Stem Cells in CVD

Question 1

Define stem cells and where they are produced?

Answer 1

Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and can divide (through mitosis) to produce more stem cells
found throughout the body
produced in the bone marrow of the long bones
Human embryonic stem cells are the most commonly used, as they can differentiate into all types of cells, including more stem cells.

Question 2

how are stem cells identified?

Answer 2

cell separation (centrifuge?)
Cells identified by light scatter by:
• Size
• Content
• Fluorescence

Question 3

What are Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC)?

Answer 3

Cells which can differentiate into endothelial cells

Question 4

where are endothelial progenitor cells found?

Answer 4

perivascular adventitia
blood
heart
gut
spleen
adipose tissue
bone marrow
muscle

Question 5

Where are the potential sources of smooth muscle progenitor cells?

Answer 5

Bone marrow
Peripheral Blood
Tissue resident progenitor (skeletal muscle/ non-SP cells)

Question 6

where do Embryos for stem cell research come from?

Answer 6

Infertility and IVF treatment
only ~10% result in pregnancy
90% which do not ‘take’ are frozen for future use but then discarded.
embryos not used in treatment which would have been discarded can be donanted to SC reseach

Question 7

how many formed embryos (in most montly cycles) actually implant?

Answer 7

1/4
Human reproduction is inherently wasteful
Loss of embryos is a natural part of the process

Question 8

what can embryonic stem cells be used for?

Answer 8

identify drug targets and test potential therapeutics
toxicity testing
study cell differentiation-leads to- Understanding prevention and treatment of diseases

Question 9

Name 4 types of tissues/cells and describe their potential use for transplantation in SCR?

Answer 9

Bone marrow- leukaemia and chemotherapy
nerve cells- parkinsons and alzheimers
heart muscle- heart disease
pancreatic islet cells- diabetics
cure in 5-10 years?

Question 10

who regulates SCR in the UK?

Answer 10

• HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)
• National Stem Cell Bank (UKSCB)
• Government (MRC) funding

Question 11

can hES (human embryonic stem cells) be used clinically?

Answer 11

Animal studies only e.g. spinal cord injury
• No clinical trials using hES cells
• All hES cells made to date are research grade
• Many challenges:
– Understand how to control cell fate
– Risks of hES cell transplantation
– Need to produce hES cells fit for clinical use (GMP)

Question 12

How are stem cells currently administered?

Answer 12

direct injection into defect site
inductive scaffold
cell based gene therapy

Question 13

how are stem cells used to treat myocardial infarction?

Answer 13

stem cells, chemokines and growth factor gene therapy
leads to
angiogenesis and improved cardiac function

Question 14

what is the process for stem cell use in cardiac muscle?

Answer 14

stem cells derived from patients bone marrow
injected directly into affected site
cells produce proteins which signal growth of new blood vessels and heart muscle

can work through neovascualrisation or cardiomyogenesis (paracrine effects)

Question 15

how are new blood vessels made form grafts?

Answer 15

Biodegradable scaffold +SC
release signals (cytokine, chemokine, GF, Sheer stress)
leads to tissue engineered neovessel