CANADA: Stem Cells Can Regenerate Damaged Organs In Animals

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

THE VANCOUVER SUN
Monday, June 23, 2003

Stem cells can regenerate damaged organs in animals
Now scientists are wondering if they can be used to trick the human body into 
healing itself
 
Margaret Munro
CanWest News Service

Monday, June 23, 2003

Canadian scientists have discovered that stem cells can trigger regeneration of 
severely damaged organs in animals, a
feat that suggests it may be possible to trick the human body into healing 
itself.

"It certainly raises intriguing therapeutic possibilities," says Dr. Mickie 
Bhatia, head of the team at the Robarts
Research Institute in London, Ont.

The scientists injected bone marrow stem cells into diabetic mice, who were 
cured or back to normal within seven to 14
days.

But the "most amazing" finding, said Bhatia, is that the stem cells triggered 
the rodents' damaged pancreases to
regenerate on their own.

He believes the same thing may work in humans.

"There is no reason to think it wouldn't," he said, cautioning that much 
research must be completed before it could be
tried as a therapy for people with diabetes or other diseases.

The scientists injected the bone marrow stem cells into diabetic mice, thinking 
the new cells would replace the
rodents' damaged insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

They were so surprised to see them trigger regeneration that they repeated the 
experiment several times.

"This is a completely unprecedented property of bone marrow stem cells," said 
Bhatia.

Stem cells are believed to have the potential to turn into many types of cells 
in the body. There has been much talk of
growing them in labs and using them to repair damage in the brain, heart, liver 
and other tissues.

The new findings "are very, very cool" and open up a whole new area to 
investigate, Bhatia said.

It is not clear how the stem cells triggered the regeneration in mice, but the 
scientists suspect the stem cells may
produce potent molecules.

Bhatia is keen to find that molecular mechanism, saying it may be possible to 
produce the molecules and use them to
heal organs and tissues.

"We could just administer the molecule. You wouldn't have to do cellular 
therapy."

Diabetes research using the more controversial human embryonic stem cells could 
begin this fall with an Edmonton
surgeon expected to go ahead with his new experiments.

Stem cells are able to divide almost indefinitely, producing specialized cells 
such as beating heart cells, insulin-
producing pancreatic cells, or nerve cells. They're found in small embryos, 
designed by nature to turn into every type
of cell in the body.

They do that in the womb as an embryo grows into a baby, but they also can be 
manipulated in the lab to create whatever
cell type is needed for a specific treatment.

That raises a tricky ethical debate over whether doctors should be allowed to 
destroy the life of a five-day-old embryo
to potentially save a patient's life.

The alternative is using what initially were believed to be less flexible stem 
cells in tissues of children or adults,
including skin, bone marrow, muscle, brain tissue, umbilical cords and baby 
teeth. So-called "adult" stem cells
typically produce only the major specialized cell types of the particular 
tissue or organ in which they are found.

Human stem cell research has been held up as Parliament reviews new laws that 
would regulate such research.

Bhatia now wants to find out if bone marrow stem cells can trigger regeneration 
of other tissues such as kidneys.

In the mouse experiments, the scientists destroyed the rodent's 
insulin-producing pancreatic cells with chemicals. The
animals soon developed symptoms of severe diabetes. Then the scientists 
injected bone marrow stem cells from healthy
rodents into the diabetic mice.

The injected cells were tagged with a fluorescent green marker which allowed 
the scientists to follow their fate. The
cells did not end up in the pancreas as expected. Instead, the organs repaired 
themselves.

Within days, the animals' insulin and blood-sugar levels returned to 
near-normal.

"The bone marrow stem cells interacted with the pancreas and basically 
triggered the pancreas to regenerate on its
own," said Bhatia.

Diabetic mice that didn't receive stem cells became sicker and eventually had 
to be killed.

- - -

BRITISH DOCTORS OPEN STEM CELL LAB

Selling futures: Two British doctors have opened a stem cell laboratory in 
Sussex, in a bid to take on the U.S. giant
behind a multi-million dollar business. Cells 4 Life, founded by Dr. Giles 
Davies and Dr. Jeff Drew, offers parents-to-
be the chance to store stem cells from their newborn children at almost half 
the price of U.S. giant Cryo-Cell's U.K.
affiliate, which has dominated the market.

So far, the umbilical cords of 30 children are stored with the company, in the 
hope that if a child becomes ill later
on the cells can be used in transplants. The company hopes this number will 
grow massively as parents become aware of
the opportunity. "We started the company because we wanted to protect our own 
children's stem cells and offer the same
opportunity to other parents,'' Davies said.

SOURCE: The Vancouver Sun


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