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Grafts are not only a point of crisis because of the worldwide shortage of donated organs, but also because of the high risk of organ transplant rejections. A new type of universal stem cells could help solve some of these problems, as published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Researchers at the University of California have investigated the genetic engineering of pluripotent stem cells that can bypbad the body's immune response and prevent rejection. To circumvent the issue of donated tissues, stem cells were created from fully developed mature cells that were collected from patients to be modified and then re-administered. It is hoped that these iPSCs will help reduce the risk of rejection and then specialize in their new roles if the immune system does not attack them as a potential pathogen.
Although this path is promising, it presents obstacles and even these cells made from the patient's cells are still rejected. moreover, the process is expensive and can be difficult to conduct and even more difficult to duplicate. According to Dr. Tobias Deuse, the iPSc technology poses many problems, including not knowing what makes some cells reprogrammable reliably; and most individualized iPSC therapies have been discontinued because of this.
Scientists believe they have found a solution by creating a new universal pluripotent stem cell, able to differentiate into any specialized cell without triggering an immune response, and without it being necessary to administer any immune response. immunosuppressive drugs that may make patients more vulnerable. cancer and infection.
To overcome these obstacles, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing has been used to alter the activity of only 3 genes in order to protect stem cells from the immune response and allow the body to accept them more easily. The modified stem cells were tested in mouse models with a fully functional immune system, designed to resemble a histocompatibility mismatch.
The process of stem cell engineering was initiated by removing two genes that control the activity of clbad I and II histocompatibility complex proteins that send signals to the immune system and trigger immune responses. . However, the cells did not get a pbad and were then targeted by specialized natural killer immune cells. Laboratory and in vivo studies have revealed that CD47, a cell surface protein, inhibits these NK cells.
New stem cells manipulated with 2 mutated genes and an improved gene have been transplanted into specially modified mice possessing immune system elements to stimulate the immune response in humans, experiments have been reported.
Going further, these new stem cells were later made to specialize as different types of cardiac cells, which were transplanted once again into specially designed mice; It has also been reported that these studies have been successful because the new cardiac cells have survived for a long time and have evolved into simple blood vessels and cardiac muscle tissue.
Dr. Deuse points out based on their findings, the team suggests that such stem cells could eventually be used to treat humans; and this technique solves the problems of rejection, which represents a significant advance for the field of stem cell therapy.
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