FEATURE STEM CELL RESEARCH
«In addition to hematopoietic stem cells, the most widely studied stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells »
sources of young MSCs. The advantage of this source of MSCs (over other sources like bone marrow and adipose tissue) is that these umbilical cords are usually thrown away following the delivery of a child, thus making collection non-evasive, without risk and less expensive than collecting from other sources. Further, it has been scientifically proven that with age, MSCs decline in number and differentiation potential and thus cord tissue MSCs are the youngest available source. MSCs are being explored and widely
used in numerous clinical trials today due to their unique functional characteristics: Ability to home in on site of injury and assist in repair when injected intravenously Ability to differentiate into numerous cells, including fat, cartilage muscle, bone, nerve tissue and others Ability to exhibit anti-inflammatory and immuno-suppressant characteristics; an important application in auto-immune disorders and inflammatory stages of
FIGURE: 1
NMDP TRANSPLANTS BY CELL SOURCE PEDIATRIC RECIPIANTS (AGE YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS)
1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
Bone Marrow Peripheral Blood Stem Cells Cord Blood
In paediatrics in the USA, cord blood is the most frequently used source of stem cells for HSCT’s. Reference: National Marrow Donor Program (
www.marrow.org)
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
www.clinicaltrials.gov www.marrow.org
Arab Health Issue 4 2011 39
numerous diseases. The following list includes some diseases with the most promising treatments currently being explored using MSCs traditionally from the bone marrow: Heart disease - Acute myocardial infarction and heart failure Auto-immune disorders - SLE, Crohn’s, Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and others Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Graft vs. Host disease
Co-transplantation in hematopoietic stem cell transplant Orthopaedic applications (bone and cartilage repair) Liver disease (End stage liver disease) Peripheral artery disease Stroke Spinal cord injury Multiple system atrophy
AN EXCITING FUTURE AHEAD What is clear from the ongoing work is that umbilical cord blood is a precious resource of stem cells for treatment of current applications and for possible use in future regenerative medicine and cellular therapy. Public and private cord blood banks should work together to ensure accurate, unbiased, medically and scientifically supported education to all, especially expecting parents and healthcare providers about the benefits of storage of umbilical cord blood. Together more umbilical cord bloods
can be stored, increasing the number of precious samples in the banks. Every umbilical cord thrown away is a loss of potential resource of precious stem cells. ■
AH
REFERENCES References available on request (
magazine@informa.com)
1988
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64