New Source of Disease-Fighting Stem Cells

Could menstrual blood be the source of stem cells, ending the controversial issue of using fetal tissue? Long a bone of contention amongst the scientific and religious communities, stem cells are traditionally "harvested" from embryonic tissue, which results in the death of the embryo. Stem cells are effective in boosting the immune system, fighting diseases such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, sickle cell disease and anemia, among others. In addition, studies are now being done to determine their effectiveness against heart disease and neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

Meanwhile, researchers are trying to find alternatives to embryonic stem cells. At Japan's private Keio University and the National Institute for Child Health and Development, a team has been working on obtaining stem cells from menstrual blood. Initial study is based on the menstrual blood obtained from nine women. Researchers focused on a type of cells, known as stromal, that can act like stem cells, which have the ability to transform into other types of cells. They discovered that stromal cells, which are found in connective tissues, are contained in the endometrial lining of the uterus. This means cells that have the ability to regenerate are discarded during a woman's monthly period.

Scientists say that these menstrual blood stromal cells can be easily collected and then used to create new fat, cartilage, bone, skin, heart, and brain cells. These cells may have the potential to be used in transplants where organ tissue needs to be regrown.

In a release, Amit N. Patel, director of Cardiac Cell Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine stated that, "Stromal stem cells derived from menstrual blood exhibit stem cell properties, such as the capacity for self-renewal and multipotency." He went on to say that uterine stromal cells have similar multipotent markers found in bone marrow stem cells and originate in part from bone marrow.

Cells were grown in the lab by researchers and it was found that the stromal cells divided slower than embryonic stem cells but more rapidly than bone-marrow derived cells. Around 20 percent of these cells spontaneously starting beating approximately three days after being put with other cells from the hearts of rats. The cells then formed sheet-like heart muscle tissue. Rats who had suffered heart attacks began to improve after receiving the menstrual blood cells. One of the researchers said that the success rate is 100 times higher than the 0.2 to 0.3 percent for stem cells taken from human bone marrow.

According to Julie Allickson, vice-president of laboratory operations and research and development at Cryo-Cell International, the company that extracted and analyzed the cells, these preliminary results are extremely encouraging and support the importance of further study of these cells in several different areas including heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease.

Cryo-Cell International is in the umbilical cord banking business and umbilical cord stem cells have already been used in approximately 8,000 transplant operations globally. The company has now formed a subsidiary named C'Elle for the banking of menstrual blood to be used for stem cell harvesting. The company says that these stem cells have all of the properties of an adult stem cell that is similar to those harvested from bone marrow and cord blood as well as unique markings that are similar to embryonic stem cell markings. However, further research and trials will be necessary to show the full potential of menstrual blood stromal cells.