PrintAlive 3D bioprinter creates on-demand skin grafts for burn victims
By NEVAGiles23
While most are familiar with the potential for 3D printers to pump out plastic odds and ends for around the home, the technology also has far-reaching applications in the medical field. Research is already underway to develop 3D bioprinters able to create things as complex as human organs, and now engineering students in Canada have created a 3D printer that produces skin grafts for burn victims.
Called PrintAlive, the new machine was developed by University of Toronto engineering students Arianna McAllister and Lian Leng, who worked in collaboration with Professor Axel Guenther, Boyang Zhang and Dr. Marc Jeschke, the head of Sunnybrook Hospital's Ross Tilley Burn Centre.
While the traditional treatment for serious burns involves removing healthy skin from another part of the body so it can be grafted onto the affected area, the PrintAlive machine could put an end to such painful harvesting by printing large, continuous layers of tissue including hair follicles, sweat glands and other human skin complexities onto a hydrogel. Importantly, the device uses the patient's own cells, thereby eliminating the problem of the tissue being rejected by their immune system.
Because growing a culture of a patient's skin cells ready for grafting can typically take more than two weeks, the machine prints the patient's cells out in patterns of spots or stripes rather than a continuous sheet, to make them go further. The result is a cell-populated wound dressing that reproduces key features of human skin and can be precisely controlled in terms of thickness, structure and composition.
Having been under development since 2008, the team recently completed a second-generation, pre-commercial prototype that they say is smaller than an average microwave. This makes it portable enough to easily transport, which gives it the potential to one day revolutionize burn care in rural and developing areas around the world.
"Ninety per cent of burns occur in low and middle income countries, with greater mortality and morbidity due to poorly-equipped health care systems and inadequate access to burn care facilities," says Jeschke. "Regenerating skin using a patients own stem cells can significantly decrease the risk of death in developing countries."
So far, the 3D-printed skin grafts have been tested on mice, with the team planning to move onto pigs before clinical trials on humans in the next few years. They were recently named the Canadian winners in the 2014 James Dyson Awards, giving them US$3,500 to continue development and putting them in the running for the $60,000 main prize.
The PrintAlive bioprinter is detailed in the video below.
Sources: University of Toronto, James Dyson Award
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PrintAlive 3D bioprinter creates on-demand skin grafts for burn victims
Stem Cell Therapy The Aspen Institute for Anti Aging & Regenerative Medicine – Video
By daniellenierenberg
Stem Cell Therapy The Aspen Institute for Anti Aging Regenerative Medicine
By: Cupio Media
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Stem Cell Therapy The Aspen Institute for Anti Aging & Regenerative Medicine - Video
China tests stem cell therapy for heart disease – Video
By Sykes24Tracey
China tests stem cell therapy for heart disease
Monday marks World Heart Day. One of the most serious conditions is Chronic Heart Disease. It has no cure to date, but in China, scientists are hoping to find one, using stem-cell technology.
By: CCTV America
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China tests stem cell therapy for heart disease - Video
Cell therapy – Institute of Cell Therapy – …
By NEVAGiles23
About cell therapy
Cell therapy is a new official direction in medicine, based on the use of regenerative potential of the adult stem cells, aimed at the treatment of a variety of serious diseases, rehabilitation of patients after injuries and fighting with the premature signs of aging. Stem cells are also considered to be the promising biological material for the creation of the prosthetic heart valves, blood vessels, trachea, they are also used as the unique biofiller for the reconstitution of bone defects and other purposes of the plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The scientists explain the regenerative mechanism of action of stem cells both by their ability to transform into the cells of blood, liver, myocardium, bone, cartilage or nervous tissue and thus restore damaged organs and also by the reovery of the functional activity of the other cells (through the so-called paracrine type) by means of the production of a variety of growth factors.
