What are stem cells? Human stem cells: applications in modern medicine

Scientists around the world call the 21st century the century of biomedicine. And this is quite understandable, because this area Medicine is developing at incredible speed. It is not without reason that in recent years, scientists have received 7 awards for discoveries in the field of cell technology. Nobel Prizes! And this is far from the limit, because the prospects for stem cell treatment today look absolutely limitless! But first things first.

Historical reference

Stem cells were discovered by Russian scientist Alexander Maksimov back in 1909. It was he who became the founder of regenerative medicine. However, the first operation to transplant such cells was carried out much later, in the 70s of the last century. And although scientists are still arguing about the safety of using stem cells, beginning of XXI century, 1,200 operations involving transplantation of stem cells taken from the umbilical cord were performed in the world. In Russia, such treatment methods for a long time were wary, and therefore the first permitted operation was carried out only in 2010. Today in our country there are several clinics offering this method for the treatment of a variety of diseases.

What are stem cells and why are they needed?

Stem cells are immature (undifferentiated) cells found in all multicellular organisms. A feature of such cells is their unique ability to divide, forming new stem cells, as well as differentiate, that is, turn into cells certain organs and fabrics. In fact, stem cells are a kind of reserve reserve of our body, thanks to which the process of cellular renewal is carried out.

The use of stem cells in the treatment of diseases is a real breakthrough in modern medicine. Today there is reliable evidence that, thanks to stem cells, it is possible to treat cancer, atherosclerosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, autoimmune and allergic diseases, diabetes and endocrine disorders, spinal and brain injuries. Stem cells improve the condition of skin, bones and cartilage tissue, strengthen the immune system and increase potency. Moreover, today there is good practice treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases using these biological substances!

Moreover, stem cells allow you to get rid of a serious illness once and for all, which is much cheaper than trying to treat the disease year after year medicines. And this fact has long been confirmed by patients who, with the help this method got rid of rheumatoid arthritis and bronchial asthma.

Moreover, with the help of these biological substances, infertility can now be successfully treated. Experts create cells that temporarily suppress immune function women, as a result of which the body does not reject the fetus. According to statistics, every second woman who decided on this method of combating infertility became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful baby. As you can see, the scope of application of these amazing cells seems simply limitless!

The essence of treatment

Of course, cell therapy is not a panacea for all ailments. Treatment with such cells has a number of contraindications and cannot be used without a balanced approach.

What is the essence of this method? It turns out that miracle cells have two the most important functions– they divide themselves and activate the reproduction of other cells in the body. The point of treatment is that when it enters a painful organ, the cells start working immune system and release bioactive substances that activate the own stem cells of the affected organ to renew. As a result of the replacement of old cells with new ones, the regeneration process occurs, thanks to which the organ is gradually restored.

Types of stem cells

Several types of miracle cells are known to medicine. These are fetal, embryonic, postnatal and many other immature cells. For treatment, hematopoietic cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal cells (MSCs), which are obtained from bone marrow, including pelvic bones, ribs, and adipose tissue and some other tissues that have a good blood supply. The choice in favor of these cells was made for a reason. According to scientists, treatment with hematopoietic and mesenchymal cells is highly effective and safe, which means that there is no possibility that they will mutate and provoke the development of a tumor, which is quite possible when fetal or embryonic cells are introduced.

But it’s no secret that with age, the number of stem cells in the human body becomes less and less. For example, if an embryo has one cell per 10 thousand normal ones, then a 70-year-old person has one cell per 7-8 million. Thus, only 30 thousand mesenchymal cells are released into the blood of an adult every day. This is only enough to eliminate minor disorders, but is completely insufficient to protect against serious illnesses or slow down the aging process.

However, stem cell treatment makes it possible to achieve the impossible. According to modern scientists, when stem cells are introduced into the body, the necessary “regenerative fund” is created, thanks to which a person gets better and gets rid of diseases. This use of stem cells by doctors is very similar to filling up a car with fuel. Doctors simply inject stem cells into a vein, as if they “fill” the body with high-quality fuel, thanks to which a person gets rid of diseases and lives longer!

On average, treatment of diseases involves the introduction into the blood of about 1 million cells per 1 kg of weight. To combat severe pathologies, the patient should be injected with 2-3 million stem cells for every 1 kg of weight. According to doctors, this is a natural mechanism for treating diseases, which will become the main method of treating almost all pathologies in the very near future.

