A team of Japanese researchers have developed a new treatment that cures renal Anaemia with cord blood stem cells. The scientists, from Kyoto University and Kagawa University, recently published their results in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects millions of people worldwide. Most cases are caused by diabetes and high blood pressure. The disease makes the kidneys unable to filter waste and excessive fluid from the blood effectively. It is usually treated with dietary changes, dialysis, or a kidney transplant.
Most people with chronic kidney disease also suffer from renal anaemia. It occurs because kidneys affected by CKD can no longer produce sufficient levels of erythropoietin (EPO) — which is necessary to carry red blood cells to other parts of the body. Patients with renal anaemia have to receive regular injections of EPO, which has significant side effects.
This new study shows how kidney cells derived from cord blood stem cells can be injected directly into the kidney, helping the kidney produce sufficient levels of EPO.
The treatment begins with the collection of cord blood stem cells. They are the stem cells found in the blood within the umbilical cord and placenta. They can be collected after the baby is born, with no negative impact on the health of the baby or the mother.
The cord blood stem cells are then treated with growth factors so they change into pluripotent stem cells. Pluripotent cells have the ability to change into any other kind of cell, including bone cells, muscle cells, brain cells and kidney cells.
The pluripotent cells are prompted into changing into mature kidney cells capable of producing EPO. They are then injected into the kidney of the patient.
The procedure has been successfully tested on mice. The animal’s EPO levels rose dramatically, curing their renal anaemia.
The next step is to test the procedure on humans. If subsequent trials are a success, there may be a widely available cure for renal anaemia in the next few years.
Source: Human stem cells used to cure renal anemia in mice
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