AsianScientist (Jul. 10, 2015) – Researchers have shown that adding the cytokine IL-17 to the culture medium helps stem cells grow faster and stronger. The study, published in Stem Cells, is expected to eventually lead to new treatments for transplant patients.
Ms. Kisha Sivanathan, a PhD student in the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine and the Renal Transplant Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, says this is an exciting breakthrough in stem cell research.
“Adult mesenchymal stem cells, which can be obtained from many tissues in the body including bone marrow, are fascinating scientists around the world because of their therapeutic nature and ability to cultivate quickly. These stem cells have been used for the treatment of many inflammatory diseases but we are always looking for ways in which to increase stem cells’ potency,” says Sivanathan, lead author on the study.
“We discovered that when cultured mesenchymal stem cells are treated with IL-17 they grow twice as fast as the untreated stem cells and are more efficient at regulating the body’s immune response,” she says.
Stem cell therapy is showing promising signs for transplant patients and according to Sivanathan, the IL-17 treated stem cells should be even more effective at preventing and treating inflammation in transplant recipients—particularly controlling rejection in transplant patients.
“Current immunosuppressant drugs used to help prevent a patient rejecting a transplant suppress the whole immune system and can cause severe side effects, like cancer. However, stem cell therapy (used in conjunction with immunosuppressant drugs) helps patients ‘accept’ transplants while repairing damaged tissue in the body, resulting in less side effects,” she says.
“We are yet to undertake clinical trials on the IL-17 treated stem cells but we anticipate that because this treatment produces more potent stem cells, they will be more effective than the untreated stem cells,” she says.
The article can be found at: Sivanathan et al. (2015) Interleukin-17A-Induced Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells are Superior Modulators of Immunological Function.
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Source: University of Adelaide; Photo: Shutterstock.
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