Myths and reality

Despite the successes that biomedical specialists have achieved to date, mistrust in this method of treating diseases is still high. Perhaps this is due to the information that periodically appears in the media about famous personalities, whose attempts to treat or rejuvenate the body ended sadly. Doctors in private clinics licensed to treat with such cells classify these informational stuffing to “inflated sensations”, reasonably noting that the reports do not contain information about the method of treatment and the type of cells used. Experts from scientific government institutions resolutely refuse to comment on such rumors. Perhaps precisely because of the lack complete information society and are torn by doubts about the safety of such treatment.

However, people who agreed to stem cell therapy are still called “guinea pigs.” According to the head physician of one of the clinics conducting similar treatment, Yuri Kheifets: “Talking about our patients as guinea pigs is simply incorrect. I am aware of cases of allergies to this material, but the allergy was not caused by the cells, but nutrient medium, caught in cell culture. But I haven't heard of a single case fatal outcome after the introduction of such cells!

The specialist is supported by Doctor of Medical Sciences Professor Alexander Teplyashin. According to the scientist: “In Europe and the USA they have already begun to realize all the benefits and effectiveness that stem cells bring. That is why our specialists, who have been involved in stem cell treatment for a long time, are extremely in demand in these countries. “We still have mistrust in this method of treatment, and this is very upsetting.”

Scientists draw attention to the fact that the debate regarding the benefits and harms of antibiotics has not yet subsided, but it is known what kind of catastrophe humanity would have faced without these medicines. The same thing happens with stem cells. At the same time, experts note that not all stem cells are suitable for therapy.

Price issue

Another question haunts ordinary people. It seems that cell treatment has been going on for a long time, the technology has been thoroughly studied, and new clinics providing stem cell treatment are sprouting like mushrooms. Why does therapy remain so expensive?

Experts answer that growing stem cells is a long-term and quite expensive process. In addition, the state does not finance such projects, which is why they develop much more slowly.

It is true that progress is being observed in this process. Today in Russia there are cellular drugs, the cost of which is equal to the cost traditional treatment. For example, a product to combat arthrosis costs no more than a gel intended for injection into a diseased joint. At the same time, the drug allows you to treat the joint, while the gel fights only with pain syndrome. However, all components for growing stem cells in our country are currently purchased in the USA.

If we talk in detail about the cost of treatment, then the data various sources differ in many ways. For example, according to information from Moskovsky Komsomolets, stem cell therapy in Russia today ranges from $10,000 to $12,000.

At the same time, on the website of the Moscow clinic “ Latest medicine“It is said that the full cost of cell therapy or a course of revitalization will cost $30,000–32,000.

At the same time, a number of companies involved in organizing stem cell treatment in Germany provide data according to which full course treatment will cost the patient $9,000–15,000.

Application of stem cells

Stem cells were first used to treat anemia in 1988 in France. Highly effective treatment with stem cells for tumors, strokes, heart attacks, injuries, burns, has forced the creation in developed countries of special institutions (banks) for storing frozen stem cells for a long time.

Today it is already possible, at the request of relatives, to place a child’s umbilical cord blood into such a commercial personalized blood bank, so that in the event of his injury or illness, there is an opportunity to use his own stem cells.

Transfer internal organs restores human health only if it is carried out in a timely manner and the organ is not rejected by the patient’s immune system. Approximately 75% of patients requiring organ transplants die while waiting. Stem cells could be an ideal source of “spare parts” for humans.

Already today there is a range of applications of stem cells in the treatment of the most serious illnesses very wide.

Restoring nerve cells allows you to restore capillary circulation and cause growth capillary network at the site of the lesion. To treat damaged spinal cord use the injection of neural stem cells, or pure cultures, which will then turn in place into nerve cells.

Some forms of leukemia in children have become curable thanks to advances in biomedicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is used in modern hematology, and bone marrow stem cell transplantation is used in a wide range of clinical settings.

Extremely difficult to treat systemic diseases caused by dysfunction of the immune system: arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease. Hematopoietic stem cells are also applicable in the treatment of these diseases. There is practical clinical experience in the use of neutral stem cells in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The results exceed all expectations.

Mesinchymal (stromal) stem cells are already used in several orthopedic clinics recent years. With their help they restore destroyed articular cartilage, bone defects after fractures. In addition, these same cells have been used in the last two to three years by direct injection in the clinic for the restoration of heart muscle after a heart attack.

