Menstrual blood -- a valuable source of multipotential stem cells?
Tampa, Fla. (Apr. 23, 2008) – Researchers seeking new and more
abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have
identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily
collectable, and inexpensive source – menstrual blood.
Stromal stem cells - cells that are present in connective tissues -
have recently been identified in endometrial tissues of the uterus.
When the fresh growth of tissue and blood vessels is shed during each
menstrual cycle, some cells with regenerative capabilities are
present and collectable. While collecting menstrual blood stromal
cells (MenSCs) directly from tissue would be invasive, retrieving
them during the menstrual cycle would not be.
"Stromal stem cells derived from menstrual blood exhibit stem cell
properties, such as the capacity for self-renewal and multipotency,
said Amit N. Patel, MD, MS, Director of Cardiac Cell Therapy at the
University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute of Regenerative
Medicine. "Uterine stromal cells have similar multipotent markers
found in bone marrow stem cells and originate in part from bone
marrow."
Published in the most recent issue of Cell Transplantation (Volume
17, issue 3), the study examined to what degree MenSCs demonstrated
an ability to differentiate into a variety of cell lineages.
Tests showed that MenSCs could differentiate into adipogenic,
chondrogenic, osteogenic, ectodermal, mesodermal, cardiogenic, and
neural cell lineages. According to Patel, the sample MenSCs expanded
rapidly and maintained greater than 50 percent of their telomerase
activity when compared to human embryonic stem cells and better than
bone marrow-derived stem cells. "Studies have demonstrated that
MenSCs are easily expandable to clinical relevance and express
multipotent markers at both the molecular and cellular level,"
concluded Patel.
Researchers emphasized the importance of the abundance and plasticity
of MenSCs. Based on the results of their studies, they noted the
potential for MenSCs in regenerative transplantation therapies for
many different organs and tissues. "The need for regenerative
therapies using cells with the ability to engraft and differentiate
is vast," said Patel.
"The ideal cell would also have the ability to be used in an
allogenic manner from donors for optimal immunogenic compatibility.
Due to their ease of collection and isolation, MenSCs would be a
great source of multipotent cells if they exhibit this property along
with their ability to differentiate,
Ph.D., Vice President of Laboratory Operations and Research &
Development, Cryo-Cell International, Inc., the study-partner company
that identified, extracted, and initially analyzed the cells. "The
preliminary results are extremely encouraging and support the
importance of further study of these cells in several different areas
including heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease."
Dwaine Emerich, Ph.D., a section editor for Cell Transplantation,
believes that "These studies are a significant step forward in the
development of transplantable stem cells for human diseases because
they address major issues including routine and safe cell harvesting
of renewable cells that maintain their differentiation capacity and
can be scaled for widespread clinical use."
###
* The editorial offices for CELL TRANSPLANTATION are at the Center of
Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, College of Medicine, the
University of South Florida and the Diabetes Research Institute,
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Contact, David Eve,
PhD. at deve@health.
ricordi@miami.
Public release date: 23-Apr-2008
Contact: Amit Patel
patelan@upmc.
412-648-6411
Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair
http://www.eurekale
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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