Safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation through hepatic artery for the treatment of chronic liver failure: a preliminary study.

This study was performed to determine the safety and tolerability of injecting autologous bone marrow stem cells (BMC) (CD34+) into four patients with liver insufficiency. The study was based on the hypothesis that the CD34+ cell population in granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized blood and autologous bone marrow contains a subpopulation of cells with the potential for regenerating damaged tissue. We separated the CD34+ stem cell population from the bone marrow. The potential of the BMC to differentiate into hepatocytes and other cell lineages has already been reported. Several reports have also demonstrated the plasticity of hematopoietic stem cells to differentiate into hepatocytes. Recently Sakaida demonstrated reduction in fibrosis in chemically induced liver cirrhosis following BMC transplantation. From a therapeutic point of view, chronic liver cirrhosis is one of the targets for BMC transplantation. In this condition, there is excessive deposition of extracellular matrix and hepatocyte necrosis. Encouraged by this evidence that the CD34+ cell population contains cells with the potential to form hepatocyte-like elements, four patients with liver insufficiency were given G-CSF to mobilize stem cells. CD34+ cells (0.1 x 10(8)) were injected into the hepatic artery. No complications or specific side effects related to the procedure were observed; four patients showed improvements in serum albumin, bilirubin and ALT after one month from the cell infusion.

Effects of niosomal cisplatin and combination of the same with theophylline and with activated macrophages in murine B16F10 melanoma model.

The use of cisplatin is limited due to its certain toxic effects. In the present study niosomes of cisplatin by using span 60 and cholesterol were prepared and investigated for antimetastatic activity in experimental metastatic model of B16F10 melanoma. Theophylline and its combination effect with free cisplatin and niosomal cisplatin were also carried out in the same model. The effect of treatment with activated macrophages alone and in combination with cisplatin, theophylline and niosomal cisplatin was also observed. Treatment with niosomal cisplatin (1 mg/kg) and combination of the same with theophylline (15 mg/kg) showed significant reduction in the number of lung nodules as compared to untreated control as well as with free cisplatin (1 mg/kg). The treatment with activated macrophages (activated by using Muramyl dipeptide) significantly reduced the secondary growth of tumor in lung. Niosomal cisplatin showed a significant protection against weight loss and bone marrow toxicity as compared to free cisplatin. These results suggest that cisplatin encapsulated in niosomes has significant antimetastatic activity and reduced toxicities than that of free cisplatin. However theophylline failed to show antimetastatic effect alone or in combination with cisplatin or with activated macrophages.

Ex vivo expansion of stem cells from umbilical cord blood: expression of cell adhesion molecules.

Expansion of stem cells from cord blood has been demonstrated to increase the numbers of CD34+ cells, CD34+ subsets, long-term culture-initiating cells, and severe combined immunodeficient mouse, repopulating cells. However, reports suggest that the ex vivo expanded population behaves differently than freshly isolated cells and shows a delayed or diminished engraftment. In this study, we investigated the effects of the cytokines flt3 ligand, stem cell factor, and thrombopoietin on expansion of CD34+ and CD34+/CD38- cells. In addition, we studied the expression of adhesion molecules, very late activation antigen-4 (VLA-4) and leukocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1), on CD34+ cells from cord blood by flow cytometry. We also looked at the expression of an adhesion receptor, namely, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on bone marrow stromal cells by Western blot analysis after exposure to low dose gamma irradiation. After culturing for 7 days, increases in the absolute numbers of CD34+, CD34+/CD38-, CD34+/VLA-4+, and CD34+/LFA-1+ cells were 5.67 +/- 2.91 (mean +/- standard deviation) fold, 7.21 +/- 4.38 fold, 99.56 +/- 101.5 fold, and 101.39 +/- 83.25 fold, respectively. There was a transient upregulation in the expression levels of VCAM-1 on stromal cells, which peaked at 4 hours. Though there was an increase in the absolute numbers of CD34+ cells expressing the adhesion molecules, the expression levels (antigen density) of the adhesion molecules on the CD34+ cells remained unaffected.