For clinical purposes, in most cases stem cells are obtained from the bone marrow and cord blood, it is also known that the amount of stem cells, sufficient for treatment, can be isolated from the peripheral blood of an adult person, but after pre-stimulation of hematopoiesis. In recent years there is an increasing number of reports worldwide on the clinical application of stem cells, derived from the placenta, adipose tissue, umbilical cord tissue, amniotic fluid, and even pulp of the milk teeth. Depending on the disease, age and condition of the patient, one or another source of stem cells may be preferred. Hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells are used for more than 50 years in the treatment of leukemia and lymphomas, and this treatment is commonly known as the bone marrow transplantation, but today hematopoietic stem cells, derived from umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood are more often used in the hematologic clinics of the world. At the same time, for the treatment of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, the stimulation of fractures and chronic wounds healing the mesenchymal stem cells are more preferred, being the precursors of the connective tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells are found in big quantity in fatty tissue, placenta, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid. Due to the immunosuppressive effects of mesenchymal stem cells, they are also used in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, etc.), as well as post-transplantation complications (to prevent the rejection of the transplanted donor organ). For the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including lower limbs ischemia, the umbilical cord blood is considered to be the most promising, as it contains a special kind of the endothelial progenitor stem cells, which can not be found in any other human tissue.
Cell therapy may be autologous (own cells are used) and allogeneic (donor cells are used). However, it is known that every nucleated cell in the human body has certain immunological characteristics (HLA-phenotype or immune passport), that is why the use of donor stem cells requires immunological compatibility. This fact determines the appropriateness of the banking of the own stem cells, frozen until the person is still young and healthy. In this aspect the human umbilical cord blood has undisputed medical and biological value as the source of several unique lines of stem cells. Collected in the first minutes of life, umbilical cord blood stem cells have the highest potential for proliferation (growth) and directed differentiation.
Stem cell therapy can be applied both intravenously like a drug, and directly into the damaged tissue. In recent years the method of intraosseous transplantation of cord blood stem cells is more widely used, contributing to the more rapid engraftment. Also a method of introducing stem cells directly into the coronary arteries (coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction) was introduced and it is called cellular cardiomyoplasty.
Cell therapy can be carried out both in monotherapy and complementary to the surgical or drug treatment.
Currently stem cells are successfully used in the treatment of about 100 serious diseases, and in some cases this is the only effective treatment.
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Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis, study shows
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were able to safely tolerate treatment with cells cultured from human placental tissue, according to a study published today in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. The study, which is the first of its kind, was conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics subsidiary of Celgene Corporation and collaborators at several other institutions.
While designed to determine safety of the treatment, early signals in the data also suggested that a preparation of cultured cells called PDA-001 may repair damaged nerve tissues in patients with MS. PDA-001 cells resemble "mesenchymal," stromal stem cells found in connective tissue in bone marrow, but unlike their bone-marrow derived counterparts, stromal cells from the placenta are more numerous, with one donor able to supply enough cells for many patients.
"This is the first time placenta-derived cells have been tested as a possible therapy for multiple sclerosis," said Fred Lublin, MD, Director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, Professor of Neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the lead investigator of the study. "The next step will be to study larger numbers of MS patients to assess efficacy of the cells, but we could be looking at a new frontier in treatment for the disease."
MS is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mounts recurring assaults on the myelin--the fatty, protective coating around nerve fibers in the central nervous system. This causes nerves to malfunction and can lead to paralysis and blindness. The disease usually begins as an episodic disorder called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and for many sufferers, evolves into a chronic condition with worsening disability called secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
The new safety study was conducted on 16 MS patients (10 with RRMS and six with SPMS) between the ages of 18 and 65. Six patients were given a high dose of PDA-001, another six were given a lower dose, and four patients were given placebo. Any time the immune system is altered, say by an experimental treatment, there is always a risk for MS to worsen, noted Dr. Lublin. All subjects were given monthly brain scans over a six-month period to ensure they did not acquire any new or enlarging brain lesions, which would indicate a worsening of MS activity. No subjects showed any paradoxical worsening on MRI and after one year, the majority had stable or improved levels of disability.