The list of diseases that can be treated with stem cells is growing every day. And this gives hope for life to incurable patients.

stem cell endocrinology heart attack

Application of stem cells in medicine

The future of cell therapy and transplantology, and, possibly, medicine in general, is connected with the use of stem cells used to replace structural and functional failure various organs. The use of ESCs in cell therapy for many diseases is hampered by a number of problems:

technical difficulties in obtaining a pure line of human ESCs;

lack of information about the induction of their differentiation in vitro;

the presence of a number of bioethical issues that arise when using ESCs obtained from embryonic tissue. A number of countries have adopted prohibitive restrictions on the use of human embryonic tissue in research.

existence of a risk of carcinogenesis. Injecting ESCs into mice can form tumors called teratomas.

immunological problems of rejection.

IN Lately In the literature, a lot of attention is paid to CSCs, which are found in almost all organs. The main advantages of RSCs are that they can be used, if necessary, as autogenous cell material. Therefore, there are no problems of immunological rejection, as well as ethical obstacles to their use. Disadvantages and problems when using

CSCs for cell therapy are associated with the fact that their differentiation factors in vitro have not yet been sufficiently studied; they are difficult to obtain in sufficient quantity for development clinical effect after transplantation. In addition, their number and therapeutic potential decrease with age. Although about the use of SC in various areas medicine, numerous experimental data have been accumulated, but clinical researches are mostly still in the testing stage and require analysis and improvement.

A number of researchers pay great attention to the use of bone marrow SCs in medicine: hematopoietic and stromal cells.

By growing stromal stem cells (SSCs) and obtaining sufficiently large quantities of them, it is possible to set the direction of their differentiation. These cells are capable of differentiating into cells of cartilage, bone, muscle, adipose tissue, liver tissue and skin. In the next decade this direction medical science may become the basis for the treatment of the most common diseases of the cardiovascular and central nervous system, musculoskeletal system.

Application of SC in cardiology.

In recent years, several key discoveries have been made related to the use of SCs in cardiology. D. Ortic et al. caused cardiomyocyte damage in mice by ligating the left main coronary artery. Then the animals were injected into the affected wall of the left ventricle with bone marrow SCs, which caused the formation of cardiomyocytes, endothelium and smooth muscle cells blood vessels. As a result, it was possible to achieve the formation of new myocardium, including coronary arteries, arterioles and capillaries.

9 days after the start of cell replacement therapy, the newly formed myocardium occupied 68% of the damaged area of ​​the left ventricle. Thus, it was possible to replace the “dead” myocardium with living, actively functioning tissue. It has been established that the introduction of SA into the zone of damage to the heart muscle (the zone of infarction) eliminates the phenomena of post-infarction heart failure in experimental animals. Thus, stromal cells injected into pigs with an experimental heart attack completely transform into cardiac muscle cells within eight weeks, restoring its functional properties.

According to the American Heart Society in 2000, in rats with an artificially induced heart attack, 90% of SC injected into the heart area is transformed into cardiac muscle cells. In culture, human hematopoietic SCs, like mouse SCs, differentiate into a variety of cell types, including cardiomyocytes.

First clinical application SK for the treatment of heart attack is called a study started in France in 2000: with surgery on open heart autologous skeletal myoblasts grown in culture were injected (more than 30 injections) into the infarct zone and peri-infarct zone. This study obtained long-term results(year for the first patient): increased ejection fraction and improved symptoms. V. Strauer et al. on the 6th day after the development of acute transmural infarction, bone marrow stem cells were transplanted into the patient’s occluded coronary artery. 10 weeks after SC transplantation, the infarct area decreased from 24.6% to 15.7% of the left ventricular surface. Cardiac index and stroke volume increased by 20-30%, end-diastolic volume during exercise decreased by 30%.

Polish clinicians transplanted SCs into 10 patients with acute heart attack myocardium. The authors state the safety of the procedure and note that 5 months after myocardial infarction, an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction was observed in all patients. The authors emphasize that the presented materials are insufficient to evaluate the effectiveness and relate only to the tolerability of the proposed treatment method.

Application of SCs in neurology and neurosurgery.

For a long time, the dominant idea was that nerve cells in the adult brain do not divide. And only in the last few years has it been proven that SCs of the adult brain can form three main types of cells - astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons. Great importance impart SCs (in particular, stromal ones) in the treatment of various neurodegenerative and neurological diseases: Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, cerebellar ataxias, multiple sclerosis, etc. Parkinson's disease is caused by progressive degeneration and loss of dopamine-producing neurons (DP neurons), which leads to the development of tremor, rigidity and hypokinesia. Several laboratories have successfully used methods that induce the differentiation of ESCs into cells with many of the properties of LTP neurons. After transplantation of SCs that differentiated into LTP neurons, reinnervation of the brain with the release of dopamine and improvement in motor function was observed in the brain of rats with a model of Parkinson's disease.

