加拿大科学家利用人体骨髓干细胞在实验鼠身上生成新血管。这项成果有望应用于治疗外周动脉疾病等人类疾病。美国《血液》(Blood)杂志日前刊登了相关论文。
加拿大西安大略大学罗巴茨研究所教授戴维·赫斯领导的研究小组从人体骨髓中提取干细胞,并从中分离出3种不同类型的“促血管生成干细胞”,然后对它们进行“净化处理”,从中筛除受污染或可能会导致感染的干细胞,将处理过的干细胞注到实验鼠循环系统中。研究人员事先已将这些实验鼠腿部的一动脉血管结扎,造成腿部局部受损。他们发现,被注到实验鼠循环系统中的干细胞聚集在其腿部的缺血区域,并促成了受损血管的修复,改善了实验鼠的血液循环。
赫斯认为,这项研究在临床上是可行的,美国一家生物医药公司已向美国食品和药物管理局提出申请,希望利用这项成果对休斯敦一家医疗中心的21名晚期外周动脉疾病患者进行临床试验。赫斯说,这项研究成果还可以用于治疗身体其他部位的缺血症状。
外周动脉疾病是糖尿病患者常见的严重并发症之一,其主要症状是肢体缺血,会导致患者肢体疼痛、伤口难以愈合,严重情况下会被截肢。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推荐原始出处:
Blood March 26, 2009; DOI 10.1182/blood-2008-04-154567.
Revascularization of ischemic limbs after transplantation of human bone marrow cells with high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity
Benjamin J. Capoccia, Debra L. Robson, Krysta D. Levac, Dustin J. Maxwell, Sarah A. Hohm, Marian J. Neelamkavil, Gillian I. Bell, Anargyros Xenocostas, Daniel C. Link, David Piwnica-Worms, Jan A. Nolta, and David A. Hess*
1 Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
2 Program in Regenerative Medicine, Krembil Centre for Stem Cell Biology, Vascular Biology Group, Robarts Research Institute, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
3 Department of Developmental Biology, Molecular Imagaing Center, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
4 Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario and the London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
5 Stem Cell Program, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, United States
The development of cell therapies to treat peripheral vascular disease has proven difficult due to the contribution of multiple cell types that co-ordinate revascularization. Here, we characterized the vascular regenerative potential of transplanted human bone marrow (BM) cells purified by high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDHhi) activity, a progenitor cell function conserved between several lineages. BM ALDHhi cells were enriched for myelo-erythroid progenitors that produced multipotent hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation, and contained non-hematopoietic precursors that established colonies in mesenchymal-stromal and endothelial culture conditions. The regenerative capacity of human ALDHhi cells was assessed by intravenous transplantation into immune-deficient mice with limb ischemia induced by femoral artery ligation/transection. Compared to recipients injected with unpurified nucleated cells containing the equivalent of 2-4-fold more ALDHhi cells, mice transplanted with purified ALDHhi cells showed augmented recovery of perfusion and increased blood vessel density in ischemic limbs. ALDHhi cells transiently recruited to the ischemic region but did not significantly integrate into ischemic tissue, suggesting that transient ALDHhi cell engraftment stimulated endogenous revascularization. Thus, human BM ALDHhi cells represent a progenitor-enriched population of several cell lineages that improves perfusion in ischemic limbs after transplantation. These clinically relevant cells may prove useful in the treatment of critical ischemia in humans.