Subject: British Study Says Adult Stem Cells Can Change to Kidney Cells
Source: Reuters; July 24, 2001

British Study Says Adult Stem Cells Can Change to Kidney Cells

London, England -- Stem cells from bone marrow can change into kidney
cells and may provide a new method to treat kidney disease that could
reduce the need for transplants, British scientists said on Wednesday.

Stem cells are master cells in the body that can transform into most other
cell types. Researchers at Britain's Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF)
showed that kidney cells can be derived from stem cells in bone marrow.

"Until now people weren't entirely sure how the kidney took care of its
normal wear and tear. People assumed that it was all done within the
kidney. What we've shown is that cells from outside the kidney are able to
contribute to the repair process," molecular biologist Dr Richard Poulsom
said in a telephone interview.

The finding opens up the possibility of mobilising a patient's own bone
marrow stem cells to repair or replace kidney cells destroyed through
disease or injury. It could also pave the way for using bone marrow stem
cells containing genes resistant to cancer or other diseases to protect
the kidney from further damage.

"In people whose kidneys are failing, we might be able to generate more
functional kidney cells. That is something that has not been known
before," Poulsom added.

Scientists believe stem cells could revolutionise medicine and provide new
therapies for diseases like Alzheimer's and diabetes and severe injuries.

Poulsom and his colleagues studied adult bone marrow stem cells in mice
and humans. Their research is published in the Journal of Pathology Online
(http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0022-3417/).

The scientists found kidney cells derived from donated male bone marrow in
female mice whose own bone marrow had been destroyed by radiation.

In the human studies, biopsies from male kidney transplant patients who
had received a kidney donated by a woman showed male kidney cells among
the female cells. The man's bone marrow cells had transformed into kidney
tissue.

"They are cells that could have only have come from the man, migrated
around and set up shop and differentiated into functional kidney cells,"
said Poulsom.