Potential Cell Therapy for Anemia

Anemia, which can have a profound effect on quality of life, is the inevitable outcome of chronic kidney failure. It is caused by the kidney’s decreased ability to produce erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that controls red blood cell production. In this study, reported in World Journal of Urology, we examined the feasibility of isolating and expanding EPO-producing cells in the laboratory to develop a cell-based therapy.

Current therapies for the condition include repeated transfusions of red blood cells and administration of testosterone and other anabolic steroids. However, neither of these treatments has been entirely effective.

We multiplied renal cells from young mice and then tested then their ability to produce EPO. About 65 percent to 75 percent of the cells observed during the expansion process expressed the EPO protein and the cells maintained their functional characteristics.

The results demonstrate that EPO-producing renal cells can be grown and expanded in culture and they are able to form tissue when implanted. This suggests that the cells may be a potential treatment to restore normal red blood cell levels in patients with chronic renal failure.

Our next steps will be measure the amount of EOP produced by the cells and to determine how many cells would be needed to restore the body’s ability to regulate red blood cell levels.

(Erythropoietin producing cells for potential cell therapy. Aboushwareb T, Egydio F, Straker L, Gyabaah K, Atala A, Yoo JJ. World J Urol. 2008 Aug;26(4):295-300.)