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Researchers Develop Technology to Reproduce Cord Blood Stem Cells
Kyodo News
08 October 2005
A health ministry team has developed technology to safely and effectively reproduce stem cells from umbilical cord blood, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
The new technology may increase the success rates of stem cell transplantation designed to treat serious illness like leukemia, the sources said. The clinical tests are being planned for leukemia patients.
The team within the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry was able to reproduce cord blood stem cells 30 times in 12 days, mixing interleukin-6 and three other proteins in the cord blood, the sources said.
The reproduction rate is larger than about four times seen under a similar method developed overseas, the sources said.
The stem cells multiplied using this method did not become cancerous, the sources said, adding the technology's safety has been confirmed.
Cord blood stem cells can be used to treat a host of serious illness. They can be easily collected without any ethical drawbacks, stored indefinitely and are easier to match to patients than those from bone marrow. But availability is a problem.
The technology is also expected to be useful in reproducing bone marrow stem cells, lessening the burden of donors involved in bone marrow transplantation, the sources said.
The clinical test will start at a medical institute in Kobe for 10 leukemia patients upon approval by the Japanese Cord Blood Bank Network, the sources said.
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