Two Britons became the first people in the world to receive an injection of red blood cells produced from donor stem cells. As part of a joint RESTORE study with the universities of Bristol and Cambridge, the National Health Service of Great Britain plans to transplant lab-generated blood to at least ten volunteers.
Erythrocytes, red blood cells, are blood cells that are saturated with oxygen in the lungs and then distribute it throughout the body. In case of violation of the functions of red blood cells or a decrease in their number, the organs do not receive enough oxygen, which affects their work and the general condition of the body.
If stem cell-derived blood components prove to be safe and effective, this approach could eventually be used to treat patients who require regular blood transfusions, such as patients with sickle cell anemia. These patients now face a shortage of properly donated blood.
“The technology of obtaining erythrocytes in the laboratory can help patients with hereditary diseases (sickle cell anemia, thalassemia) who need a lifetime volumetric donor erythrocyte transfusion, as well as patients with rare blood types. donor erythrocytes are always important”,
Tatiana Gaponova, Deputy Director of the National Hematology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, transfusion specialist, candidate of medical sciences told socialbites.ca.
He noted that the first experiments to obtain fully compatible blood cells from stem hematopoietic cells began 20 years ago in the United States. However, only now has it come to experiments on transplanting them into humans.
“The first experience of successful cell differentiation in the laboratory and their acquisition for clinical use are two major differences,” explains Apollinaria Bogolyubova. – On average, at least 10 years pass between these events. It is important not only to get the result, but also to solve the procedure, to think over everything to the smallest detail: what should be the conditions of the experiment? Which reagents should be used? How to monitor the safety of the received product? These and many other questions need to be answered.
The high-tech therapy development path requires not only a lot of time and effort, but also significant financial investments; investigating its source can also significantly increase the time from obtaining a laboratory result to first use in a patient. ”
Researchers will learn what the life expectancy of red blood cells “from a test tube” will be compared to those taken directly from the same donors. All blood cells grown in the lab are young, so they are expected to do a better job. Donor RBCs typically contain cells of different ages, and scientists expect that using younger RBCs will reduce the frequency of transfusions. Due to frequent blood transfusions, iron accumulates in the patient’s body, which can lead to serious complications such as heart attack, liver failure and coma. Also, with regular transfusions, the immune system can start to produce antibodies against certain blood types, making it difficult to find a suitable donor. If only young RBCs are used, transfusions may be done less frequently.
“Testing for the ability to fix and release oxygen confirmed the full functional maturity of the resulting cells. Indicators of the “oxygen” tests were very close to control RBC samples from the same donors. The method used autogenous doses of RBCs (i.e., erythrocytes) that completely eliminated the tissue compatibility issue and the risk of infection. This opens the possibility of obtaining the patient’s own cells.
Obtaining fully mature erythrocytes in vitro will allow to study the features of the process in normal and pathological conditions. Theoretically, the method is capable of revolutionizing medicine, despite its high cost,” says Gaponova.
Today, in addition to donated blood, blood substitutes are also used – in particular, perftoran, which was developed in the USSR. However, their use is possible only in emergency situations, for example, with large blood loss. They are not suitable for regular transfusions due to their toxicity and inability to oxygenate.
“Perfluorocarbon blood substitutes or” blue blood “has been known for a long time, but its scope is very narrow. These compounds diffuse oxygen well, but are poorly saturated with oxygen in the lungs, in fact, this is a disposable drug. Perfluorocarbons are poorly excreted by the kidneys and have a carcinogenic effect .
Their undoubted advantage is the possibility of tissue oxygenation during thrombosis due to direct diffusion into the tissue. Another class of blood substitutes are drugs based on hemoglobin. They are toxic, one of them – the drug “Hemopur”, based on bovine hemoglobin, is used in emergency situations in the army of South Africa and the USA. The problems are the same – poor oxygen saturation in the lungs, as well as immunogenicity, ”explains Gaponova.
The authors of the study acknowledge that in the foreseeable future, stem cell-derived red blood cells may only be used in a small number of patients who are the most difficult to treat. Therefore, until the technology is introduced more massively, many will still have to rely on donated blood.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.