G. Steinberg et al. from the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University, in rats with a model of cerebral stroke, studied the survival, migration, differentiation and functional properties of human germinal nerve SCs administered to animals at three different areas bodies differing in distance from the affected area of ​​the cerebral cortex. 5 weeks after SC administration, migration of cells to the area of ​​damage and their differentiation into neurons was observed. The results of this study indicate the potential use of SC in the treatment of cerebral stroke.

In the works (Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), regional neutral stem cells of the human fetus were isolated and their detailed immunohistochemical characteristics were given, including using a flow fluorimeter. In experiments with the transplantation of human neural stem cells into the brain of rats, their engraftment, migration over fairly long distances and the ability to differentiate were shown. Latest in to a large extent determined by the microenvironment into which the transplant enters. Thus, when human neural stem cells are transplanted into the area of ​​the rat cerebellum where Purkinje cells are located, they differentiate in the direction of this particular type of cell, as evidenced by the synthesis of the calbindin protein in them, a specific product of Purkinje cells.

Application of SC in endocrinology.

Regional SCs exist in the pancreas in the pancreatic ducts and islets of Langerhans. Several recent reports indicate that SCs expressing nestin (which is generally regarded as a marker of neural cells) can generate all types of islet cells.

Currently, there are several approaches to creating a clone of insulin-producing cells. Cells and progenitor cells isolated from a human corpse or obtained from a biopsy of the pancreas from the pancreatic ducts are used as the starting material.

The most promising method for obtaining insulin-producing cells is the use of embryonic cells.

Spanish researchers with the help genetic engineering obtained insulin-producing cells that were transplanted into diabetic mice. After 24 hours, the glucose level in the mice decreased to normal. After 4 weeks, 60% of the mice had normal glycemic levels, indicating the engraftment of the transplanted cells. Moreover, insulin-producing cells were found in the spleen and liver of these animals. However, the problem is that so far it has been possible to obtain a very small number of insulin-producing clones.

Russian biologists (Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kharkov Institute of Cryobiology and the Virola company) have developed a method for inducing differentiation in the culture of stromal stem cells towards cells similar to the cells of the islets of Langerhans that synthesize insulin. The synthesis of this protein has been demonstrated using modern methods molecular biology and cytology.

Interestingly, these cells form structures in culture that resemble islets of Langerhans. They can be used to treat diabetes.

Application of SC in hepatology.

Much research has been devoted to studying the nature of SCs, which can restore the liver of adult mammals. Work performed on rodents suggests that bone marrow SCs can reside in the liver after liver injury and exhibit plasticity, turning into hepatocytes. E. Lagasse et al. was administered to mice with the model liver failure unfractionated mouse SSCs. The introduction of these cells contributed to the restoration of liver function indicators and increased survival.

Application of SC in hematology.

One of the populations of bone marrow stem cells, BSCs, are responsible for the production of all types of blood cells. I have been studying these cells for over 50 years. Among the first diseases for which they began to use therapeutic purpose KSK include hemoblastoses, acute leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma and etc.

In these diseases, tumor hematopoietic cells are destroyed by large doses chemotherapy or general exposure followed by restoration of normal hematopoiesis by transplantation of allogeneic SSCs.

Application of SC in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

By analogy with the treatment of hemoblastoses, the possibility of using CSCs in some cases is being studied. autoimmune diseases- systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

For the listed diseases, SSCs were collected and frozen from patients, then the patients received high-dose chemo-radiotherapy, after which previously frozen SSCs were transplanted. After this procedure, 7 patients were observed for 3 years. Throughout the observation period, the patients had no active manifestations of the disease and did not require immunosuppressive maintenance therapy.

The creation of a human SC cryobank and the organization of a corresponding donor service seem extremely promising.

The main task of the human SC cryobank is: processing (reducing the volume of the frozen sample), removing those that do not determine further use cellular elements, mixing with a cryopreservative and long-term, almost unlimited in time, storage of previously prepared SCs, regardless of the source of their receipt.

The most realistic and practically unlimited source of SCs today is umbilical cord blood.

There are UK cryobanks with samples for each baby born, collected from the baby's umbilical cord and frozen. In case of illness (oncological, immune system disorders, diseases of the blood, muscles, skin, etc.), a person can use the transplantation of his own SC, which will turn on the self-healing mechanisms of damaged organs and systems. Today there are several dozen such officially registered cryobanks in the world, about half of them in the USA

Summarizing the presented data on the role of SC in the human body, methods of their isolation and use, we can conclude that the study of SC in any aspect seems extremely relevant scientific problem, the solution of which can make a qualitative breakthrough in medicine.

