Clinical application of autologic stem cells of peripheric blood
The term "stem cells" means cell-progenitor which can generate several types of specialized cells responsible for certain body functions (for example, liver cells - hepatocytes, brain cells - neurons, heart cells - cardiomyocytes).
Besides there exist the so called regional or somatic stem cells. These are multipotent stem cells - precursors of several but not all types of cells.
Regional stem cells can be received from embryos and foetus or from tissues of adult body (for example, bone marrow, peripheric blood).
Transplantation of liver fetal cells was first carried out in 1961 and today we have enough world experience of their application. However the application of this cellular material can be unsafe due to contamination by different infectious agents (virus and microbic infection). It also known that regional stem cells received from embryos and fetus sometimes begin to express their own antigens of histocompatibility class 2 and are later destroyed by the recipient's immune system.
Besides, the application of embryonal tissues is often subject to criticism due to immorality of their harvesting from abortive material.
Today transplantation of hemopoietic stem cells (THC) from peripheric blood develops rapidly. Transplantation of stem cells from peripheric blood is less expending than transplantation of bone marrow cells. This procedure is available for every patient. THC are initial stem cells which have the ability of selfreproduction and differentiation. Clinical transplantation of THC is indicated in cases of neurological, cardio-vascular, liver diseases, ageing, etc.
Harvesting and cultivation of peripheric blood stem cells
1 day before blood taking the patient is injected with special hemopoietic growth factor - colonystimulating factor (H-CSF) which regulates formation of functionally active neutrophils and their entering blood from bone marrow. H-CSF increases significantly the amount of hemopoietic stem cells in peripheric blood within 24 hours after injection.
The blood is taken from vein, 50 ml to the test-tubes, sterile. The patient is under observation for 40 minutes. The blood goes to the laboratory of cellular cultures. Hemopoietic stem cells are received from this blood. Since the amount of these cells is initially small special growth factors which intensify reproduction of these cells are added to the culture. Term of cultivation - 7-10 days. The biomass of stem cells is increased in 10-20 times.