"We're hoping to learn more about how placental stromal cells contribute to myelin repair," said Dr. Lublin. "We suspect they either convert to a myelin making cell, or they enhance the environment of the area where the damage is to allow for natural repair. Our long-term goal is to develop strategies to facilitate repair of the damaged nervous system."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Mount Sinai Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis, study shows
Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis
By raymumme
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
29-Sep-2014
Contact: Sasha Walek newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-6738 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine @mountsinainyc
Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were able to safely tolerate treatment with cells cultured from human placental tissue, according to a study published today in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. The study, which is the first of its kind, was conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics subsidiary of Celgene Corporation and collaborators at several other institutions.
While designed to determine safety of the treatment, early signals in the data also suggested that a preparation of cultured cells called PDA-001 may repair damaged nerve tissues in patients with MS. PDA-001 cells resemble mesenchymal, stromal stem cells found in many tissues of the body. Since the cells are expanded in cell cultures, one donor is able to supply enough cells for many patients.
"This is the first time placenta-derived cells have been tested as a possible therapy for multiple sclerosis," said Fred Lublin, MD, Director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, Professor of Neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the lead investigator of the study. "The next step will be to study larger numbers of MS patients to assess efficacy of the cells, but we could be looking at a new frontier in treatment for the disease."
MS is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mounts recurring assaults on the myelin--the fatty, protective coating around nerve fibers in the central nervous system. This causes nerves to malfunction and can lead to paralysis and blindness. The disease usually begins as an episodic disorder called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and for many sufferers, evolves into a chronic condition with worsening disability called secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
The new safety study was conducted on 16 MS patients (10 with RRMS and six with SPMS) between the ages of 18 and 65. Six patients were given a high dose of PDA-001, another six were given a lower dose, and four patients were given placebo. Any time the immune system is altered, say by an experimental treatment, there is always a risk for MS to worsen, noted Dr. Lublin. All subjects were given monthly brain scans over a six-month period to ensure they did not acquire any new or enlarging brain lesions, which would indicate a worsening of MS activity. No subjects showed any paradoxical worsening on MRI and after one year, the majority had stable or improved levels of disability.
"We're hoping to learn more about how placental stromal cells contribute to myelin repair," said Dr. Lublin. "We suspect they either convert to a myelin making cell, or they enhance the environment of the area where the damage is to allow for natural repair. Our long-term goal is to develop strategies to facilitate repair of the damaged nervous system."
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Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis
Sarthak – Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation in CP with Sensory Neural Deafness – Video
By raymumme
Sarthak - Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation in CP with Sensory Neural Deafness
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
By: Stem Cell India
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Sarthak - Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation in CP with Sensory Neural Deafness - Video
Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy – Woman – Video
By daniellenierenberg
Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy - Woman
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
By: Stem Cell India
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Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy - Woman - Video
Stroke Stem Cell Therapy Testimonial – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Stroke Stem Cell Therapy Testimonial
Kylie tells the story of her father #39;s stroke and how stem cell therapy helped his condition.
By: stemaid
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Stroke Stem Cell Therapy Testimonial - Video
Stem cell therapy for pets available in Huntsville
By NEVAGiles23
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) -- We hate to see our elderly loved ones start having trouble getting around. The same goes for our pets. They're part of the family too. Now there's a procedure that could help pets across the valley, in just one day.
For Tasha, Wednesday was a big day. The 12 year old black lab has a tough time getting around. She has hip dysplasia and arthritis. But this visit to Whitesburg Animal Hospital, should change that.
"In a week, they're better. Even in the first day or two, you'll see noticeable improvement," says Whitesburg veterinarian Dr. Mark Russell.
The hospital teamed up with MediVet America to offer a one-day stem cell procedure, the first in North Alabama. It can now activate sleeping stem cells in an animal's fat, then inject them right back into the damaged areas.