Update cellular composition damaged organ without surgical intervention, decide the most difficult tasks, which were previously only possible through organ transplantation - these problems are solved today with the help of stem cells.

For patients, this is a chance to receive new life. The important thing here is that the technology of using stem cells is available to almost every patient and gives truly amazing results, expanding the possibilities of transplantation.

Stem cells are capable of transforming, depending on their environment, into tissue cells of a wide variety of organs. One stem cell produces many active, functional offspring.

Research into genetic modifications of stem cells is being conducted all over the world, and methods for increasing them are being intensively researched.

There are many diseases that have practically no cure or their treatment is ineffective by medication. It is these diseases that have become the object of the closest attention of researchers.

Stem cells, regeneration, tissue repair. From Adam to the atom

What are stem cells?

When an egg is fertilized, one zygote (fertilized cell) divides and gives rise to cells whose main task is to transmit genetic information to the next generations of cells.

These cells do not yet have their own specialization, the mechanisms of such specialization have not yet been turned on, and that is why such embryonic stem cells make it possible to use them to create any organs.

Each of us has stem cells. They were initially discovered in bone marrow tissue. The easiest way to detect and isolate stem cells is in young people and children. But older people also have them, although in much smaller quantities.

Compare: a person aged 60–70 years has only one stem cell per five to eight million cells, and an embryo has one stem cell per ten thousand.

Possibilities of adult stem cells – Sergey Kiselev

What is the secret of stem cells?

The secret of stem cells is that, being immature cells themselves, they can turn into a cell of any organ.

As soon as the body's stem cells receive a signal about damage to tissues or any organs, they are sent to the site of the lesion. There they turn into precisely those cells of human tissue or organs that need protection.

Stem cells can develop and become any type of cell: hepatic, nervous, smooth muscle, mucous. Such stimulation of the body leads to the fact that it itself begins to actively regenerate its own tissues and organs.

An adult has a very small supply of stem cells. Therefore, the older a person is, the more difficult and with greater complications is the process of regeneration and restoration of the body after damage or during illness. Especially if the damage to the body is extensive.

The body cannot regenerate lost stem cells on its own. Developments in the field of modern medicine today make it possible to introduce stem cells into the body and, most importantly, direct them in the right direction. Thus, for the first time, it becomes possible to treat such dangerous diseases like cirrhosis, diabetes, stroke.

Garyaev, Pyotr Petrovich - How to manage stem cells

Sources of stem cells

The source of stem cells in the body is primarily the bone marrow. Some, but very small, amounts of them are found in other human tissues and organs, in the peripheral blood. Many stem cells contain blood from umbilical vein newborns.

Umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells has a number of undoubted advantages.

First of all, it is much easier and painless to assemble it than peripheral blood. Such blood provides genetically ideal stem cells if it is necessary for close relatives – mother and child, brothers and sisters – to use it.

During a transplant, the immune system newly created from the donor's stem cells begins to fight the patient's immune system. This is very dangerous for the patient's life. The human condition in such cases is extremely severe, up to deaths. Usage cord blood during transplantation significantly reduces such complications.

In addition, there are a number of undoubted advantages of using umbilical cord blood.

1. This is the infectious safety of the recipient. They are not transmitted from a donor via umbilical cord blood. infectious diseases(cytomegalovirus and others).
2. If it was collected at the time of a person’s birth, then he can use it at any time to restore health.
3. The use of blood from the umbilical vein in newborns does not cause ethical problems, since it is then disposed of.

Application of stem cells

Stem cells were first used to treat anemia in 1988 in France.

Highly effective treatment with stem cells for tumors, strokes, heart attacks, injuries, burns, has forced the creation in developed countries of special institutions (banks) for storing frozen stem cells for a long time.

Today it is already possible, at the request of relatives, to place a child’s umbilical cord blood into such a commercial personalized blood bank, so that in the event of his injury or illness, there is an opportunity to use his own stem cells.

An internal organ transplant restores a person’s health only if it is performed in a timely manner and the organ is not rejected by the patient’s immune system.

Approximately 75% of patients requiring organ transplants die while waiting. Stem cells could be an ideal source of “spare parts” for humans.

Today, the range of applications of stem cells in the treatment of the most severe diseases is very wide.

Restoration of nerve cells allows you to restore capillary blood circulation and cause the growth of the capillary network at the site of the lesion. To treat a damaged spinal cord, neural stem cells or pure cultures are used, which will then turn into nerve cells in situ.

Some forms of leukemia in children have become curable thanks to advances in biomedicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is used in modern hematology, and bone marrow stem cell transplantation is used in a wide range of clinical settings.

