Fawzia aboali

Prof. of allergy &immunology

Ain shams faculty of medicine
Stem Cells :
 What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are unspecialized cells

capable of multiplying and forming
many different kinds of tissue
through cellular generation and
differentiation.
 STEM CELLS HAVE 3 BASIC 
PROPERTIES
UNDIFFERENTIATED  
AND ABLE TO DIVIDE 
1 2   CAPABLE OF 
INDEFINITELY              
SELF­RENEWAL

D1 D2 ........ Dn

                     CAPABLE OF DIFFERENTIATION INTO
                     DIFFERENT CELL TYPES
Adapted from Caltech 2000
Where are stem cells found?
1. Embryos (ESC)
2. “Adult Stem Cells” (ASC)...
Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)

Science and Politics of ESCs

research
 August 9, 2001 - President Bush restricted
federal funding of human embryonic stem
cell research .
 Former First Lady Nancy
Reagan has been privately
lobbying in favour of federal
financing for embryonic
stem cell research.
 Mrs Reagan is said to believe
that the research could lead
to a cure for Alzheimer's
disease, which has afflicted
her husband, former US
President Ronald Reagan.
‫‪President Barack Obama announced‬‬
‫‪Monday that he will allow federal financing‬‬
‫‪of medical research using stem cells from‬‬
‫‪discarded human embryos,March,8,2009‬‬

‫وقع الرئيس الميركي أمرا تنفيذيا يرفع حظرا على التمويل الفدرالي لبحاث الخليا الجذعية الجنينية‪،‬‬
‫وقال إن القرارات المتعلقة بالبحث العلمي يجب أن تبنى على الوقائع ل اليديولوجيا‪ ،‬في انتقاد صريح‬
‫لسلفه جورج بوش الذي اتخذاقرار الحظر عام ‪2001‬‬
‫الهرام‪.3/2009/ 9‬‬
Adult Stem Cells” (ASC)
•‰ Umbilical Cords
•‰ Adult tissue such as:
•‰ neural (brain)
•‰ blood
•‰ adipose (fat)
•‰ nose (olfactory cells)
•‰ bone marrow
•‰ mammary gland
 STEM CELL THERAPIES TODAY
These include:
 Adult Stem Cell Transplant: Bone Marrow
Stem Cells
 Adult Stem Cell Transplant: Peripheral
Blood Stem Cells
 Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell
Transplant
 What is stem cell transplant?
 A stem cell transplant is the infusion
of healthy cells to replace or
regenerate diseased or damaged ones.
Asthma & COPD
 Allergies and respiratory conditions such
as asthma &COPD are a prevalent
problem allover the world.
 In children these problems are especially
destructive. Their small, developing
bodies aren't always strong enough to
deal with the damage caused by allergies
 Stem cell transplant provides hopes for
those ,and for cases with severe COPD.
 Stem cells can be helpful through,
ridding the body of allergies and at the
same time ,repair lung injury.
 How can stem cell therapies treat
allergies?
 Stem cells are the building blocks for every
cell in the body.
 Stem cell transplants are a kind of
immune therapy that transfers cells instead
of antibodies.
 Recent studies showed marked
improvement of allergy after marrow
transplants
 Healthy stem cells are transplanted to the
affected areas of the body-in this case, the
immune system.
 Once there, they receive messages from
the cells around them and begin to take
on the function of those cells (T&B cells).
 They literally become immune system
cells.
 They are designed to heal and rebuild,
and they strengthen the immune system
through regeneration.
 They do this by mimicking the function
of whatever cells they're sent to heal and
create newer, healthier cells that perform
properly.

 the discovery of blood stem cells in bone

marrow revealed the secret of rebuilding
the immune system via bone marrow
transplants.
Technique:
 After stem cells derived from umbilical
cord blood, injected into the patient’s
blood, they migrate to the bone marrow,
where they mature into blood cells,
including all the different cells of the
immune system.
 This is a complex process involving, the
action of cytokines, which regulates
distinct steps in the life of stem cells and
their immune descendents.
Repair of lung injury
Stem cell therapy to repair lung injury:

 asthma & COPD are responsible for lung

injuries and airway remodeling which are
leading causes of morbidity and mortality
worldwide.
 The use of adult stem cells to help with
lung regeneration and repair could be a
newer technology in clinical and
regenerative medicine.
 Normal repair of the airway involves
regeneration of the airway epithelium
by stem cells in both the proximal
airway and distal airspace, whereas
aberrant repair may result from stem
cells that lead to fibrosis and airway
remodeling.
 These stem cells are resident in specific
protected niches in the lung, or they can
be mobilized from the bone marrow and
recruited from the circulation in the
setting of severe injury.
 Stem cell transplant technology , could
overcome the problem of aberrant repair.
Technique:
 stem cells are grown in culture with
special nutrients and growth factors to
program them to become pulmonary stem
cells.
 This culture method usually requires
about three weeks in time.
 Patients are given progenitor cells,
pulmonary stem cells and human stem cell
growth factors intravenously.
 Post stem therapy program medications
are then given to the patient to be taken
for six months.
 In a recent study, 3 male patients suffering
from severe chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) were
submitted to autologous adult stem cell
implant . After 30 days of the procedure
all the patients showed improved
pulmonary functions.
Sources of Stem Cells for Lung Repair,
Regeneration, and Remodeling

n Endogenous Lung Stem Cells

Progenitor cells that participate in the maintenance
and repair of injured lung epithelium have been
described for tracheobronchial, bronchiolar, and
alveolar compartments .
n Specialized Cells Derived from Embryonic and
adult Stem Cells
Differentiating cultures of embryonic &adult stem
cells have been proposed as an alternative source of
lung stem cells.
Future Needs and Anticipated Difficulties
 How are stem cells maintained within the lung?

 How is the stem cell impacted by changes in the cytokine and

growth factor condition of the chronically diseased lung?

 Basic studies are needed to develop and optimize methods for

the isolation, purification and validation of lung stem cells.

 How might cell-based therapeutic interventions be

considered in light of known differences between airway
regions &region-specific stem cells?

 How might the beneficial effects of engrafting cells be

controled while avoiding the potential harmful effects?
Therefore, lung stem cell biology may
provide novel approaches to therapy and
could represent a great promise for the
future of molecular medicine. In fact,
several diseases can be slowed or even
blocked by stem cell transplantation.
 References:

n Brigitte N. Gomperts1 and Robert M. Strieter:: Stem Cells

and Chronic Lung Disease :Annual Review of Medicine,2007
Vol. 58: 285-298,
n LoebingerMR,AguilarS,JanesSM Therapeutic potential of
stem cells in lung disease: progress and pitfalls. Clin Sci
(Lond). 2008 Jan;114(2):99-108.

n Dario Siniscalco,Review: Stem cell therapy: the great

promise in lung disease, Therapeutic Advances in
Respiratory Disease, (2008) Vol. 2, No. 3, 173-177
n Isabel P Neuringer1 and Scott H Randell2 Stem cells and
repair of lung injuries Respiratory Research 2004, 5:6
PICASS
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