"The stem cells will repair and regenerate cartilage, tendons, whatever is lacking in that area," says Trey Smith, the Director of Lab Services for MediVet America.
In the past, the cells had to be sent to California to be activated. This quicker procedure has another benefit.
"We've relied on medications to try to control this, and that's pretty much all we had. And you get to a certain point, when the medication doesn't work anymore, and their quality of life is bad. That's not hardly worth it for them. This gives them a whole new option," Dr. Russell says.
"Probably 20 to 25 percent of dogs are arthritic and they're not very good at telling their owner they're hurting," adds Smith.
So, what should you look for?
Russell says, "When your pet starts slowing down, it may not be because they're getting older, it may be because they're hurt."
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Stem cell therapy for pets available in Huntsville
Stem cell therapies making slow but promising progress
By Sykes24Tracey
Edgar Irastorza was just 31 when his heart stopped beating in October 2008.
A Miami property manager, break-dancer and former high school wrestler, Irastorza had recently gained weight as his wifes third pregnancy progressed. I kind of got pregnant, too, he said.
During a workout one day, he felt short of breath and insisted that friends rush him to the hospital. Minutes later, his pulse flat-lined.
He survived the heart attack, but the scar tissue that resulted cut his hearts pumping ability by a third. He couldnt pick up his children. He couldnt dance. He fell asleep every night wondering if he would wake up in the morning.
Desperation motivated Irastorza to volunteer for a highly unusual medical research trial: getting stem cells injected directly into his heart.
I just trusted my doctors and the science behind it, and said, This is my only chance, he said recently.
Over the last five years, by studying stem cells in lab dishes, test animals and intrepid patients like Irastorza, researchers have brought the vague, grandiose promises of stem cell therapies closer to reality.
Stem cells broke into the public consciousness in the early 1990s, alluring for their potential to help the body beat back diseases of degeneration like Alzheimers, and to grow new parts to treat conditions like spinal cord injuries.
Progress has been slow. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research, an early supporter of stem cell research, pulled its financial backing two years ago, saying that it preferred to invest in research that was closer to providing immediate help for Parkinsons disease patients.
But researchers have been slowly learning how to best use stem cells, what types to use and how to deliver them to the body findings that arent singularly transformational, but progressive and pragmatic.
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Stem cell therapies making slow but promising progress
Stem Cell Indonesia | Stem Cell Therapy | 0818 09055022 – Video
By LizaAVILA
Stem Cell Indonesia | Stem Cell Therapy | 0818 09055022
Stem Cell Indonesia Stem Cell Therapy Info: http://www.fullofblessings.jeunesseglobal.com 2A9F978E / +62818 09055022.
By: Stem Cell Indonesia
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Stem Cell Indonesia | Stem Cell Therapy | 0818 09055022 - Video
Tarpon vet using stem cells to treat doggie dermatitis
By raymumme
TARPON SPRINGS --
A veterinarian in Tarpon Springs is doing research that could alleviate a problem thousands of dogs in Florida face.
Dr. Michael Amsberry is embarking on cutting edge research that could change the lives of those dogs and their owners.
Nube and Sage are part of a pilot study at Amsberrys Tarpon Springs pet care center.
Hes injecting dogs with stem cells to help with their Dermatitis, a condition that affects dogs in Florida each year.
Often times it starts out with skin thats irritated and red and then we often well suffer from secondary bacterial and yeast infections, said Dr. Michael Amsberry, Saint Francis Pet Care Center.
The treatment is inside a little jar that contains millions of stem cells that all come from one dogs umbilical cord in California. The treatment takes about 10 minutes, and the cells are in Amsberrys patients.
It is treating the body with the body not using chemicals or drugs.
There are drugs to treat dermatitis, and some of them work well. Amsberry and others like him said theyre looking for a cleaner, less expensive way.