Systemic diseases caused by dysfunction of the immune system are extremely difficult to treat: arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease. Hematopoietic stem cells are also applicable in the treatment of these diseases

There is practical clinical experience in the use of neural stem cells in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The results exceed all expectations.

Mesinchymal (stromal) stem cells have already been used in orthopedic clinics for the last few years. With their help, damaged articular cartilage and bone defects after fractures are restored.

In addition, these same cells have been used in the last two to three years by direct injection in the clinic for the restoration of heart muscle after a heart attack.

The list of diseases that can be treated with stem cells is growing every day. And this gives hope for life to incurable patients.

List of diseases treated with stem cells

Benign diseases:

• adrenoleukodystrophy;
• Fanconi anemia;
• osteoporosis;
• Gunther's disease;
• Harler's syndrome;
• thalassemia;
• idiopathic aplastic anemia;
• multiple sclerosis;
• Lesch-Nyhan syndrome;
• amegakaryocytotic thrombocytopenia;
• Kostman's syndrome;
• lupus;
• resistant juvenile arthritis;
• immunodeficiency states;
• Crohn's disease;
• Bar's syndrome;
• collagenoses.

Malignant diseases:

• non-Hodgkin's lymphoma;
• myelodysplastic syndrome;
• leukemia;
• breast cancer;
• neuroblastoma.

Miracles of medical and aesthetic cosmetology

A person’s desire to look young and fit for decades is due to the modern pace of life. Is it possible to look as good at fifty as at forty?

Medical cosmetics, using modern biotechnologies, provide this opportunity. Today it is possible to significantly improve skin turgor and elasticity, and relieve a person from eczema and dermatitis.

Stem cells, which are administered during mesotherapy, eliminate skin pigmentation, scars, and the consequences of exposure chemical substances, laser. Wrinkles and acne spots disappear, skin tone improves.

In addition, with the help of mesotherapy, problems of hair and nails are solved. They acquire healthy looking, their growth is restored.

However, when using highly effective cosmetic products, you should beware of scammers advertising products that allegedly contain stem cells.

Cost of stem cell treatment

Stem cell treatment is carried out in many countries, including Russia. Here it ranges from 240,000 to 350,000 rubles.

The high price is justified by the high-tech process of growing stem cells.

IN medical centers For this price, a patient is given one hundred million cells per course. If a person is more than mature age– it is possible to administer this amount in one procedure.

The cost of procedures, as a rule, does not include manipulations to obtain stem cells. If stem cells are introduced during surgery, you will have to pay separately for this type of medical services.

Mesotherapy is more accessible today. For those who want to get a pronounced cosmetic effect approximate cost one procedure will cost from 15,000 to 30,000 rubles in Russia. In total, you need to do from five to ten of them per course.

Forewarned is forearmed

Recognizing the bright future of using new medical technologies However, I would like to warn against excessive optimism and remind you of the following:

1. Stem cells are an unusual drug whose effects are difficult to reverse. The fact is that stem cells, unlike other drugs, are not removed from it in the same way as usual medicines. They contain living cells, and their behavior is not always predictable. If harm is caused to the patient’s body, doctors cannot stop the process;
2. Medical scientists hope that side effects from stem cell treatment will be minimal. But one cannot even assume that side effect will not occur during treatment. Like any medicine, even aspirin, stem cells have limitations and side effects in their use;
3. Clinical trials in leading medical centers have only confirmed that bone marrow transplantation is so far the only method of cell therapy;
4. The use of stem cells is not a panacea for the treatment of absolutely all diseases, although they do have great potential in the treatment of many injuries, burns, injuries and diseases;
5. Even if many famous people, athletes, politicians use stem cell treatment, this does not mean that such a method treatment is suitable everyone. It is necessary to trust practicing doctors.

Is immortality possible?

Human immortality is possible – the achievements of modern medicine convince us of this.

Fantastic ideas about synthesis human organs are already turning into a reality of the near future. Ten years will pass and artificial kidneys, heart, liver will become available to every person. Simple injections will restore the skin and rejuvenate it. The main credit for this will belong to stem cells.

Today, probably everyone has heard about stem cells. But there are so many speculations and rumors surrounding this topic that it is very difficult to separate the truth from the fables. Let's try to figure out how stem cells can help us and why we need to preserve them.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the precursors of cells from which all human organs and tissues are formed. When conception occurs, during the first month a living lump - an embryo - consists only of stem cells. They are the strongest, but they cannot be used - such a ban has been imposed by the governments of all countries of the world.

