were looking at cells produced by maturation of blood stem cells, whereas in actual fact they were seeing a tiny number of fused cells.
Now it is time for second thoughts, and these might affect the many large-scale patient trials that were initiated during the hopeful period. In Sweden there is only one entirely new trial underway, and it can easily be discontinued, but in Germany and elsewhere a huge number of patients have already had blood stem cells transplanted into their heart, and more transplants are in planned. The question is whether there is any reason to continue these trials, or whether they should be ended. There are some indications that bone marrow transplants have a certain positive effect on the heart function after an infarction, but the mechanism behind this remains an open question.
Sten Eirik Jacobsen's research team is now primarily focusing on how blood production from stem cells is regulated. They are also going to carry on their work to understand what fusion between bone marrow cells and heart musculature might entail, both in adult hearts and in fetal development.
Vetenskapsrådet (The Swedish Research Council)
Stem Cells Current Events and Stem Cells News RSSGene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
Bone Implant Offers Hope for Skull Deformities
A synthetic bone matrix offers hope for babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the plates in the skull to fuse too soon.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
Is hepatic differentiation of embryonic stem cells induced by valproic acid and cytokines?
Embryonic stem (ES) cells, known for their capacity to proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into almost all types of cells including hepatocytes, have raised the hope of cellular replacement therapy for liver failure.
Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer
One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling colon cancer. The study is presented in the prestigious journal Cell.
U of M researchers find 2 units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning.
The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine may also be detrimental for health
The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine is not always beneficial for human health, it may even be harmful according to a work done by the University of Granada and University of León. Scientists have demonstrated that transplantation of human mononuclear cells isolated from umbilical cord blood exerted a deleterious effect in rats with liver cirrhosis.
Penn Study Provides First Clear Idea of How Rare Bone Disease Progresses
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is taking the first step in developing a treatment for a rare genetic disorder called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which the body's skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue turns to bone, immobilizing patients over a lifetime with a second skeleton.
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