It is easy to isolate stem cells in the urine

(Urinals.tv) - Urine stem cells are easily isolated and have potential for many therapies.

>>>Create teeth germs from . urine

Can stem cells be harvested to treat a day by simply asking patients to provide a urine sample?

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Research Center for Regenerative Medicine and colleagues have identified stem cells in the urine, which can directly become many types of cells. cell.

'These cells can be obtained through a simple, low-cost and non-invasive approach, which can avoid surgery' , Yuanyuan Zhang, PhD, associate professor of regenerative medicine and is High-level research of the project said.

Reported online in Stem Cells, the team manipulated stem cells from the urine into bladder-type cells , such as smooth muscle and urethra, as cells. bladder lining cells. But urine-derived stem cells can also form bone, cartilage, fat, skeletal muscle, nerve cells and endothelial cells, the type of blood vessel wall cells. The diverse potential of these cells suggests the ability to use them in a variety of treatments.

'These stem cells represent almost an infinite supply of his own cells to treat not only urinary-related diseases such as kidney disease, urination disorders and dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction, but also can be used very well for other purposes , 'Zhang said. 'It is also possible that these cells are used to create alternative bladder, urinary tubes and other urinary organs'.

It may be advantageous to use the patient's own stem cells to treat the patient because these cells will not cause an immune response or rejection. However, because specific tissue cells are a very small population of cells, it is difficult to isolate them from organs and tissues.

Zhang's team first identified cells as a subset of the many cells present in urine, in 2006. The current study is based on previous studies by reaffirming the diverse potential of these cells. In addition, the study found that, unlike iPS cells or embryonic stem cells, urine-derived stem cells do not form tumors when implanted in the body, suggesting These cells may be safe to use for patients.

The study collected urine samples from 17 healthy people between the ages of 5 and 75 years. Isolate cells from urine including minimal treatment, according to the authors. Next, they evaluated the possibilities of becoming other cell types of these cells.

More importantly, these cells have differentiated into three-tier tissue layers (endoderm, mesoderm and epidermis) as a sign of true stem cells and have also differentiated into specific cell species. mentioned earlier.

Later, the researchers placed the differentiated cells into smooth muscle and urinary cells on the substrates made from pig intestines. When implanted in mice for one month, the cells form multi-layer, tissue-like structures.
Urine-derived stem cells have signals (markers) of mesenchymal cells, which are adult stem cells from connective tissue, such as bone marrow. They also have signs of germ cells (pericyte), a group of mesenchymal cells found in small blood vessels.

Where do these cells come from? Researchers suspect that these cells are derived from the upper urinary tract, including the kidneys. Female volunteers who have received kidney transplants from male donors have been found to have Y chromosomes in their urine-derived stem cells, suggesting kidneys are a source. The root of those cells.

'Determining the origin of the cells will lead to a better understanding of the versatility of mesenchymal cells in the urinary tract system , ' Zhang said.

Co-authors of the study include: Shantaram Bharadwaj, associate professor, Guihua Liu, MD, Ph.D., Yingai Shi, MD, Ph.D., Rongpei Wu, MD, Ph.D., Bin Yang, MD, Ph.D., Anthony Atala, MD and Jan Rohozinski, associate professor, Wake Forest Baptist ;. Tong-chan Anh, MD, Ph.D., University of Chicago Medical Center; Yuxin Fan, MD, Ph.D., and Xinyan Lu, MD, Baylor Medical University, Xiaobo Zhou, Ph.D., Methodist Hospital Research Institute, and Hong Liu, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma.