Treatment of multiple sclerosis with stem cells

11 June 2022, 01:34 | Technologies 
фото с e-news.com.ua

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, disabling disease that affects the central nervous system and disrupts the connection between the brain and the body, according to Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women aged 14 to 35.. net Researchers have long struggled to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, using mice with an induced disorder that closely resembles MS in humans..

Now American scientists report that mice with this disease can start walking, and even run, after being treated with human stem cells..

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, the University of Utah, and the University of California-Irvine have published their stunning results in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

More than 2 million people around the world now suffer from multiple sclerosis, researchers write.. This disease is the result of malfunctioning immune T cells that flood the spinal cord and brain, causing inflammation and loss of myelin, a protein that covers nerve fibers..

When the affected nerve fibers lose their ability to transmit electrical signals correctly, weakness, numbness, fatigue, vision problems, memory lapses, speech changes, etc..

Dr. Jeanne Loring, co-author of the study at the Scripps Institute, says that in their experiment, even after mice rejected human stem cells, they recovered: “When we implanted human stem cells into a paralyzed mouse, it stood up and after a few weeks began to walk.

"

Foreign cells triggered the production of regulatory T cells.

Current therapies for multiple sclerosis aim to suppress the immune system's response to the host's nervous tissues, but these methods are not effective enough and are accompanied by many side effects, sometimes so severe that treatment has to be interrupted..

Professor Loring and her team have been looking for an alternative therapy for a long time, using human pluripotent stem cells - universal cells that can transform into any specific body cells..

She explains that the phenomenon that scientists observed in mice after injection of human pluripotent cells was precisely the transformation: “Tom called me and said:“ You won’t believe it ”. He sent me a video of mice running around in a cage.. I really didn’t believe it and asked him if these were the mice.”.

Mice were able to walk even after their bodies rejected human stem cells within a week of implantation. Therefore, the team hypothesized that human stem cells secrete certain proteins that have a long-term effect and stop the progression of MS in mice..

Study co-author Ron Coleman, a student in Professor Loring's lab, said that "

In the course of their work, the researchers were able to demonstrate that implanted human stem cells lead to the appearance in mice of a special type of regulatory T-lymphocytes that stop the autoimmune reaction and inflammation..

Stem cells also release proteins that trigger the "

More research needs to be done before treating people.

Based on the new discovery, Prof. Loring and her team set out to find out exactly which " In their opinion, proteins of the TGF-B family (transforming growth factor beta) look like a promising option - some studies have shown that they are involved in the formation of regulatory T cells..

If scientists find the proteins that caused the paralyzed mice to recover, it could be possible to create a new MS therapy that does not require the introduction of the stem cells themselves..

In an interview with Medical News Today, Professor Loring spoke about her next steps: “Our goal is to develop an effective therapy in humans based on the remarkable results we have seen in mice.. Right now, we can't predict exactly what the new treatment will look like.. But it will not necessarily involve the introduction of stem cells - it will be enough to use small biologically active molecules, which we must identify and thoroughly study.”.

medbe. en.

По материалам: pannochka.net