Stem cells are found in small quantities in human bone marrow and adipose tissue. Moreover, with age, their quantity decreases and their quality deteriorates. Scientists have learned to isolate such cells from the bone marrow and use them to treat diseases. But the optimal source of stem cells is the blood found in the placenta and umbilical cord of the newborn. It is in it that the concentration of stem cells is maximum.

How are stem cells obtained?

Stem cells can be isolated from human bone marrow and their number increased - cultivated. Or you can get them from umbilical cord blood or umbilical cord, and this opportunity is available only at the moment of birth of the child.

How does this happen? As soon as the baby is born and separated from the umbilical cord, the doctor delivering the baby inserts a needle into the umbilical vein, and from there, from 50 to 250 ml of blood flows out by gravity into a bag with a special anti-clotting substance, which consists of 3-5% of powerful and strong stem cells. After the placenta has passed, the midwife cuts off 10-20 cm of the umbilical cord and places it in special styling, which is delivered to the stem cell bank laboratory.

As you can see, the procedure for collecting stem cells from umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord is completely painless and absolutely safe for both mother and baby. It can be carried out as natural childbirth, and during caesarean section.

Then, within 4-6 hours, the biomaterials are delivered to the laboratory. Here they are processed, frozen and stored. Cord blood or umbilical cord stem cells, frozen under certain conditions, can be stored at extremely low temperatures. low temperatures decades.

Why do you need to preserve stem cells?

Today medicine can do a lot, but there are diseases that traditional methods treatments are ineffective. And that’s when stem cells can help. In many cases, they help restore blood, bone marrow, and tissue regeneration after wounds and burns. And for diseases of the immune system and blood, stem cell transplantation is the only radical method therapy.

One of the problems of this method is the selection of stem cells suitable for a particular patient. With personalized storage, all harvested cord blood stem cells will be native to your child and will be ideal for him. And umbilical cord stem cells can be used for therapy for the whole family.

What diseases can stem cells help with?

Today, stem cells have been used throughout the world for decades complex therapy oncological diseases blood, immunodeficiencies of various etiologies.

The use of stem cells has given positive results in the treatment of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes mellitus Type 1 and building up cartilage tissue.

The list includes more than 80 diseases. The most severe and common include:

• blood diseases (leukemia) and malignancies;
• diabetes;
• heart disease;
• stroke and brain damage;
• muscular dystrophy;
• Parkinson's disease;
• Alzheimer's disease;
• multiple sclerosis;
• spinal injuries;
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
• systemic lupus erythematosus;
• autoimmune diseases;
• cerebral palsy;
• chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis.

What do stem cell banks do?

Stem cell banks process and store samples containing stem cells. Stem cell storage can be public or personal. Samples from the public registry can be used by anyone who needs stem cells. During personal storage, stem cells are managed by their owners. Thus, stem cells isolated from the blood of the umbilical cord or umbilical cord belong to the child’s parents. But in this case, they pay for the services for their collection, processing and storage.

What to consider when choosing a stem cell bank:

✓ How many years has the bank been in existence?

The older the bank, the greater the guarantee of stability you receive, the more experience the bank’s employees have in isolating, harvesting and storing stem cells.

✓ Does the bank have a license?

The bank must have a license to collect, transport and store stem cells, issued by the health committee.

✓ On the basis of which institution is the bank located?

The advantage for the bank is that it is located on the basis of a medical institution or research institute. Firstly, because hospitals have an autonomous power supply system. Secondly, the conditions necessary for working with biological material have already been created here.

The bank, like any medical institution, must have round-the-clock security, because the bank contains precious samples of stem cells, many unique medical equipment and databases.

✓ What equipment are its laboratories and storage facilities equipped with?

Today, there are 3 devices on which stem cells can be isolated: a double centrifuge (semi-automated device), Sepax devices (Switzerland) and Macopress (France).

The presence of these devices is mandatory for successful work jar.

✓ Does the bank have an automatic control system for cryogenic storage facilities?

The bank's cryostorage must be equipped with an IT monitoring system for cryodewars in which stem cell samples are stored. At any time, bank employees can check the storage temperature of the sample and the fullness of the cryodewar. And also receive a report on the storage of the sample for any period of time and save it on the server for archiving.

✓ Does the bank have its own courier service?

For prompt collection of umbilical cord blood from the maternity hospital and speedy release sample of stem cells without losing their viability, the bank must have a courier service, whose employees can at any time pick up a blood sample from the maternity hospital and deliver it to the bank.

✓ Does the bank conduct Scientific research in the field of cell technologies?

It is very important that the bank also organizes scientific work, and also collaborated with leading research institutes and medical institutions cities.

✓ Does this bank have experience in successfully using umbilical cord blood stem cells?

It would be a good idea to ask the bank for statistics on the demand for samples and experience in using stem cells to treat patients with various diseases.

Historical reference

The term “stem cell” was introduced into scientific use by the Russian histologist Alexander Maksimov (-). He postulated the existence of a hematopoietic stem cell. At a meeting of the Society of Hematologists in Berlin on June 1, 1909, he introduced the concept of “Stammzelle”, meaning by this definition a lymphocyte in the broader sense of the word, as a cell capable of being a stem cell in the modern sense of the word.

In the 1960s, Teal and McCulloch, as well as Metcalf and his collaborators, showed that intravenous administration bone marrow cells from a healthy syngeneic to a lethally irradiated mouse leads to the formation of colonies of cells of all directions of hematopoietic differentiation in the spleen. With the development of a clonal method for in-vitro detection of progenitor cells, the so-called colony-forming units (CFU), it has become possible to follow the differentiation of all myeloid lineages.

Friedenstein A. Ya. and his colleagues were the first to show that in the bone marrow, in addition to hematopoietic ones, there are stromal stem cells, which, when cultivated, formed colonies of fibroblast-like cells. Transplantation of such colonies under the mouse kidney capsule in a diffusion chamber led to the formation of bone or adipose tissue.

Stem cells reproduce by division, like all other cells. The difference between stem cells is that they can divide indefinitely, while mature cells usually have a limited number of division cycles.

The DNA in all cells of one organism (except sex cells), including stem cells, is the same. Cells of different organs and tissues, for example, bone cells and nerve cells, differ only in which genes they have turned on and which are turned off, that is, by regulating gene expression, for example, by DNA methylation. In fact, with the realization of the existence of mature and immature cells, a new level of cellular control was discovered. That is, the genome of all cells is identical, but the mode of operation in which it is located is different.

IN various organs and tissues of an adult organism, there are partially mature stem cells that are ready to quickly mature and turn into cells the right type. They are called blast cells. For example, partially mature brain cells are neuroblasts, bones are osteoblasts, and so on. Differentiation can be started as internal reasons, and external. Any cell responds to external stimuli, including special cytokine signals. For example, there is a signal (substance) that serves as a sign of overpopulation. If there are a lot of cells, then this signal inhibits division. In response to signals, the cell can regulate gene expression.

Characteristics of embryonic stem cells

1. Totipotency - the ability to form any of the body's approximately 350 cell types (in mammals);
2. Homing is the ability of stem cells, when introduced into the body, to find an area of ​​damage and fixate there, performing the lost function;
3. The factors that determine the uniqueness of stem cells are not in the nucleus, but in the cytoplasm. This is an excess of mRNA for all 3 thousand genes that are responsible for early development embryo;
4. Telomerase activity.

With each replication, part of the telomeres is lost (Hayflick limit or bioclock). In the stem, genital and tumor cells there is telomerase activity, the ends of their chromosomes are added, that is, these cells are capable of undergoing a potentially infinite number of cell divisions, they are immortal.

• There are very few stem cells in our body:
  • in an embryo - 1 cell per 10 thousand,
  • in a person aged 60-80 years - 1 cell in 5-8 million.

• Few people know that stem cells have a different name; they are also called cambial cells or cambium cells (from Late Latin cambium - exchange, change).

see also

Notes

Links

• What are stem cells, Korochkin L.I., Nature magazine, 2005, No. 6.

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See what “Stem cell” is in other dictionaries:

adult stem cell- A stem cell isolated or derived from the bone marrow tissue of an adult. Biotechnology topics EN adult stem cell ...

first stem cell- A stem cell from the bone marrow of an embryo, from which cells of the body’s immune system will subsequently develop. Biotechnology topics EN stem cell one ... Technical Translator's Guide

pluripotent stem cell- A stem cell that can transform into several types of body cells. Topics of biotechnology EN pluripotent stem cell ... Technical Translator's Guide

hematopoietic stem cell- Precursor cell of blood cells Topics of biotechnology EN hematopoietic stem cell ... Technical Translator's Guide

totipotent stem cell- A cell capable of forming any tissue Topics of biotechnology EN totipotent stem cell ... Technical Translator's Guide

mesenchymal stem cell- - Topics of biotechnology EN mesenchymal stem cell ... Technical Translator's Guide

adult mesenchymal stem cell- - Topics of biotechnology EN mesenchymal adult stem cell ... Technical Translator's Guide