recover

Myelodysplastic syndromes are defined as a group of disorders caused by poor formation of blood cells or cells that do not function properly, and caused by a problem in the spongy material inside the bones where blood cells (bone marrow) are made, and instead of blood cells growing It naturally dies in the bone marrow or just after entering the bloodstream.

Over time, there are more immature and defective cells than healthy cells, which leads to problems, such as fatigue due to anemia, infection resulting from low white blood cells, and bleeding from low blood platelets, and the risk of infection may result and increase after a procedure Bone marrow transplantation, and it is also caused by exposure to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, or toxic chemicals, such as tobacco, gasoline, and pesticides, or heavy metals such as lead.

A recent study conducted by a research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published by the journal "Steam Cell Research and Therapy" bears good news in this regard. The study researchers cultured mesenchymal stem cells (or medical signal cells, as described by the American scientist, "Arnold Kaplan") on a surface that possesses mechanical properties very similar to a bone marrow cell, producing special factors that help the hematopoietic and progenitor stem cells differentiate and form blood cells Red and white, as well as platelets and other blood cells.

The findings of the study are considered a "real revolution in the field of stem cell therapy". It is the first time that it has been observed that the mechanical properties of cells can influence how they differentiate and behave.

According to the statistics of the "Leukemia and Lymphoma Society" in the United States of America, the figures on leukemia are frightening. It is estimated that leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma account for 10% of all new cancer diagnoses in 2018. The picture does not look better in Egypt, which ranks 14th in the world in terms of deaths due to leukemia, with a rate of 5.37 cases. Per 100,000 people, according to estimates by the World Life Expansion website.

These patients undergo radiation therapy to destroy the diseased cells, and despite the effectiveness of radiotherapy in ridding the body of cancer cells, this treatment also kills healthy blood cells, making patients vulnerable to infection and fatigue until new blood cells grow.

"We devised a method to help blood cells regenerate faster, and this method includes stimulating mesenchymal / related stem cells (MSCs), one of the types of cells," said Christine Van Fleet, a professor of biological engineering and a co-researcher in the study. Mesenchymal stem, to secrete growth factors that help hematopoietic stem cells differentiate and transform into mature blood cells.

Adult stem cells

"Mesenchymal stem cells" are adult stem cells, usually found in the bone marrow, that can be isolated from other tissues, including umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood, adipose tissue, and other tissues. These cells differentiate to form adipocytes, cartilage, bones, tendons, muscles and skin. .

As is the case with other types of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells have a high capacity for self-renewal, which gives them tremendous therapeutic potential for tissue repair, as well as immunological properties that make them potential for therapeutic agents in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.

Fleet explains how the new technology works, saying: It is possible to compare this technology with the plant that we are trying to make it grow, in this case it is the role of mesenchymal stem cells to improve the soil so that the blood-forming stem cells and “progenitor cells” can begin to multiply. And to differentiate into the blood cell lineages we need to survive.

Fleet adds that "mesenchymal stem cells that have been specially developed have helped animals recover more quickly compared to radiation therapy, as they have great potential as a pluripotent cell produced throughout the body and can differentiate into a variety of tissues, including bones." Cartilage, muscle, and fat. "

"It can also secrete proteins that help other types of stem cells to differentiate into mature cells, making it more like a drug factory, as these mesenchymal stem cells pump out many factors that change the environment in which the blood-forming stem cells work."

Previous experiences

The results of the latest study are consistent with a previous study conducted by the same research team on a group of lab mice, in which they concluded that a patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant may recover faster if he obtained - in addition to blood-forming stem cells and progenitor cells - on intermediate stem cells.

But they found in the previous experiment that only 20% of those mesenchymal stem cells were able to produce the factors needed to stimulate the growth of blood cells and restore the bone marrow to its health.

In order to improve this and increase the percentage of mesenchymal stem cells that are capable of performing the task, the researchers in their new study attempted to change the surface on which the mesenchymal cells are cultured. With the aim of producing more pluripotent cells, the researchers noticed that their diameter was larger than the rest of the group that did not act as a promoter.

Fleet says: Before starting the experiment, we had to identify the factors that play a pivotal role in stimulating mesenchymal stem cells to perform their function of creating conditions that help blood cells to differentiate and recover. We found high levels of the protein osteopentin in the mice that were treated with stem cells. Intermediate.

The same research team previously concluded - about a decade ago - that changing the mechanical properties of the surface on which stem cells are cultured may affect their differentiation and transformation into mature cells, which is the result that researchers tried to use in the recent experiment. They demonstrated that the mechanical properties of the surface on which the mesenchymal stem cells were cultured may affect the secretions produced by these cells, and in turn help factors that support the growth of the cultured blood cells before differentiation, according to Fleet.