At the end of this new releaseFrom the company,
there is mention of clinical trials.
................................................................
Placentas Coaxed into Stem Cell Factories
A New Jersey company has developed a way to turn the human placenta into
a biovessel to produce multipotent stem cells in quantities far greater
than traditional cord blood or bone marrow retrieval.
Research headed toward the clinical setting suggests that cultivated
placentas may be an alternative to controversial fetal tissue as a
source of therapeutic stem cells.
Although stem cells have been reportedly isolated from peripheral blood
and fat tissue, the volume and character of the cells typically falls
short of therapeutic utility.
"The amount of [stem] cells we're able to recover dwarfs what's
previously been described," says Robert Hariri, MD, chief science
officer of AnthroGenesis Corporation (AnthroGen), located in Cedar
Knolls, NJ.
Characterization of the placental stem cells show they are similar to
traditional multipotent stem cells, capable of growing into different
types of tissue, and also have unique qualities of their own, says
Hariri.
Traditionally, the umbilical cord and placenta are discarded after
birth. AnthroGen scientists discovered that the placenta has a
population of previously unrecognized reservoir with the potential of
producing stem cells.
These cells, which remain quiescent during pregnancy, had not been
thoroughly studied before because "it had always been thought that the
placenta dies very rapidly after birth," Hariri says.
AnthroGen acquires placentas obtained from volunteers under informed
consent.
After draining the placenta and umbilical cord as usual for the typical
banking, the company's technology sustains the placenta on a
life-support system that perfuses the tissue with a proprietary nutrient
solution.
By maintaining the placenta on life support, "we've come up with a
method to trick those cells into believing they've been recruited," says
Hariri.
Over a period of days, the artificially sustained placentas churn out
stem cells, which are collected in the laboratory.
The number of cells recovered this way is dramatically higher than other
sources, including adult bone marrow and embryonic or fetal tissue, he
says. "The density of these multi-potent cells is staggering."
The placenta can be maintained for "many days," although for how long is
not known. "We have not yet defined the limits," says Hariri. "It's
possible we may maintain this material for quite a while."
Both the process to maintain placenta tissue and the means of retrieving
stem cells are covered by several patents that have been filed by the
company in recent years.
AnthroGen is banking on the utility of their placental stem cells, and
is engaged in research and clinical collaborations.
Several projects are approaching clinical trials, including therapies
for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease) and
central nervous system conditions such as Parkinson's disease.
Hariri says that AnthroGen has developed an economical and reliable way
to produce an abundant quantity of therapeutically meaningful stem
cells.
"The opportunities are pretty vast," says Hariri. "There's 4.5 million
births a year in this country, and this stuff is customarily thrown
away."
(c) Copyright 2001, Genomics News Wire
--
Bruce Goldfarb, Editor
Genomics News Wire
http://www.GenomicsNews.com
...............................................................
Ray Strand
Prairie Sky Design
-----------------( on the Edge of the Prairie Abyss )---------------
when the sky is clear
the ground is visible
49/dx PD 2 yrs/40? onset/retired
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