Stronger stem cells to control inflammation and immune response

University of Adelaide researchers have discovered a method for culturing stem cells that sees the highly therapeutic cells grow faster and stronger — a breakthrough which is expected to eventually lead to new treatments for transplant patients.

Published in the journal Stem Cells, the study was co-authored by Kisha Sivanathan, a PhD student in the university’s School of Medicine and the Renal Transplant Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Sivanathan explained that adult mesenchymal stem cells have long been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, “but we are always looking for ways in which to increase stem cells’ potency”.

“Our research group is the first in the world to look at the interaction between mesenchymal stem cells and IL-17, a powerful protein that naturally occurs in the body during times of severe inflammation (such as during transplant rejection),” Sivanathan said.

“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.”

Sivanathan said the treated stem cells could be more effective at controlling inflammation and rejection in transplant recipients than current immunosuppressant drugs, which suppress the whole immune system and can cause severe side effects like cancer. She noted, “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.

“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.”

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