FW: [HepC] Blood cells regenerate liver, scientists find

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-----Original Message-----From: Demastus@... [mailto:Demastus@...]Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2000 12:18 AMHepCegroupsSubject: [HepC] Blood cells regenerate liver, scientists findBlood cells regenerate liver, scientists findBy Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - People's livers can regenerate using stem cells from blood -- a discovery that means patients may be able to grow their own liver transplants using bone marrow, scientists said on Wednesday. They found strong evidence that people who received bone marrow transplants used some of the cells in their livers. This adds to a growing body of evidence that stem cells, known as ``master cells'' because they can produce a variety of different kinds of cells, might one day be manipulated to create custom-grown organ transplants. More than 68,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the United States alone -- most of them for livers. An average of 10 people die every day waiting. Liver failure can be caused by alcoholism, drug overdoses, hepatitis infection or other problems. Sometimes, with care, the liver can repair itself. ``The liver is an incredibly regenerative organ using its own cells,'' Dr. Neil Theise of the New York University School of Medicine, who led the study, said in a statement. So his team decided to look and see if other cells might get drafted in to help with this process. Writing in the journal Hepatology, they said they examined the livers of two women who had received bone marrow transplants from men. Bone marrow is rich in stem cells and is routinely used to help patients with leukaemia, a blood cancer treated by destroying the bone marrow and replacing it with healthy bone marrow. Various studies are just starting to suggest that at least some of these stem cells have the power, under the right circumstances, to give rise not only to the various kinds of blood cells but also to cells from other organs. Because only men have a Y chromosome, Theise's team looked for cells in liver samples from the women that carried a Y -- and found them. ``They were women who received bone marrow transplants from men, so we know they had to have come from bone marrow,'' Theise, a pathologist, said in a telephone interview. He said he did not know why the cells appeared in the livers of the women, because their livers were, apparently, healthy. ``It seems that regeneration and repopulation of the liver with or without injury seems to be part of a very complex web of interactions,'' he said. ``It must be putting out some factor which calls them in.'' If scientists could identify this factor, he said, it might be possible to give the compound to people suffering from liver disease to help their bodies repair themselves. He said other studies suggest that the brain, skeleton and lungs also call in stem cells from elsewhere. Theise's team also looked at men who got liver transplants from women. Their livers should contain no Y chromosomes, as they came from women. But Theise said in one patient, 40 percent of his liver and bile duct cells had the male chromosome, suggesting they originated from elsewhere in his body. ``This isn't a minor process -- this is a major operation,'' he said. The study suggests other ways to treat liver disease using stem cells. ``You could take cells from the circulation, get them to turn into hepatocytes (liver cells), and re-inject then into the patient to give them enough functioning liver mass to get them through the acute process,'' Theise said. Teams of scientists are studying just what the factors are that induce stem cells to produce nerve cells, muscle cells, blood cells and so on. ``The second possibility is to use such cells to populate an artificial liver assist device ... that could work sort of like kidney dialysis does.'' Last week British scientists, basing part of their work on Theise's studies, said they had also managed to derive human liver cells from bone marrow stem cells. 14:10 07-26-00~~~~~~~~~~~~Inspirational pieces to lighten the heart and make you smile. To subscribe to Goose Pimple DiariesSend an e-mail to: GoosePimpleDiaries-subscribeegroups GoosePimpleDiariesSend your comments to HepC-owneronelist Subscribe: HepC-subscribeonelist Unsubscribe: HepC-unsubscribeonelist To subscribe to any of my other Mailing Lists (HOOTS Clean Joke List, Southern Heritage, Freight Haulers, Freedom Watch, Christian Activist)contact me at: demastus@...HAVE YOUR OWN 800# - HOME OR BUSINESSONLY 6.9 cents per minute! - Six second billing NO SET-UP FEES - NO MONTHLY FEES - NO SURCHARGESSAME RATE FOR LONG DISTANCE CALLS FROM HOME!FOR SERVICE 1-800-360-8918 - RD# 205Get paid to surf the web:http://www.alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=FVG-196NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed, without profit, for research or educational purposes to those who have expressed a prior interest.