Adult bone marrow stem cells regenerate healthy human liver tissue
03/27/07
Adult bone marrow stem cells regenerate healthy human liver tissue

For the first time, researchers have used adult bone marrow stem cells to
regenerate healthy human liver tissue, according to a study published in the
April issue of the journal Radiology.

When large, fast-growing cancers invade the liver, some patients are unable
to undergo surgery, because removing the cancerous tissue would leave too
little liver to support the body.

Researchers at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, used adult
bone marrow stem cells to help quickly regenerate healthy liver tissue,
enabling patients to eventually undergo a surgical resection.

"Our study suggests that liver stem cells harvested from the patient's own
bone marrow can further augment and accelerate the liver's natural capacity
to regenerate itself," said Günther Fürst, M.D., co-author and professor of
radiology.

In the study, researchers compared the results of portal vein embolization
(PVE), a technique currently used to help regenerate liver tissue, to a
combination of PVE and an injection of bone marrow stem cells into the
liver.

PVE blocks blood flow to the diseased portion of the liver and diverts blood
to the organ's healthy tissue, promoting liver growth. Bone marrow stem
cells extracted from the patient's hip bone and injected into the liver also
help the liver regenerate.

The study included 13 patients with large central liver malignancies who
were unable to undergo surgery because resection would leave less than 25
percent of their total liver volume.

Six of the patients underwent both PVE and injection of bone marrow stem
cells. Seven patients underwent only PVE. Computed tomography (CT) scans
were performed before and up to five weeks after PVE to determine the degree
of liver growth.

Patients who received the combination of PVE and stem cell injection had
double the liver growth rate and gain in liver volume, compared with those
who underwent PVE alone. As a result, the patients who received the combined
treatment were able to undergo surgery an average of 18 days sooner than
patients who received PVE only.

"Our research demonstrates that stem cells are a powerful adjunct to PVE for
patients undergoing surgical resection," said Jan Schulte am Esch, M.D.,
co-author and surgery staff member. "Based on our results, we also believe
that adult stem cell administration may be a promising therapy for
regenerating livers damaged by other chronic and acute diseases."

The researchers are currently embarking on a randomized controlled trial of
the therapy.

Source: Radiological Society of North America