Stem Cells May Help Protect Transplanted Kidneys.

Two intravenous infusions of 1 million mesenchymal stromal cells (a type of stem cell) taken from patients' own bone marrow led to systemic immunosuppression in five of six kidney transplant recipients who were showing signs of rejection and/or interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy several months after transplantation. Specifically, the patients displayed a donor-specific downregulation of the peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation assay. In biopsies taken from two patients, there was a resolution of tubulitis without interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy in both. The findings are published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.