ADULT STEM CELLS - New hope for kidney patients

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BBC 24 July, 2001, 23:13 GMT 00:13 UK New hope for kidney patients

Breakthrough could lead to new treatments

Scientists have shown for the first time that cells in bone marrow are capable of turning into kidney cells.

The breakthrough could lead to new ways to treat kidney damage caused by cancer and other diseases.

It could also mean that doctors may eventually be able to restore function to patients suffering from kidney failure, and may pave the way to new gene therapy for kidney diseases.

The work has been carried out by scientists at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Barts Hospital, the London Hospital and Imperial College School of Medicine.

Early development

They focused on cells from the bone marrow at the very earliest stage of their development.

At this stage this stem cells have the potential to develop into white blood cells, red blood cells or another type of blood structure called a platelet.

Scientists have already shown that these cells can transform themselves into liver cells.

The new work shows that they can turn into kidney cells too.

Professor Nick Wright, head of Imperial Cancer Research Fund's Histopathology Unit, said: "This discovery is very exciting and means we have new ways to treat kidney damage caused by cancer or other diseases.

"Doctors could use stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow to replenish kidney cells lost by injury.

"This would be of huge benefit as the kidney is very poor at repairing itself.

"Furthermore, there would be much less complication with the kidneys rejecting the new cells, because they would come from the patient's own body.

"Another exciting development would be using bone marrow stem cells containing genes resistant to cancer or other disease, to protect the kidneys from further damage."

Transplant

Research pathologists in Imperial Cancer's Histopathology Unit analysed female kidneys transplanted into male patients.

Using a special DNA probe that identifies male cells they checked the patient's new kidneys.

They found male kidney cells in the donated female kidneys, meaning that the recipient's male bone marrow cells had transformed into kidney tissue.

Professor Wright said: "Anti-rejection medication after a kidney transplant costs about £5,000 per patient a year, and each year the number of new patients needing kidney transplants increases by about 5%.

"It would be fantastic to save kidney patients this trauma and save the NHS some money."

Dr Poulsom, a research pathologist at Imperial Cancer, said: "The potential for advances in medicine from using adult stem cells is enormous.

"They can give rise to many different types of cells so any organ may one day be repaired. Using adult stem cells also avoids the ethical dilemmas associated with embryonic stem cell work."

The research is published in the Journal of Pathology.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2001


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