The process to see if stem cell therapy actually works has only just begun.
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Tarpon vet using stem cells to treat doggie dermatitis
Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy – Man – Video
By Sykes24Tracey
Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy - Man
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
By: Stem Cell India
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Stem Cell Therapy in Muscular Dystrophy - Man - Video
Parkinson Stem Cell Treatment In India – Video
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Parkinson Stem Cell Treatment In India
India is one of the top destinations when it comes to stem cell therapy due to the fact medical centers here provide Parkinson stem cell treatment at affordable prices and offer best treatment...
By: placidways
Excerpt from:
Parkinson Stem Cell Treatment In India - Video
How stem cells help cure diseases
By JoanneRUSSELL25
MANILA -- The use of stem cell therapy has become an option in treating different medical conditions.
Stem cells are the body's natural healing cells. They are used by human tissues to repair and regenerate damaged cells. In the right environment, stem cells can change into bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, collagen, neural tissue, blood vessels, and even some organs.
There are two kinds of stem cells: adult or embryonic. Adult stem cells appear to be particularly effective against painful joints, repairing cartilage and ligaments, and even painful conditions along the spine.
Adult stem cells are usually harvested from fat tissues. By using technology, the collagen that binds the fat and the stem cells are broken down, separating a solution rich in the patient's own stem cells, which will then be used for treatment.
Stem cells may be effective in the treatment of macular degeneration, Crohns disease and numerous pulmonary conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and fibrosis. Stem cells are also being used for patients suffering from kidney failure and ailments of the bone, cartilage and joints.
However, stem cell therapy is not recommended for patients with active infections or cancer.
In the Philippines, fat-derived stem cell therapy is available through StemCare Institute. At present, the clinic employs an orthopedic team of doctors and surgeons with international qualifications.
StemCare, with the advancement of stem cell technology and the refinement its of clinical protocols through international experts, now offers more accessible treatment options for patients suffering from these degenerative orthopedic conditions.
Kim Atienza and Inno Sotto. Composite Image
Among the personalities who have used stem cell therapy in the country are Inno Sotto, a fashion designer who is suffering from a tear in his right elbow, and Kim Atineza, who is using fat stem cell injections to help strengthen and repair his knee joints after suffering from Guillain-Barre disease.
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How stem cells help cure diseases
Nishan – Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) – 13-03-2014 – Video
By Sykes24Tracey
Nishan - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 13-03-2014
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
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Nishan - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 13-03-2014 - Video
Swastik – Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) – 24-04-2014 – Video
By JoanneRUSSELL25
Swastik - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 24-04-2014
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
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Swastik - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 24-04-2014 - Video
Turmeric compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells
By Dr. Matthew Watson
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
25-Sep-2014
Contact: Alanna Orpen alanna.orpen@biomedcentral.com 44-0-20-3192-2054 BioMed Central @biomedcentral
A bioactive compound found in turmeric promotes stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain, reveals new research published today in the open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The findings suggest aromatic turmerone could be a future drug candidate for treating neurological disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease.
The study looked at the effects of aromatic (ar-) turmerone on endogenous neutral stem cells (NSC), which are stem cells found within adult brains. NSC differentiate into neurons, and play an important role in self-repair and recovery of brain function in neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies of ar-turmerone have shown that the compound can block activation of microglia cells. When activated, these cells cause neuroinflammation, which is associated with different neurological disorders. However, ar-turmerone's impact on the brain's capacity to self-repair was unknown.
Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jlich, Germany, studied the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC proliferation and differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Rat fetal NSC were cultured and grown in six different concentrations of ar-turmerone over a 72 hour period. At certain concentrations, ar-turmerone was shown to increase NSC proliferation by up to 80%, without having any impact on cell death. The cell differentiation process also accelerated in ar-turmerone-treated cells compared to untreated control cells.
To test the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC in vivo, the researchers injected adult rats with ar-turmerone. Using PET imaging and a tracer to detect proliferating cells, they found that the subventricular zone (SVZ) was wider, and the hippocampus expanded, in the brains of rats injected with ar-turmerone than in control animals. The SVZ and hippocampus are the two sites in adult mammalian brains where neurogenesis, the growth of neurons, is known to occur.
Lead author of the study, Adele Rueger, said: "While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine. Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal."
Ar-turmerone is the lesser-studied of two major bioactive compounds found in turmeric. The other compound is curcumin, which is well known for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.
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Turmeric compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells
Stem cell transplant does not cure SHIV/AIDS after irradiation of infected rhesus macaques
By raymumme
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
25-Sep-2014
Contact: Guido Silvestri gsilves@emory.edu 404-727-9139 PLOS
A study published on September 25th in PLOS Pathogens reports a new primate model to test treatments that might cure HIV/AIDS and suggests answers to questions raised by the "Berlin patient", the only human thought to have been cured so far.
Being HIV-positive and having developed leukemia, the Berlin patient underwent irradiation followed by a bone-marrow transplant from a donor with a mutation that abolishes the function of the CCR5 gene. The gene codes for a protein that facilitates HIV entry into human cells, and the mutationin homozygous carriers who, like the donor, have two defective copiesprotects against HIV infection.
Several factors could have contributed to the cure of HIV/AIDS in the patient: (1) the ablation of blood and immune cells following irradiation killed all or many of the viral reservoir cells that are not eliminated by antiretroviral treatment (ART); (2) the CCR5 deletion mutation in the donor cells protected them and their progeny from HIV infection; (3) a "graft versus host" reaction occurred, where the transplanted cells and their progeny recognize the host cells as foreign and attacked and eliminated HIV-positive reservoir cells that survived the irradiation.
Guido Silvestri, from Emory University in Atlanta, USA, and colleagues investigated the relative contribution of the irradiation to eliminate the reservoir of HIV-infected cells. The scientists worked with the animal model of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV, a close relative of HIV that infects primates and causes a disease similar to AIDS) infection in rhesus macaques. Using a total of six monkeys (three of which served as controls and did not receive transplants) they performed, for the first time, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in rhesus macaques infected with a chimeric simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) and treated with ART.
The researchers harvested hematopoetic stem cells from three macaques prior to infection (of all six animals) with SHIV. They also treated the macaques with ART to reduce viral load and mimic the situation in human HIV-infected patients on ART. They then exposed the three monkeys from which they had collected hematopietic stem cells to a high dose of radiation. This killed most of their existing blood and immune cells, including between 94 and 99% of their CD4-T cellsthe main target of HIV infectionin the blood. The irradiation was followed by transplantation of each monkey's own virus-free hematopoietic stem cells. The latter can regenerate the blood and immune cells, and did so in all three monkeys within 3 to 6 weeks. Because the transplanted cells are not from a different donor, no graft versus host disease would be expected, and none was observed.
After that time, the scientists stopped ART in all six monkeys. As expected, the virus rebounded rapidly in the control animals. Of the three transplanted animals, two also showed a rapid rebound. The third monkey developed kidney failure two weeks after ART was stopped and was euthanized. It still had undetectable levels of virus in the blood at that time, but post-mortem analysis showed low levels of viral DNA in a number of tissues, arguing that none of the three transplanted monkeys was cured.
The researchers acknowledge a number of limitations of the study, including the small number of monkeys, and the relatively short period of ART prior to irradiation and transplantation. Nonetheless, they say their study "supports the hypothesis that myeloablative total body irradiation can cause a significant decrease in the viral reservoir in blood cells, even though it was not sufficient to eliminate all reservoirs". Their results, they say, suggest that in the cure of the Berlin patient, "the use of the CCR5 mutant donor and/or the presence of graft versus host disease played a significant role".
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Stem cell transplant does not cure SHIV/AIDS after irradiation of infected rhesus macaques